Fifth grade students continue to develop independence and leadership skills as they rotate among
teachers for their core academic classes (language arts, math, science and history) and manage their increasing workloads and extracurricular activities.
From writing five-paragraph research papers, to creating a simulation of an archaeological dig, to keeping an interactive notebook full of science notes and drawings, fifth grade students are stepping into a more rigorous phase of their education. While challenging, this is also an exciting experience for students as they begin to feel the joy of accomplishing weightier tasks and the wonder of bigger ideas and deeper discussions in the classroom. An overview of the fifth grade core curriculum follows. If you desire particulars of the entire curriculum, please click on the Curriculum Map.
Bible
Fifth Grade students “connect the dots” in the New Testament by
focusing on the person of Christ, who is the fulfillment of God’s promises.
Lessons draw from the Gospels and build a multi-faceted portrait of Jesus as
the Messiah, the Savior of God’s people. Students are provided opportunities to
reflect on the heart of each lesson through activities such as writing,
drawing, and acting.
Language Arts
Students develop reading comprehension skills
such as identifying author’s purpose, explicit information, and main idea. They
also continue to enhance their skills of inferring, analyzing, synthesizing,
predicting, summarizing, and making judgments. Writing instruction focuses on
substantial 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-paragraph essays with strong topic sentences,
supporting details, and strong concluding sentences. Grammar studies include
diagramming sentences and vocabulary studies include challenging or unfamiliar
words taken from literature they are reading in language arts classes. Student
writing includes a variety of writing styles such as descriptive, persuasive,
story writing, poetry, and writing across the curriculum.
Mathematics
Fifth grade is the culminating year of
mathematics study using the Everyday Math program, a program used in all grades
except sixth. The Everyday Math program is a spiral curriculum, which visits
content strands more than once during a school year. The content strands remain
consistent from grade to grade, while increasing in the degree of difficulty in
an age-appropriate manner. Each grade level has grade-specific goals tied to
the content strands. The six content strands are: number and numeration,
operations and computation, data and chance, measurement and reference frames,
geometry, and patterns, functions, and algebra.
Science
Fifth
grade science is a lab-based program that focuses on the scientific method, Earth’s weather and atmosphere,
water/snow, Earth’s changing surface, and communities and ecosystems. Fifth graders
culminate the year with an extended field trip to Tybee Island, Georgia, on
which they experience (up close and personal) the wonder of creation in all its
interdependency.
History
In grades five and six, students are introduced to
world history. Grade five focuses on the time period from creation to the Roman
Republic. Students learn basic map and geography skills, practice making a
timeline of history, are exposed to different cultures, and are introduced to
basic research skills. The grade five outline includes world geography,
creation/fall, Mesopotamia, Hebrews, Egypt, the Greeks, and the Roman Republic.