5th Grade Curriculum

Math 

Everyday Math is the elementary school mathematics curriculum that provides our core of study.  This program emphasizes the following content strands:

• Numeration
• Operations and Computation
• Data and Chance
• Geometry
• Measurement and Reference Frames
• Patterns, Functions, and Algebra

Within these content strands, Everyday Math emphasizes:

• Problem Solving
• Critical Thinking
• Mathematical Communication
• Practice of Basic Skills
• Opportunities to Apply Knowledge

In addition to Everyday Math, a day in fifth grade math also includes solving stumpers, working in centers to reinforce math skills and vocabulary, computer math through various websites and programs, and daily word problems to inspire critical thinking.  Together, these tools create an active and fun math environment.

Social Studies

  The Social Studies curriculum is centered around six major historical/political focuses:

• Civil War
• Election Processes
• Industrial Revolution
• World War I/Great Depression/New Deal
• World War II
• Post-War era

  Integrated throughout these six units of study are the following skills:

• Research and development
• Note-taking and organization
• Focus reading
• Group collaboration and design
• Critical thinking skills
• Questioning, debating, and high-level discussion
• Purpose-driven project design
• Understanding and using primary source documents

Language Arts

The fifth grade language arts program provides instruction in reading and writing.

Reading

The purpose of this component of the fifth grade language arts program is to empower students with the strategies needed to monitor their own comprehension whether they are reading fiction or non-fiction.  Comprehension is reinforced at all cognitive levels as students study the different genres of literature.  My goal is the same as Gail Boushey and Joan Moser say in their book the daily 5, which states that we should help each student “move from being a “survival” reader to a lifelong reader who chooses to read for knowledge and pleasure.” (2006, p.31)  We read to become better readers, to broaden our vocabulary, to learn something new, and to improve our writing.

Writing

The purpose of this component of the fifth grade reading program is to help students further develop their skills as writers and their knowledge of language usage by providing time to practice writing and offering focused instruction through conferences, guided writing, and focus lessons.  The goal is to help students generate text by using different writing strategies.  We write to become better writers, to improve our spelling and grammar, to use our expanding vocabularies, to become better readers, but most importantly to express ourselves and share our ideas.