Fifth Grade
WELCOME TO FIFTH GRADE!
The Fifth Grade International Baccalaureate Program of Inquiry
The work of our curriculum revolves around the six transdisciplinary themes and their corresponding central ideas:
1. Changes people experience affects their evolving sense of self.
2. Revolution stems from human desire for change.
3. Creativity helps people interpret the world around them.
4. The interaction between force and motion drives a complex system.
5. Social, political and economic decisions influence society.
6. Wall-E World: People's choices affect Earth's resources.
Fifth Grade Curriculum
Language and Literacy Students will read from and write a variety of materials, including: Personal narratives, persuasive and descriptive pieces, reports, stories, instructions and letters. They will also practice the editing process. Students will learn and practice: Noting details, predicting outcomes, drawing conclusions, making inferences, comparing and contrasting, categorizing and classifying, sequencing, summarizing, making generalizations, showing cause and effect, distinguishing fantasy and reality/fact and opinion, identifying author's viewpoint, and making judgements. Specific skills studies in fifth grade are: Base words, context, compound words, contractions/possessives, syllables, synonyms, multi-meaning words, suffixes, prefixes, homophones, short/long vowels, consonant usage, sentence structure, parts of speech. Writing exercises will focus on: Sentence structure, combining sentences, elaborating with adjectives and adverbs, and using pronouns.
Mathematical Thinking Students will learn: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers and decimals. They will know how to add and subtract fractions with common and uncommon denominators and will simplify fractions. Students will be able to measure length using both the standard and metric systems of measurement. Geometric shapes will be used to understand angle measurement, area and perimeter. Students will study and practice: Problem solving, basic facts and operations using whole numbers and decimals, fractional concepts, shapes and patterns, probability, calculator usage and measurement.
Health/Nutrition Students will learn about keeping themselves healthy and safe. Health topics include: appropriate decision making skills, human growth, development and reproduction, personal safety, bus safety, and nutrition.
Media Students will identify and use media resources, with an emphasis on using reference sources for research.
Music Students will expand vocal experiences through part singing, rounds and canons, and also develop instrumental techniques with the use of classroom instruments. Students will explore rhythm, theory, music history, world music and creative movement.
Physical Education Physical education will be a part of your child's school routine. Students will participate and learn in an environment that emphasizes fair play, sportsmanship, and acceptance of individual abilities. Students will play team, individual, recreational, multicultural, and cooperative activities. Students are tested annually in the area of personal physical fitness and will participate in a district-wide Track & Field Day at the Senior High School.
Scientific Thinking Students will have units in force and motion through the use of Legos, small organisms utilizing mircroscopes and understanding our ecosystem.
Social Studies Students will study American history and geography of the United States. They will also learn terms related to physical and political maps.
Visual Arts The four disciplines of art study include: art production, art criticism, art history, and aesthetics. Students will learn and practice such art skills as: manipulating scale, figure drawing, surrealism, and working with clay.
Technology Students will continue to develop greater computer literacy by increasing their keyboarding and word processing skills. Students will be exposed to multimedia and data base components.