5th Grade
Fifth grade is a year for students to take ownership of his/her own learning and become independent with his/her academic success before entering the middle school years. They will be responsible for navigating switching between class periods and using a laptop for the first time.
The religion content includes a study of the liturgy, more in-depth study of all seven sacraments, and Christian values are encouraged through all lessons and activities. Students also attend mass Friday mornings.
Students build on skills and concepts taught in previous years, focusing on 5 major areas: reading, writing, mechanics, speaking, and listening/observing. Reading includes literature in all the genres, story elements, comprehension strategies, word analysis, and using reference materials. Fifth graders become more proficient writers by examining different literary forms/styles, purpose/audience, types of writing, and the writing process. Students learn proper forms, conventions, and styles (parts of speech, punctuation, spelling rules, etc.).
Concepts taught in the fifth grade book include basic operations and whole number computation, decimals and fractions, word problems, geometry (area and volume), and customary and metric measurement. Concepts for those in the enriched program will also cover the sixth grade standards which include fraction/decimal/percent conversions, ratios, equations and expressions, equalities and inequalities, geometry (area, volume and surface area), and statistical measures.
Science content includes the study of energy forms (thermal, chemical, electrical, sound), weather, astronomy, body systems, and amphibians. Throughout the year an emphasis is placed on developing reading skills for nonfiction resources, understanding vocabulary, and experiencing STEM activities to reinforce content and an introduction to science research. Students also begin to transition from memorization to application of the material learned in class.
Students study geography and map skills then transition to Early Civilizations including the Maya, Aztec, Inca, Mound Builders, Anasazi, Inuit, and many others. Once they understand the cultures, and what happened to each early group, they transition to understanding the colonization of North and South America.
Students have class once each week for music (band/orchestra/general music), theatre, art, library, executive functioning, and computers. Students will attend physical education once a week. For one half of the year, students will have Exploratory French and for the other half of the year they will have Exploratory Spanish twice per week.
Two night and three day overnight field trip to Camp Kern, Dayton Opera presentation, Field Day, Band and Orchestra, French and Spanish (half year for each), Boonshoft Starry Night Presentation