Elementary School
Welcome to Fifth Grade!
In Fifth Grade, children develop skills in reading comprehension, analyzing texts, crafting essays, and improving language usage. They also study physical, life, and health sciences, explore U.S. history and government, and apply mathematical reasoning to solve problems involving numbers, fractions, geometry, and data.
Parent Resources
Fifth Grade Curriculum
Computer Science:
Students will learn how computer hardware and software work together, how information travels through networks, and how to organize and present data. They will also create programs, explore the impact of technology on society, and suggest ways to make technology more accessible for everyone.
English Language Arts:
Students will read grade-level texts with fluency and comprehension and analyze their structural elements. They will write cohesive pieces that use evidence, structure, and conventions to express ideas. They will also discuss and debate various grade-level topics using vocabulary and evidence to support their claims.
Fine Arts:
Students will improvise, edit, and fix choreography, develop theatrical drama involving characters, moods, and conflicts, interpret ideas and emotions in music, and create detailed art based on other cultures.
Health Education:
Students will define and create SMART goals, identify and practice healthy emotional processing techniques, resist peer pressure to engage in risky behaviors, and use food labels to understand nutritional components. Fifth grade also includes the Maturation Program, where students gather to learn age-appropriate information about their changing bodies and the stages of puberty. Parental permission is required for participation, and parents are encouraged to attend the meeting with their children.
Mathematics:
Students will utilize order of operation for math operations in various contexts, including using multi-digit decimals, simplifying fractions, and graphing points on a coordinate plane. They will also classify shapes by their properties and practice conversion between U.S. and metric units.
Library:
Students will evaluate and organize information from multiple sources, synthesize findings, and ethically utilize digital tools. They will analyze media messages and continue to refine their reading and literary categorization skills.
Physical Education:
Students will design personal fitness plans, attain efficient movement and performance goals, and express the value of physical activity. They will also play cooperatively with others of higher and lower athletic levels.
Science:
Students investigate earth systems, explore properties of matter (including physical and chemical changes), and build a conceptual understanding of the cycling of matter in ecosystems. They also design solutions to naturally occurring phenomena that impact humans and the environment.
Social Studies:
Students will learn about the early history of the United States, including the American Revolution, the Constitution, and Westward expansion.
IDEAS FOR HOME-TO-SCHOOL CONNECTIONS
English Language Arts:
- Provide opportunities for your child to read every day. Support your child in finding books, videos, and other resources so that they can write and/or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
- Encourage your child to ask clarifying questions about topics, texts, and other resources.
- Engage your child in discussions about themselves, their peers, and their world.
Fine Arts:
- Gather art supplies and make a mural together.
- Have your child create and perform dance, drama, or music performances.
Health Education:
- Together, practice healthy stress management techniques, such as family walks, listening to music, coloring, or yoga.
- Discuss your family values and expectations around substance use and the consequences of decisions.
- Discuss your experience with puberty and maturation. Answer questions your student has before and after the maturation presentation.
Mathematics:
- If you notice errors in your child’s mathematics, avoid telling them they’re wrong. Instead, engage them in a conversation about their reasoning around how they solved the problem.
- Contact your child’s teacher via email, phone call, conference, etc., to discuss further how you can support your child’s learning at home.
Physical Education:
- Invite other children to participate in games and activities of all ability levels, practicing cooperation and sportsmanship.
- Talk about games, sports, and activities you enjoy and teach your child how to play or participate in them.
Science:
- Look for examples of weathering and erosion in your area. What might be causing it?
- Make a toy out of Legos. Weigh it. Take the toy apart and weigh all the pieces. Is there a pattern?
Social Studies:
- Visit historical sites and museums or watch documentaries related to early U.S. history.
- Discuss the importance of historical events like the American Revolution or the creation of the U.S. Constitution by asking questions, watching related videos, or reading books together.