Grade 5

As fifth graders have transitioned from “learning to read” to “reading to learn,” we work with students to further develop their ability to read effectively and to establish a love of reading. Classes are organized in a variety of groupings, both teacher-facilitated and student-led groups, allowing students to read and analyze a range of literature from poetry to nonfiction to biography. Students use writing both as a process of self-discovery and as an effective mode of communication. Through writing workshop and the writer’s notebook, students develop personal writing topics and create drafts that they revise and edit.

Examples of the types of texts we might read are:

• Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
• Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
• Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton.

Examples of writing skills include:

• Write cohesive expository paragraphs consisting of a clear topic sentence, supporting details, and concluding sentence
• Write historical fiction, combining information from multiple resources

In fifth-grade mathematics, we challenge students to think about different strategies for approaching real-world situations and new mathematical situations. We also challenge them to become more flexible in their thinking. We continue to encourage students to apply prior knowledge to new and unknown mathematical concepts.

Example skills / topics include

• Multiply using multiple digits, and multi-digit division with one digit and multi-digit divisor
• Addition, subtraction, and multiplication of fractions
• Statistics: Averages/means, medians, modes

Our units of study include the immigration to, and migration within, the United States. We study the immigration as the starting point of the country, the impact of the cultures that immigrant groups brought to America, and immigration today. Throughout the studies of these topics, we also discuss the themes of social injustice and prejudice towards minority groups. Fifth graders begin the year thinking about what it means to be a historian, and they learn to draw reasoned conclusions from primary source material.

Example Units include:

• Immigration: specifically from Colonial immigration to present day        
• Migration: specifically the difference between forced migration and migration

Example Skills include:

• Developing research categories
• Discerning important information about a topic
• Discerning source reliability
• Source citation  

Science is an integral part of the fifth grade year, delving into topics related to migration, adaptation, humanity, and human impact on the environment. Students learn about analyzing and interpreting data, how to communicate scientific information clearly, and most importantly ask questions about the world around them.

Example Units include:

• Owl Adaptations, Digestive System, and Pellet dissection
• Human Body systems including skeletal, muscular, respiratory, circulatory, and sensory systems including the eyes and ears
• Oceans, currents, temperature & salinity, climate zones, waves, tides, 
• Invertebrate study in the wetland

Example Skills include:

• Analyze and interpret data, compare & contrast data
• Use mathematics & computational thinking
• Develop a simple physical prototype to convey an object, and test cause and effect relationships
• Communicate scientific information orally and in writing, including tables, charts, and diagrams

While the process of learning new tools is inherently valuable (growth mindset, exploration, logic, sequential thinking, curiosity), ultimately we teach technology because of the opportunities it can provide for students to improve themselves and make a positive impact on the world. In fifth grade, we focus on online collaboration, digital citizenship, independent project management skills (time management, daily and long term planning), animation, movie and soundtrack editing, programming (event handling and conditional statements), and the formal design thinking process.

Example units / topics include:

• learning to create animation walk cycles
• one minute movie stories
• re-scoring a film for a different emotional effect
• long-term independent passion project

Color theory is central to the fifth grade art curriculum, guiding the majority of projects throughout the year. Students begin with the basics, including refamiliarization with the color wheel, understanding complementary and tertiary colors, and building sophisticated color palettes. After working with grayscales and learning about value, students progress to examine the interrelation of light, color, and visual perception, and how it can be utilized in the art making process. A sequence of studies and experiments typically culminates in a large collaborative project in which the class does a deep exploration of an advanced color concept. 

Example topics include:

• Using color to create optical illusion
• Recreating art historical works through optical mixing
• Creating large photo realistic portraits with colored “pixels”
• Minimalist movie posters inspired by the work of Saul Bass

In fifth grade, students continue to study French language and Francophone culture during the first half of the year.  In March, language sections are created and fifth graders begin their formal study of either French or Spanish; each student then continues to study that language through eighth grade.

Example Unit topics include:

• The city of Paris, its organization, historic sites and museums and art
• The province of Quebec, important French explorers and traditional cuisine
• A performance of a West African folktale.

The Physical Education program is developmental and skill-based. The program includes cooperative games, standard games, such as capture the flag and ultimate Frisbee, and team sports including field hockey, soccer and basketball. Students practice motor and sports skills throughout these activities. Students develop sports skills through movement exploration, specific skill work and playing games.

Example skills / topics include;

• Locomotor Movements: Walk, run, hop, slide, jump, crawl, roll
• Non-Locomotor Movements: Swing, bend, stretch, twist, turn, dodge, push, pull
• Sports Skills: Throw, dribble, kick, bat, catch, shoot (basketball), volley

Fifth grade students continue to use the library as a resource for reading for pleasure and information, and more increasingly, for developing skills in inquiry and research. Fifth grade students develop and practice fluency in identifying fiction genres, and, in collaboration with their homeroom, read widely from a variety of genres. Students are exposed to primary sources such as newspaper articles, videos, and audio related to multiple historical events, honing the skills they will need to become sophisticated consumers of news and information.

Example skills / topics include:

• Recognize characteristic styles of various authors

• Distinguish, use, and navigate effectively a variety of print and electronic reference sources to locate information
• Develop news literacy skills; curating and comparing multiple sources of information, both digital and print

In fifth grade, students continue to expand skills of creative musical participation through singing, movement and playing instruments. Students learn to play the ukulele. Students also learn the role of music and sound effects in storytelling in an extended soundtrack project where they provide the music and sound effects for a film clip. Students also study songwriting and instrumental composition, learning to use online music composition software.

Example skills / topics include:

• Sing independently with accurate pitch

• Play melodies on various instruments

• Listen to and discuss components of selected compositions: Pitch, duration, volume, timbre, texture, form, style

• Compose unique compositions using the computer programs Garageband and Soundtrap