Language Arts

Reading - Storytown is full of diverse stories that will capture our students' interests while teaching the elements of a story: characterization, plot and theme, setting, and the author's purpose. In order to help our students reach a comfortable independent reading level, we also teach reading strategies such as: previewing and predicting, clarifying, and reviewing . The AR program is an integral part of our reading curriculum that promotes a desire to read among our students and enhances their reading proficiency. Each student is required to read 15 - 30 minutes of recreational reading every night. The 5th grade team is committed to making all of our students avid readers who enjoy reading and understand the necessity of this vital skill in the real world environment. During this year, we will integrate many non-fiction articles into our teaching. This will prepare our students for the increasing amount of non-fiction material they will encounter and be responsible for interpreting in middle school and beyond.

Spelling - We will continually teach and practice spelling rules, recognition of frequently used words, syllabication, prefixes and suffixes, as well as word origins to build our students vocabulary. Strong word decoding skills are essential for success in reading and therefore are an important part of our language arts curriculum.

Writing - The 5th grade team is focused on improving each student's writing performance. We teach the importance of writing complete and detailed sentences in order to build well-structured paragraphs. We provide a structured format that serves as a guide for the students' writing to build well-developed, detailed paragraphs. Practicing parts of speech, correct noun and verb agreement, effective use of adverbs and adjectives, and other grammatical rules also creates strong writing skills for our students.

Math
We teach numerous topics that are new to our 5th graders, which requires focus and daily practice of math facts and problem-solving strategies. Some of the mathematical skills include: geometric shapes, lines and angles, value comparison of fractions, adding and subtracting fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers, place value, multiplication of 2 and 3-digit numbers, division with 1 and 2-digit divisors into large dividends, interpreting and creating charts and graphs, and measurement. Problem-solving skills will be addressed in the math curriculum as well as other curricular areas. All students need to be able to think critically and use deductive reasoning to develop possible solutions to a problem.

Science
The science units that will be taught this year are:

Science Process Skills

Classification/Ecosystems

Solar System 

Electricity

Biomes/Ecosystems

Social Studies
Our main focus of our social studies curriculum is United States history in which we teach about time periods and major events in America's past. We begin with the exploration and discovery of North America along with the relations between Native Americans and the settlers. After we gain an understanding of how North America was discovered, we study the development of the colonies and the life of early Americans. We spend time analyzing how life in the colonies differs from modern life. As we review America's growth into an independent nation, we study and evaluate the disagreements and tensions that arise between Britain and the colonies. We then delve deep into the Revolutionary War. The end of the Revolutionary War flows directly into our examination of the Bill of Rights and an analytical look at the creation of the Constitution. Our studies draw to an exciting end by studying the effects of Westward Expansion and the Civil War!

During the year, we will include several projects, reports, and activities that are sure to make learning American history exciting for your child! The students will also read several non-fiction books that extend their understanding of these major historical events, while increasing their ability to decode and interpret the meaning of non-fiction works.

Contacting Fifth Grade Classrooms
Please phone office for messages requiring immediate attention at 636-891-6175, plus zero.

Homework Hotline
To leave a message or to listen to the Homework Hotline, call the school at 636-207-2674 and then dial the extension number for the individual teacher.