5th Grade Curriculum
- Art
- Language Arts
- Library
- Math
- Music
- Physical Education
- Reading
- Science
- Social Studies / History
- Spanish
- Technology
Art
- continuation of 4th grade curriculum
- further refinement of drawing skills with an emphasis on composition
- emphasis on an individual’s style and interpretation
- medieval banners
- woodworking -- emphasis on planning and design balance, variety and proportion
- pottery -- continued independent employment of hand-building techniques
- increased overall awareness of the finished product
Language Arts
Library
Math
General Math (regular track)
- number theory
- algebraic thinking
- exponents
- fractions, decimals and percentages
- data, statistics, and graphing
- measurements
- perimeters, areas, and volumes
- ratio and proportion
- probability
- plane and coordinate geometry
Traditional Math (honors track)
- fractions/decimals
- measurement
- ratio and proportion
- percentages
- plan and coordinate geometry
- signed numbers
- probability
- exponents
- one-variable algebraic equations
- graphing
Pre-Algebra Math (honors-accelerated track)
- ratio and proportion
- percentages
- integers; rational and irrational numbers
- exponents and roots
- variables
- solving equations
- areas and volumes
- probability/statistics
- algebraic modeling
Music
- explore the instruments of the orchestra
- expand on musical form (rondo, theme and variation, fugue, tone poem)
- introduce the periods of music history (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and 20th Century) through various composers and their compositions
- study the music of the Middle Ages correlating with the social studies curriculum
- prepare the Revels assembly, learning streets calls and peasant dances
- involvement in the Lower School chorus or beginning band (the Lower School chorus explores the foundations of good choral singing and sings at the Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving/Grandfriends’, Holiday and Fine Arts assemblies; beginning band performs at the Holiday and Fine Arts Night assemblies
- encouraged to participate in the Artist-in-Residence program
Physical Education
- physical domain (organic development) -- strength endurance, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility
- neuromuscular development -- integration of nervous and muscular systems to produce desired movements
- team sports -- cognitive, rules, strategy, terminology, sportsmanship
- fall -- soccer (boys and girls)
- winter -- basketball (boys and girls)
- spring -- softball (girls), baseball (boys)
- volleyball
- team problem-solving
Reading
Science
- life science -- biotechnology and plants; includes off-campus environmental education
- earth science -- geography and map and compass skills (orienteering)
- physical science -- rotation of the earth, gravity and magnetic declination, density, mass and volume
- health -- human growth and development
- bones and muscles
- LOGO programming
- robotics and engineering (NXT)
- Operation: Monster Storms -- fly into the eye of a hurricane or chase tornadoes through Tornado Alley; learn how powerful storms form and how cutting-edge technology is used to better understand and forecast weather; from collecting data on the ground to using instruments in the sky and analyzing satellite images from space, students join leading weather scientists as they explore wild weather
Social Studies / History
- European History: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Middle Ages
- ancient cultures’ contributions to modern America
- reports, outlining, fact-finding, bibliographies, discussion techniques
- map skills
- correlated humanities -- art, music, literature
- current events
- Understanding Differences program
- All Working at Racial Equity (AWARE) curriculum
- social-emotional learning curriculum
Spanish
- serves as the culmination of the Lower School language program
- students embark upon a “virtual homestay” experience in a Spanish-speaking country
- employs Pearson textbook Buen Viaje as a curricular basis
- primes students with skills to be used in continued studies of one of four languages offered in Middle School
- fosters an understanding of the connection between geography, language and culture
- cultivates basic communication skills in conversational settings with focus on
- receptive language skills (listening and reading comprehension)
- mastery of commonly used phrases and thematic vocabulary
- authentic pronunciation
Technology
- academic technology skills
- file and folder management, both in the cloud and locally
- understand and recognize file extensions
- install software and provide strategies for recognizing malware
- troubleshooting strategies for minor hardware and software issues
- build on digital portfolio to showcase learning
- online discussions/collaboration
- programming/robotics
- basic programming skills
- LEGO Mindstorms NXT
- video game design
- engineering/CAD skills
- computer-aided design (CAD) projects and digital fabrication (vinyl cutter and 3D printing)
- SimCity simulation
- reverse engineering
- digital citizenship
- connected culture: Responsible Use
- digital footprint: Trillion Dollar Footprint
- security: Personal vs Private Information
- respecting creative work: Copyright/A Creator’s Rights
- cyberbullying: Case Study & Class Pledge
- safety: Safe Chatting