5th Grade Curriculum

• 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

• spelling and sentence dictation
• vocabulary
• parts of speech -- nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and adverbs
• correct sentence structure and paragraphing
• punctuation, capitalization
• English expression
• reference skills
• creative and expository writing
• research reports and poetry

• emphasis is on mastery of the online catalogue system in preparation for the more complex searching and writing tasks students will encounter in middle school
• library lessons focus on the ability to ask relevant questions and use appropriate sources, online and print, to answer those questions

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

• 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 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

• young adult literature
• reading integrated with social studies
• introduction to classical myths
• emphasis on inferential skills
• essay writing
• reading comprehension exercises and vocabulary exercises
• skill building
• writing responses to pleasure reading

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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