Fifth Grade Curriculum Information

RELIGION

We discuss many different topics such as God and His Word, The Articles of the Apostles Creed, and The Lord’s Prayer. At the end of each unit there is a test to help the students remember the lessons. Students do need a Bible for this class. We will be following the One in Christ book produced by Concordia Publishing House.

MEMORY

In fifth grade students learn about the Sacrament of the Altar from a Biblical viewpoint. They also learn and review many different verses from the Bible. 

MATH

We follow the Big Ideas Math  series in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Big topics include fractions, decimal numbers, and conversions.  We also subscribe to a program called MobyMax.

READING 

For reading, students will read one story a week. There will be many activities that go along with the stories to teach comprehension, fluency, listening, and speaking. We use a book published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt called Journeys. The class also reads several novels throughout the year including City of Ember and Number the Stars . 

SPELLING

For spelling, we have a new spelling list each week. There is a pretest every Monday and a final test every Friday. The students will complete several workbook pages with the spelling words so that the students will become familiar with them. We use a workbook by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt called Journeys which goes along with our reading curriculum.

ENGLISH

We talk about English from two different perspectives, grammar and writing. To help teach the rules of the English language the students will be doing practice pages and writing projects. Some projects will be challenging and time consuming while others will be easy and able to be completed in an hour or less. We use a book called English which is produced by Houghton Mifflin.

SCIENCE

In science we cover many topics in life, physical and earth science. We also spend a quarter talking about our bodies health. We will be doing hands-on experiments, small group work, projects and testing our knowledge through homework and tests. We have chosen to follow the Kesler Science program.

SOCIAL STUDIES

In this class students learn about American History and how to read history and understand it. They also learn how history is applicable to us today. During the school year we will also be learning the 50 states and their capitals. The learning tools used in this class include worksheets, projects, maps, and books. Our curriculum for social studies is based on a book called U.S. History Making A New Nation by McGraw Hill.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

We have PE every Monday and Thursday for thirty minutes. Activities from the SPARK curriculum are used to emphasize Christian sportsmanship, teamwork, effort, and overall physical fitness.  Units are based upon sports with a focus on skill building and strategy.

**Extracurricular Sports are also an option for all fifth graders. The girls can choose from cross country, volleyball, basketball, and track.  The boys can choose from cross country, volleyball, basketball, and track. 

BAND and  MUSIC

Students can choose to be in band this year! It is a great opportunity for any student who is interested in music. Band students will see the instructor for a 20 minute small group lesson and a 30 minute bigger group lesson each week. They are also asked to practice at home. If a student does not want to participate in band, they will be in choir.  Students will also be in Choir this year.  They will spend thirty minutes each week learning about various music components.  

ART

Fifth graders have art weekly. We go through many different art skills and learn to appreciate art. Some of the skills taught include patterns, textures, and shape/form. We use a DVD series called Arts Attack.

COMPUTER

Computer takes place every Tuesday and Friday for thirty minutes. Focused units include: computer terminology, digital citizenship, Lego Mindstorm Robotics, Google Apps for Education (docs, slides, sheets), and programming online with Scratch 3.0. Our 5th grade classroom is equipped with a set of chromebooks for student use in the regular classroom.

FIELD TRIPS

Our first quarter trip is either to the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site or to Cahokia Mounds. We go on this trip with the sixth graders. Our fourth quarter trip is to the Arch and the Old Courthouse in St. Louis; this trip is just fifth grade.