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Our Curriculum › 5th Grade

5th Grade: the whole year

Every subject a 5th grade student takes, and what each one covers. Each subject is 180 daily lessons; open any course to see its units and lessons.

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Math

Math 5

A full year of 5th-grade math: all four operations with decimals to thousandths, fractions with unlike denominators, multiplying and dividing fractions, volume, the coordinate plane, and measurement, plus long review stretches.

  1. Order of operations, patterns and the coordinate plane
  2. Decimals and multi-digit operations
  3. Fractions: adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing
  4. Volume and classifying shapes
  5. Measurement, line plots and multi-step problems
  6. Cumulative review and practice
  7. More with fractions and mixed numbers
  8. Angles, polygons, composite shapes and volume
  9. Review and real-world applications
  10. Enrichment, final review and wrap-up

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Reading

Reading 5

Fifth grade reading goes deeper into how stories and nonfiction are built: theme, point of view, conflict, figurative language, text structure, and comparing and combining several texts. A research strand teaches note-taking and judging sources.

  1. Figurative language, point of view & comparing
  2. Research skills & nonfiction text sets
  3. Poetry, plays, biography & character craft
  4. Space exploration & judging sources
  5. Mystery, growth & weather stories
  6. Original stories & inventions
  7. Garden story, migration & review
  8. Final story, portfolio & year-end

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Writing & Grammar

Writing 5

Fifth grade writing: logically ordered opinion pieces, research reports from several sources, stories with tension, flashbacks and conflict, and a steady rhythm of peer editing and revising. Grammar includes perfect tenses and correlative conjunctions, and the year ends with a portfolio.

  1. Getting started & the first research report
  2. Narrative craft and a process explanation
  3. Opinion pieces and persuasive letters
  4. A new story and a second research piece
  5. Style, poems, scripts and biography
  6. Persuasion, mood and informative skills
  7. Mystery, growth and personal narrative
  8. Informative pieces and stories with conflict
  9. Time capsules, migration and point of view
  10. Review, portfolio and year-end

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Science

Science 5

Fifth-grade science on the particle model of matter, how matter and energy move through living things, gravity, Earth's systems, the night sky and weather, with many fair-test investigations and engineering builds. Roughly half the year revisits earlier topics.

  1. Matter, gravity, food energy and plants
  2. Ecosystems, stars, Earth's spheres and a water filter
  3. Using the big ideas: practice and enrichment
  4. A full science investigation
  5. Ice melting, insulation and separating mixtures
  6. Revisiting ideas and two more investigations
  7. Weather, a wind test and a tower challenge
  8. Reviews, presentations, migration and seeds
  9. Cumulative review, goals and showcase
  10. Final review and celebration

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History & Social Studies

History 5

A fifth-grade course that covers most topics twice, first briefly and then in depth: the Aztec and Inca, the Age of Exploration, the Renaissance and Reformation, England, Russia and Japan, westward expansion, the Civil War, Reconstruction and Native nations of the West.

  1. Earth's geography and the Aztec and Inca
  2. The Age of Exploration
  3. Renaissance, Reformation, England, Russia and Japan
  4. Westward expansion, first look
  5. Civil War, Reconstruction and the Plains wars, first look
  6. U.S. states, capitals and regions
  7. In depth: Mesoamerica, the Andes and the Spanish conquest
  8. In depth: Europe, Russia and Japan
  9. In depth: the West, Civil War and Native nations
  10. Completing the map & celebration

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Electives at this grade

Add any of these alongside the core subjects.

Art

Art 5

A year of fifth-grade art: brainstorming and goal-setting, craftsmanship, watercolor resist, wire sculpture and collage, artist statements, how curators and museums work, art from five cultures, interpreting and judging art with a rubric, and a capstone.

  1. Brainstorming, purpose and craftsmanship
  2. Elements and principles, and four ways to make art
  3. Artist statements
  4. Curators and choosing safe materials
  5. Museums, galleries and other venues, and comparing views
  6. Art around the world
  7. Interpreting and evaluating art
  8. Idea bank and art that changes minds
  9. Capstone project

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Music

Music 5

A full year of 5th-grade music: improvising over simple chord changes, composing and revising a three-part piece, reading standard notation in the treble clef, music history and world traditions, rehearsing and performing, and writing a music critique.

  1. Improvising over chord changes
  2. Composing a piece with a beginning, middle and end
  3. Reading standard notation
  4. Music and history
  5. Interpreting music: expressive choices
  6. Rehearsing and performing
  7. Responding to music with evidence
  8. Capstone critique and showcase

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PE & Health

PE & Health 5

A fifth-grade year of combined-skill games and fitness know-how (warm-ups, heart rate, nutrition, hydration, tracking tools), health topics including puberty, outside influences, judging health information, substance refusal skills, emotions and online safety.

  1. Health goal and three kinds of wellness
  2. Combination games and water safety
  3. The science of fitness, fueling and tools
  4. Puberty and growing up
  5. Influences and trustworthy health information
  6. Teamwork, perspective and disagreements
  7. Substance safety and refusal skills
  8. Skill goals, emotions and online safety
  9. Year-long showcase and review
  10. Family day plan and goal reflection

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Social Skills

Social Skills 4-5

A social and emotional course meant to be used across 4th and 5th grade, at the pace that suits the child. It builds self-awareness, goal-setting and stress management, perspective-taking, listening, disagreeing respectfully, honesty, teamwork and sound decision-making.

  1. Knowing yourself
  2. Managing yourself: goals & stress
  3. Seeing through others' eyes
  4. Listening, disagreeing, including & compromise
  5. Teamwork, honesty & trust
  6. Making responsible decisions
  7. Year in review

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