Fifth-grade students will apply a variety of reading comprehension strategies before-, during-, and after- reading to enhance understanding of text. They will continue to develop an appreciation for literature by reading a variety of fiction and nonfiction selections across content areas. Students will increase communication skills by participating in a variety of learning experiences and will use online, print, and media resources to prepare presentations. In addition, students will plan, draft, revise, and edit to describe, to entertain, and to explain. All aspects of literacy will be taught through a balanced literacy framework for instruction, enabling all students to become independent and strategic readers, writers, thinkers, and communicators.

The fifth-grade standards stress the importance of selecting appropriate instruments for measuring and recording observations. The organization, analysis, and application of data continue to be an important focus of classroom inquiry. Science skills from preceding grades, including questioning, using and validating evidence, and systematic experimentation, are reinforced at this level. Students are introduced to more detailed concepts of sounds and light and the tools used for studying them. Key concepts of matter, including those about atoms, molecules, elements, and compounds, are studied, and the properties of matter are defined in greater detail.

The cellular makeup of organisms and the distinguishing characteristics of groups of organisms are stressed. Students learn about the characteristics of the oceans and Earth’s changing surface.

In fifth-grade mathematics, problem-solving strategies, logical reasoning skills, and algebraic thinking skills continue to be developed and refined. Work continues with numbers and operations on whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. Students explore topics in measurement, geometry, data analysis, and probability.

The World Studies curriculum serves as a bridge between the study of the ancients in second and third grades and the world history courses in high school. The course introduces students to regions of the world that are increasingly important to our country. Students will study Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The content is international in scope, with an emphasis on geography and history along with economic development, political systems and current world issues from selected countries. The major focus should be the interdependence of nations, with an understanding and appreciation of the cultures of others. The World Studies curriculum is designed to be a hands-on participatory experience focusing on critical thinking while building geographic, communication and research skills. Students will study five regions of the world and apply concepts of geography, civics, and economics to their everyday life.