PrairieSchool

5th Grade Curriculum

Teacher: Mrs. Long

I. Science:Science Fusion: Vol. 1-2, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

We have a deep love for science in the fifth grade and we do tons of it! The Science Fusion curriculum has an interactive textbook component where the students will be writing, highlighting, making annotations, underlining, marking, boxing, bracketing, drawing arrows, numbering, writing comments…yes right on their textbooks! Also, students will be able participate in hands-on activities and labs, observe virtual labs, digital interactions, leveled readers, and observe video-based projects.

Units of Study:

  • The Scientific Method
  • Physical Science: Matter, Forces and Motion, Simple Machines.
  • Life Science: Cells to Body Systems, Living Things Grow and Reproduce, Ecosystems/Biomes, Energy and Ecosystems
  • Earth Science: Natural Resources, Changes to Earth’s Surface, Earth’s Oceans, Water on Earth, Weather Patterns, The Solar System and the Universe

In the fifth grade, students:

  • Study the steps in the Scientific Method
  • Study matter (atoms, elements, molecules) and its chemical and physical properties; mixtures and solutions; states of matter (solid, liquid, gas)
  • Learn about the basic functions of cells; human body systems
  • Gain more in-depth knowledge about plants and animals and the roles and cycles of plants and animals; ecosystemsand the role of organisms within an ecosystem
  • Study natural resources, renewable and nonrenewable resources
  • Study weathering, erosion and deposition
  • Study the planet Earth, including its structure, layers, and plate tectonics; earthquakes, volcanoes, and glaciers
  • Study weather patterns and causes; Earth’s Oceans
  • Study the Solar System

Project 1: Science Fair

Project 2: Simple Machines

5th Grade Curriculum, PrairieSchool

Mrs. Long

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Fifth Grade Science

Grade Level Expectations at a Glance

Standard / Grade Level Expectation
1. Physical Science / 1. Mixtures of matter can be separated regardless of how they were created; all weight and mass of the mixtures are the same as the sum of weight and mass of its parts
2. Life Science / 1. All organisms have structures and systems with separate
functions
2. Human body systems have basic structures, functions, and needs
3. Earth Science / 1. Earth and sun provide a diversity of renewable and nonrenewable resources
2. Earth’s surface changes constantly through a variety of processes and forces
3. Weather conditions change because of the uneven heating of Earth’s surface by the Sun’s energy. Weather changes are measured by differences in temperature, air pressure, wind and water in the atmosphere and type of precipitation

II. Reading: Reading Street, Scott Foresman

We will cover the five components of reading: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency; we have read stories from different genres. Students are expected to read aloud to an adult for 20 minutes or more every day at home.The Reading Street series has a spelling component. Every Thursday, students will have their spelling test as well as receive their new spelling words to study for the following week. Students are expected to do a daily oral practice with an adult at home.

The Great Books Foundation, Junior Great Books

This program involves students and the instructor as partners in reading, discussing, and writing about the essential questions raised by outstanding works of literature. The main skill learned is Shared Inquiry. In Shared Inquiry, students discuss interpretive questions and higher-level questioning methods which deal with critical thinking.

In the fifth grade, students:

  • Are working toward reading fluency of 150 words per minute
  • Read chapter books (fiction and nonfiction), informational texts, and poetry
  • Can more easily analyze and interpret poetry

5th Grade Curriculum, PrairieSchool

Mrs. Long

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  • Use prior knowledge, comprehension strategies, and inference to understand text
  • Understand prefixes, suffixes, and use context clues to derive meaning
  • Use additional aspects of text (including diagrams, tables, and charts) to assist in understanding what they are reading
  • Understanding reading targets such as main idea, key concepts, cause and effect relationships, comparisons, and intention of the author of a selected reading
  • Engage in rich discussions

III. Writing: Every Child a Writer

Students in the fifth grade write with an awareness of their audience and purpose. They will also use resources to gather information to support their main ideas and use technology to create documents. The Every Child a Writer curriculum focuses on a genre based writing approach (i.e. descriptive, narrative, instruction, explanation, persuasion); students do differentiated writing according to their writing stage, not their age.

In the fifth grade, students:

  • Use the writing process to write narratives, research reports, persuasive letters and compositions, and responses to literature that are several paragraphs in length and have a clear focus and intention
  • Use purposeful writing to describe, inform, entertain, and explain
  • Use correct grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, and voice in writing
  • Use a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, library databases, books, textbooks and the Internet to research, gather, and clarify information

IV. English: English, Houghton Mifflin

Units of Study: Sentences, nouns, verbs, adjectives, capitalization and punctuation, pronouns, adverbs and prepositions.

DLI, Daily Language Instruction: The focus of DLI is to provide proofreading and editing tasks to reinforce the skills taught in English.

5th Grade Curriculum, PrairieSchool

Mrs. Long

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Fifth Grade Reading, Writing, and Communicating

Grade Level Expectations at a Glance

Standard / Grade Level Expectation
1. Oral Expression and Listening / 1. Effective communication requires speakers to express an opinion, provide information, describe a process, and persuade an audience
2. Listening strategies are techniques that contribute to understanding different situations and serving different purposes
2. Reading for All Purposes / 1. Literary texts are understood and interpreted using a range of strategies
2. Ideas found in a variety of informational texts need to be compared and understood
3. Knowledge of morphology and word relationships matters when reading
3. Writing and Composition / 1. The recursive writing process contributes to the creative and unique literary genres for a variety of audiences and purposes
2. The recursive writing process creates stronger informational and persuasive texts for a variety of audiences and purposes
3. Conventions apply consistently when evaluating written texts
4. Research and Reasoning / 1. High-quality research requires information that is organized and presented with documentation
2. Identifying and evaluating concepts and ideas have implications and consequences
3. Quality reasoning requires asking questions and analyzing and evaluating viewpoints

5th Grade Curriculum, PrairieSchool

Mrs. Long

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V. Social Studies/Geography: The United States, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Units of Study:

  • Our Nation’s Geography: regions and landforms on the United States.
  • Unit 2: Exploration and Civilization (Expeditions of early explorers, i.e. Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Prince Henry of Portugal, Spanish explorers); French Colonies and English Colonies.
  • Unit 3: Colonial America: New England, Middle Colonies, Southern Colonies, Colonial Economies and their Governments.
  • Unit 4: The Struggle for North America: The French in Louisiana, The French and Indian War, Colonists Protesting British Rule, Revolutionary War, and the Declaration of Independence.
  • Unit 5: The New Nation: The United States Constitution, theLouisiana Purchase, the War of 1812.
  • Geography: Central America, Middle East, Europe, and Russia.
  • Native People of North America: Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Plains, and Eastern Woodlands.

Fifth Grade Social Studies

Grade Level Expectations at a Glance

Standard / Grade Level Expectation
1. History / 1. Analyze historical sources from multiple points of view to develop an understanding of historical context
2. The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas, and themes in North America from 1491 through the founding of the United States government
2. Geography / 1. Use various geographic tools and sources to answer questions about the geography of the United States
2. Causes and consequences of movement
3. Economics / 1. Government and market structures influence financial institutions
2. Utilizing financial institutions to manage personal finances (PFL)
4. Civics / 1. the foundations of citizenship in the United States
2. The origins, structure, and functions of the United States government