Fifth Grade

RELIGION

As a Catholic School, we believe that Religion touches all curriculum areas.  Religion classes cover the four pillars of what Catholics believe, how we worship, how Catholics live, and how we pray.  The sacraments, the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year, and our rich Catholic heritage are included in the Silver Burdett Ginn textbook, Blest Are We. 

Students are also encouraged to practice their faith through service activities which include class projects to help the needy.  They have made quilts, written notes to shut-ins, and visited nursing homes.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Fifth Grade Social Studies covers American history beginning with the first settlement of the American continent, study of Native American cultures, and European exploration and settlement.  It focuses on development of the United States from the colonial period to the late 19th century.

Students gain geography skills covering the United States and the World.  They are challenged by competition in the National Geographic sponsored by GeoBee.

Current events, as well as world history, are discussed with supplemental reading form the bi-weekly Junior Scholastic magazine.

ENGLISH

Fifth Graders review the basics of English grammar from parts of speech to the mechanics of capitalization and punctuation.  We use a textbook and teaching resources provided by Houghton Mifflin Company.  Writing stories, letters and poetry also help students master the English language.

We use the Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop series to improve students’ spelling and vocabulary skills.  Assessments are made through a workbook and regular unit tests.

MATH

At the Fifth Grade level our students learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers, decimals and fractions.  We analyze data and learn how and why different graphs are used. 

Our Math integration includes Dyna Math, a monthly math magazine.

Student assessments are made by interactive participation during class lessons, homework from their workbooks and chapter and unit testing.

READING

Our Fifth Grade Reading curriculum consists of using a combination of reading anthology and novels assigned quarterly.  Our novels are Newberry Award winners or an equivalent.

Our reading series is by Houghton Mifflin.  The Fifth Grade level is titled Explore. 

Students are assessed through reading-writing worksheets, comprehension tests, reports and related projects.

SCIENCE

Our Fifth Grade Science curriculum covers five areas.  In living systems we learn about cells and body systems. We study cycles in nature, processes that change the earth and generally how living things interact.  We review the solar system and move on to matter and its properties.  We use a textbook, workbook and teaching resources provided by Harcourt Publishing. 

Each year we attend a three day Science Camp which reinforces areas in our curriculum such as Living Systems and their interactions in nature. 

A weekly lab activity and a monthly Super Science magazine are integral components or our curriculum.

Assessments are made through written lessons reviews, worksheets and chapter tests.