Curriculum Overviews

Redeemer Lutheran School FIFTH GRADE:

Curriculum Overview

BIBLICAL STUDIES

The fifth grade Bible curriculum uses the true, inerrant Word of God, Luther’s Small Catechism, and the series  One in Christ. It is through God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit that students may know God and His forgiving love and salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ and see themselves as redeemed children of God. Using this curriculum students will students will study portions of the Old Testament sequentially from the Creation story through the book of Jonah. They will explore the life and ministry of Christ, His disciples, and the ministry of Paul in the New Testament. Students will be led by the power of the Holy Spirit to an understanding of the concepts of Law and Gospel, repentance, forgiveness, and God’s grace. They will also memorize portions of Scripture and Luther’s Small Catechism.  Students memorize Bible verses weekly, chosen yearly for PreK-12th Grade students, with younger students memorizing shorter portions of scripture and older students longer portions.  Daily devotions in their classroom are teacher led. Weekly Chapel services led by the Pastor will also be attended.  

MATH

In fifth grade math, students use the  Big Ideas, by National Geographic.  The students will review the basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as well as revisiting basic data and graph skills. Students will then build on this knowledge to learn place values up to billions, multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals by one- and two-digit factors and divisors, as well as a heavy emphasis on fractions and their operations. Time will also be dedicated to the study of angles and polygons, length, perimeter, and area, and ratio, percent, and probability. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving skills, reasoning, and critical thinking skills, as well as geometric and algebraic thinking in order to prepare our students for higher level math classes.  Fifth grade students also Edgenuity MyPath K–5 a personalized learning program for math that delivers high-impact, engaging lessons that target the specific skills students need to get back to grade level. These innovative program tailors learning to the needs of each student.

LANGUAGE ARTS

In fifth grade language arts, students use McGraw-Hill Wonders curriculum. Students will continue to develop reading skills such as word identification using context and structural clues in conjunction with phonetics, vocabulary enrichment, comprehension and prediction skills, as well as reference and study skills. Our students will also study literary forms, techniques, and story elements. This learning will take place through the use of a textbook, silent reading, creative writing, book reports, and teacher read-aloud which will include many award winning novels for children.  Novels include: Sign of the Beaver, Homer Price, Twenty and Ten, Shiloh, Pink and Say, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Snow Treasure, And Dear Mr. Henshaw and others. In addition, students will develop grammar and writing skills through the Shurley Grammar program. Daily practice in identifying parts of speech, editing sentences, and quick writing will strengthen students’ language skills.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The fifth grade social studies curriculum, America the Beautiful by Charlene Notgrass, introduces students to early American History with a biblical lense. Drawing upon knowledge from the previous year concerning states and regions, students explore units focused on Native Americans, early explorers, colonial life, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. Students cover famous historical figures, places, events, and documents. 

SCIENCE

The fifth grade Christian science curriculum, Nancy Larson Science 5, helps students understand the connection between the concepts of science and the Word of God. Students will explore concrete examples of science concepts using research, experiments, hands-on- activities, and workbooks. We study the following six concepts: Exploring the Universe, Exploring the Structure of Matter, Investigating Matter and its Interactions, Examining the Interactions of the Earth’s Ecosystems, Exploring Forces and Motion, and Investigating Tools and Machines. Students practice high vocabulary and note taking skills through their workbooks and participate in daily classroom assignments. Students are assessed through their participation, notes, homework, and unit tests.

TECHNOLOGY  

Technology is an important and integrated part of the fifth grade curriculum. The fifth grade classroom has one to one chromebooks for each student. The students are taught how to use various components of Google applications. Each student is given a Google account in which they can create documents and presentations online and work together creating projects in real time.  In addition, the fifth grade students use various ways to present social studies and science information to the class. Students use a variety of educational websites to reinforce, remediate, and enrich topics presented in the classroom.  With the use of the interactive SmartBoard, students learn to create and present projects on various topics.

FIELD TRIPS

Fifth graders participate in field trips that meet the objectives of our curriculum and provide opportunities to explore and provide hands on learning. Local field trips include, but are not limited to: the Carnegie Science Center, the Pittsburgh Aviary, Pittsburgh Carnegie Library, the Frick Museum, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Phipps Conservatory, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Children’s Theater performances at the Byham, Heinz Museum of History, and Fort Necessity.  Fifth grade students attend an overnight outdoor education trip to Lutherlyn in the Spring.