5th Grade

What are we doing in the library?

Each month, 5th graders will produce a Panther News video, showcasing events, highlights, and stories from around the school. Students will take on various roles—such as reporters, camera operators, and editors—as they plan, conduct interviews, record footage, and edit their segments.

September

📚 Exploring the Library!

Students are diving into a review of library rules and expectations as we kick off the new school year. They’re learning how books are organized, exploring different genres, and reviewing how to check out and care for library materials. To make it fun, we’ll be doing scavenger hunts around the library and learning to navigate our library system, Destiny Discover. It's a great way to build confidence and excitement about using the library!

We will be starting the year with Digital Citizenship lessons. Throughout the year, students will work through the Digital Citizenship curriculum from Common Sense Media, learning how to make safe, responsible, and thoughtful choices when using technology.

The 5th grade curriculum focuses on six key topics:

• Healthy Habits

• Privacy & Safety

• Digital Footprint & Identity

• Relationships & Communication

• Cyberbullying & Online Harms

• Information & Media Literacy

📚 Get Ready for Battle of the Books!
We’re excited to begin preparing for Battle of the Books (BoB) — a fun, quiz bowl-style competition for students in grades 3-5th Grade! Participants join a school team and commit to reading a list of 6 selected books. They can read independently, with a group, or alongside an adult!

BoB encourages teamwork, exposes students to award-winning literature, and promotes a love of reading both in and out of the classroom. While it is a competition, the heart of BoB is all about discovering great stories and sharing the joy of reading.

📖 This year’s book list includes:

TBD

Creative Tech Project – Sphero Robots & Book Fair Posters
Students will work with a partner to paint posters using Sphero Robots! By programming the robots to move through paint, students will combine technology and art in a fun, hands-on activity.

These unique posters will serve as backgrounds for our Book Fair posters, which students will design digitally using Canva. This project blends creativity, collaboration, and tech skills—all while building excitement for our upcoming Book Fair!

October

Sphero Trick-or-Treat Challenge
This month, students work with a partner to design and create costumes for their Sphero robots. The Sphero must be able to move smoothly while wearing the costume. After completing their designs, students will program their Sphero to go trick-or-treating. The Sphero will need to approach a "house," say "Trick or Treat" and then return to its starting point. This activity supports the ISTE Standard: Computational Thinker, specifically:🔹 1.5d – Algorithmic Thinking, as students create and test step-by-step coding instructions to complete the task.

November

Students will continue to build their block coding skills using Sphero robots. Through hands-on challenges and guided activities, they will practice sequencing, problem-solving, and creative thinking while programming Sphero to complete different tasks and navigate various courses

Balloons Over Broadway Design Challenge

Fifth graders will read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, focusing on explaining how the author uses reasons and evidence to support key points. Inspired by the story, students will design and test their own parade balloon prototypes, applying the ISTE Innovative Designer standard by using a deliberate design process to solve authentic problems. This project combines critical reading, creative thinking, and hands-on problem solving!

Students will use WeVideo to bring their parade float designs to life by creating a green screen parade. This activity aligns with the ISTE Standard for Computational Thinker, specifically 1.5d: Algorithmic Thinking, as students plan, sequence, and organize steps to create their digital parade. Through this project, students combine creativity, problem-solving, and technology skills to showcase their designs in a dynamic way!

December

Students will continue using WeVideo to enhance their skills. They will practice manipulating backgrounds, adding text and transitions, and animating objects to move and change size based on their location, building creativity, technical skills, and an understanding of digital media principles.

January

This month, students will be using the Common Sense Media Digital Literacy & Well‑Being Curriculum to focus on privacy and safety and information and media literacy. Through age‑appropriate lessons, students will learn how to protect their personal information online, think critically about what they see and hear, evaluate the credibility of digital content, recognize the risks of oversharing, and use strategies for safe, thoughtful participation in online spaces. 

February

Students will read Nerdy Birdy Tweets by Aaron Reynolds and discuss themes of online behavior and friendship. They will then complete a design challenge to create a solution that helps Nerdy Birdy get off Tweetster and make healthier choices. Students will record a short video explaining how their design works and why it helps. This lesson supports narrative response and explanation skills from the Colorado Academic Standards for Writing and aligns with the ISTE Standards for Students, particularly Innovative Designer (1.4) and Creative Communicator (1.6) as students design a solution and explain their thinking using digital media.