5th Grade Curriculum

We follow the Common Core Standards of NYS, the recommendations of the Interdiocesan curriculum committee and the guidelines of the Diocese of Rochester.

RELIGION:

Religion is not just a subject, it is integral to everything we do at St. Louis School. It is a vital part of of our entire day and year and we incorporate the values of Christianity into everyday occurrences and other school lessons.

Our text, Blest Are We, focuses on a study of the sacraments in Fifth Grade. We also learn about the Liturgical Year and discuss how Catholics pray, live and worship

We focus on the seasons, sacramentals and devotions that are a part of our Catholic faith. October and May finds us praying the Rosary. November and December brings us to a greater understanding of the season of Advent, and March and April is when we concentrate on Lent and the Easter Triduum.

We have many opportunities to celebrate as a school community in Masses, prayer services, Stations of the Cross, and the Rosary.

Units of Study:

• Unit 1: The Sacraments: God's Gifts of Life
• Unit 2: Baptism and Confirmation
• Unit 3: The Eucharist
• Unit 4:Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick
• Unit 5: Holy Orders and Matrimony

READING, WRITING AND LANGUAGE ARTS

In fifth grade, your child will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, based on the Common Core standards. They will read widely and deeply from a range of high-quality, increasingly challenging fiction and nonfiction text. Students will be expected to understand and clearly summarize what they have learned from readings and classroom discussions. In our reading program, we use supplemental resources that support the New York State Common Core Standards and continue to build the students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. These resources are Storyworks, a magazine published by Scholastic and Ready NY CCLS Instruction.

Major Areas of Study for Writing:

• Personal Narrative
• Expository Essay
• Poetry
• Persuasive Essay

Word Study: Developmentally appropriate spelling and vocabulary

Grammar: The students will continue to work on the conventions of standard English.

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Fifth grade students study the Western Hemisphere. They focus on the regions of the United States, Canada, and Latin America, examining geography. The different economic and political systems and the varied ways of life. Children will take part in the following:

• Comparing/contrasting the geography and government of the United States, Canada and Latin America.
• Locating places of latitude and longitude and using special maps and globes.
• Studying about key events, major movements, and themes in the United States and its hemispheric neighbors.
• Examining currents issues and events which affect people in North and South America.

MATHEMATICS

Overview of the Fifth Grade Common Core Math Curriculum:

• Operations and Algebraic Thinking
• Number and Operations in Base 10
• Number and operations – Fractions
• Measurement and Data
• Geometry

The standards we will be following in math this year are the Common Core State Standards. These standards were implemented to help children develop critical thinking skills in preparation for college and career.

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, instructional time in 5th grade math should focus primarily on three critical areas:

• Developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, and developing understanding of the multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions;
• Extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations; and
• Developing understanding of volume.

For further information on the Common Core, we encourage you to read the Common Core Parent Guide we have provided and view the recommended websites listed on the back of this handout.

Number Fact Fluency

Please note the importance of fact fluency for all Fifth Grade students in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. If your child is not fluent with his or her number facts, it is imperative that practice each night be a part of his or her math homework.

Math Resources

At the intermediate level, we have always used a variety of resources to meet the State Standards in math.

SCIENCE

Students will be provided with opportunities to construct their own knowledge of science through hands-on activities that pertain to the concerns of their daily lives. Units of study include:

Based on Next Generation Science Standards:

• Earth Systems
• Space Systems
• Structures and Properties of Matter
• Energy in organisms and Ecosystems
• Students in each grade will attend lab for 40 minutes once a week to do an activity to support a current science module or to perform a stem challenge.

HEALTH

The goal of health education is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to lead healthy lifestyles. This is accomplished through various topics in the classroom as well as the DARE program.