What is the most compelling way to present a complex journey of learning, and how does reflecting on our process guide our future growth as critical thinkers?
5th Grade G&T Curriculum Overview
2025-2026
Math in Action: Markets, Probabilities, and Problem-Solving
Stock Market Game
5th-grade gifted math students will participate in an engaging, real-world financial literacy experience through the Stock Market Game. Students will take on the role of investors, learning how to research companies, track stocks, and make strategic decisions to grow a virtual investment portfolio. This project emphasizes advanced math skills, including calculating percentages, analyzing trends, comparing rates of return, and interpreting data to make informed choices.
Beyond the numbers, students will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills as they explore how the stock market reflects real-world economic forces. They will also examine the impact of global events and company performance on investments, fostering both financial literacy and a deeper understanding of how math operates in everyday life. By the end of the unit, students will have applied sophisticated mathematical reasoning in a meaningful, hands-on context, preparing them for more complex financial and analytical challenges in the future.
Math League
In addition, students will engage in Math League mini-lesson units, designed to strengthen their problem-solving skills and build mastery of advanced math concepts. Each mini-unit focuses on a specific skill or concept from the Math League program, including greatest common factor and least common multiple, exponents, roots, percentages, base systems, and probability.
Through these units, students will tackle challenging problems, explore multiple strategies, and deepen their mathematical reasoning. The mini-lessons encourage critical thinking, precision, and creativity, providing gifted learners with opportunities to extend their understanding beyond the standard curriculum while preparing them for more complex problem-solving challenges in math competitions and real-world applications.
LA: Public Health, History, and Community
This year, 5th grade Language Arts will be built around the historical novel Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson and the nonfiction text An American Plague by Jim Murphy. Students will explore how communities respond to public health challenges currently and in the past, how individuals make choices that impact others, and how government decisions influence society.
Reading:
Build vocabulary and analyze character motivations
Examine author techniques in both historical fiction and nonfiction
Compare historical epidemics to modern health challenges, including COVID-19, and explore broader public health and government issues
Writing:
Students will write in multiple genres to express ideas about health, community, and social responsibility.
In addition to the specific reading and writing activities listed above, students will participate in discussions, projects, and research about broad, critical-thinking issues including:
How can governments and communities work together to protect public health?
How can individuals make a positive impact during challenging times?
How do historical events help us understand today’s world?
This curriculum connects history, social studies, science, and current events through reading and writing, while encouraging students to think critically, empathize with others, and explore ways they can make a difference in their communities.
5th grade Language Arts students will participate in the WordMasters program, a challenging vocabulary curriculum designed to strengthen critical thinking, word knowledge, and language skills. Through word lists and engaging activities, students will explore the meanings of advanced words, learn about their origins (etymology), and make connections through analogies.
Focus Areas:
Expanding vocabulary using challenging, grade-appropriate word lists
Understanding word origins and roots to deepen comprehension
Developing reasoning skills through analogy and application exercises
Enhancing reading, writing, and communication skills
Nonverbal: Invention Convention
Students will participate in the Invention Convention, a project-based learning experience designed to strengthen nonverbal reasoning, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills. Following the seven steps of the invention process, students will identify real-world problems, generate innovative solutions, and design prototypes to bring their ideas to life. Introductory lessons help students get started, while additional lessons introduce entrepreneurial concepts, encouraging them to think about the practical impact of their inventions.
Throughout the unit, students will apply visual-spatial thinking and logical reasoning as they plan, test, and refine their inventions. This hands-on approach provides gifted learners with opportunities to develop advanced thinking skills, tackle complex challenges, and see how creativity and reasoning work together to solve real-world problems.
Personal Passion Learning Project
This year, all of our Gifted and Talented students in grades 3–5 will take part in a personal passion learning project inspired by the book Genius Hour by Andi McNair. Following McNair’s framework, students will move through the six P’s of Genius Hour: passion, plan, pitch, project, product, and presentation, as they develop their ideas from curiosity to completion. They will begin by identifying a topic or problem they care deeply about, then create a plan of action and “pitch” their idea to their peers and teacher for feedback. From there, they will research, create, and problem-solve as they work on their projects, ultimately producing a product that demonstrates their learning in a way that is creative and meaningful. Finally, they will present their work, reflecting on both their process and their growth as learners. Throughout the experience, students will practice collaboration, perseverance, and critical thinking while discovering how their passions can make a difference in the world.
Gifted Gallery
An end-of-year event for G&T families that showcases student work