Fifth Grade

A family guide to the standards for fifth grade developed by Kentucky Department of Education can be found here.

In fifth grade your child's learning is divided into a progression of units or clusters that will lead to understanding of mathematics in three major areas:

1. Numbers and Operations - Fractions and Algebraic Thinking

• Students apply their understanding of fractions and fraction models to illustrate the addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators as equivalent calculations with like denominators.
• Students develop fluency in calculating sums and differences of fractions, and make reasonable estimates of them.
• Students use the meaning of fractions and of multiplication and division including the relationship between multiplication and division to understand and explain why the procedures for multiplying and dividing make sense with fractions.

2. Operations and Algebraic Thinking - Number and Operations in Base Ten

• Students develop understanding of why division procedures work based on the meaning of base-ten numerals and properties of operations.
• Students apply understandings of models for decimals, decimal notation, and properties of operations to add and subtract decimals to hundredths.
• Students develop with decimal computations to hundredths and make reasonable estimates of their computations.
• Students use the relationship between decimals and fractions, as well as the relationship between finite decimals and whole numbers (e.g., a finite decimal multiplied by an appropriate power of 10 is a whole number), to understand and explain why the procedures for multiplying and dividing finite decimals make sense.

3. Measurement, Data and Geometry

• Students recognize volume as an attribute of three-dimensional space.
• Students understand that a 1-unit by 1-unit by 1-unit cube is the standard unit for measuring volume.
• Students understand that volume can be measured by finding the total number of same-size units of volume required to fill the space without gaps or overlaps.
• Students choose appropriate units, strategies and tools for solving problems which involve estimating and measuring volume.
• Students decompose three-dimensional shapes and find volumes of right rectangular prisms by viewing them as decomposed into layers of arrays of cubes.
• Students measure attributes of shapes in order to determine volumes to solve real world and mathematical problems.

To access math resources to support your child, use the drop menu from above or click here.

In the area of Reading/Writing, there are five critical components in which your child will focus his/her learning as a fifth grader. The instruction in your child's classroom through the reading units will help your child increase skill development in the following:

1. Phonics and Word Recognition:

• Students know and apply grade level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
• Students use a combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns and morphology to accurately read unfamiliar multisyllabic words.

2. Fluency

• Students read fluently (accuracy, speed and prosody - the patterns of rhythm and sound) on grade level to support comprehension.
• Students read grade level text with purpose and understanding.
• Students fluently read grade level prose and poetry orally on successive readings.
• Students use context to confirm or self correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

3. Reading Comprehension (Literature and Informational)

• Students quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• Students analyze how the theme/central idea is reflected in a text and cite relevant implicit and explicit evidence to support thinking.
• Students compare/contrast characters, setting or event(s) in a story or drama, using specific details to analyze their interaction over the course of the text.
• Students explain the relationships or interactions between individuals, events, ideas or concepts in a historical, scientific or technical text based on specific information over the course of the text.
• Students determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including but not limited to allusions found in mythology and analyze how those words and phrases shape meaning.
• Students determine the meaning of general academic and domain specific words of phrases in a grade level text, and describe and analyze how those words and phrases shape meaning.
• Students analyze and explain the overall structure of poems, stories and dramas in two or more texts, including but not limited to linear, non-linear and circular structures.
• Students compare/contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts or information in two or more texts.
• Students describe how a narrator's or speaker's perspective influences how events are described.
• Students analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the perspective they represent.
• Students analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning or tone of non-print texts.
• Students compare/contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
• Students analyze information from multiple print and non-print formats, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
• Students explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular claims in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which claim(s).
• Students integrate information from several texts on the same theme or topic.
• By the end of the year, students flexibly use a variety of comprehension strategies (i.e., questioning, monitoring, visualizing, inferencing, summarizing, using prior knowledge, determining importance) to read, comprehend and analyze grade level appropriate, complex literary or informational texts independently and proficiently.

4. Composition Writing

• Students have the opportunity throughout the year to utilize digital resources, but not every writing experience must utilize those digital resources.
• Students compose opinion pieces, using writing and digital resources, on topics or texts, supporting an author's perspective with reasons and information by:

a. producing clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

b. introducing a topic or text clearly, stating an opinion and creating an organizational structure in which ideas are grouped to support the writer's purpose.

c. providing logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.

d. using grade appropriate transitions.

e. providing a concluding section.

f. developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach with guidance and support from peers and adults.

• Students compose informative and/or explanatory texts, using writing and digital resources, to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly by:

a. producing clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

b. introducing a topic clearly, providing a general observation and focus and grouping related information logically; including formatting, illustrations and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

c. developing the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations or other information and examples related to the topic.

d. using grade appropriate conjunctions to develop text structure within sentences.

e. using grade appropriate transitions to develop text structure across paragraphs.

f. using precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

g. providing a concluding section.

h. developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach with guidance and support from peers and adults.

• Students compose narratives, using writing and digital resources, to develop real or imagined experiences or multiple events or ideas, using effective technique, descriptive details and clear sequences by:

a. producing clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

b. orienting the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organizing an event sequence that reflects linear, nonlinear or circular structure.

c. using narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

d. using a variety of conjunctions and transitional words, phrases and clauses to manage the sequence of events.

e. using concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

f. providing a conclusion that follows the narrated experiences or events.

g. developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach with guidance and support from peers and adults.

• With limited guidance and support from adults, students use digital resources to create and publish products as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
• Students conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
• Students summarize relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase applicable information in notes and finished work and provide a list of sources.
• Students compose routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a variety of tasks, purposes and audiences.

5. Language and Vocabulary:

• When writing or speaking, students demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage by:

a. explaining the functions of conjunctions, prepositions and interjections in a grade level text.

b. using the perfect verb tenses.

c. using verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states and conditions.

d. producing complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate shifts in verb tense.

e. using correlative conjunctions.

• When writing, students:

a. use punctuation to separate items in a series.

b. use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.

c. use a comma to set off the words yes and no, to set off a tag question from the rest of the sentence and to indicate direct address.

d. use underlining, quotation marks or italics to indicate titles of work.

e. use strategies and resources (print and electronic) to identify and correct spelling errors.

• Students use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading or listening by expanding, combining and reducing sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest and style.
• Students compare/contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers, slang) used in stories, dramas or poems.
• Students determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases based on grade 5 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies by:

a. using context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

b. using common affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word.

c. consulting print and digital reference materials to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

d. acquiring and using accurately grade appropriate general academic and domain specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition and other logical relationships.

• Students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings by:

a. interpreting figurative language, including similes and metaphors in context.

b. recognizing and explaining the meaning of common idioms, adages and proverbs.

c. demonstrating understanding of words by relating them to their synonyms and antonyms.

To access reading and writing resources to support your child, use the drop menu from above or click here.