Fifth Grade Curriculm

Fifth graders at Explorer venture beyond our own state as they study the country as a whole. Their social studies program focuses on the settlement of the 13 original colonies, and the struggle for independence. Students delve into the understanding of the first settlements as they create projects for the Colonial Faire. The projects, that tie deeply into the icons of depth and complexity, ask the students to look at the ethical issues of the time, the paradoxes, the trends, the changes over time, and to look at the times through several varied perspectives, such as slaves and gentlewomen. Reading comprehension continues with students selecting books of interest to discuss in small literature circles. Students become engaged in discussing after they have completed jobs that asked them to locate conflict, make predictions, identify and define difficult vocabulary, select interesting passages, make connections to life, illustrate, rewrite in different perspectives, as well as research beyond. Writing continues to be a focus of fifth grade with a particular emphasis on persuasive writing.

Students are also asked to “Take a stand” on issues that they discuss in weekly debates. The Every Day Math resource used at Explorer continues with increased emphasis on fractions, decimals, and percents, and students become more flexible in using these skills to solve problems. Data collection and analysis in the math program is applied this year as students create their own surveys, and collect and interpret the data.

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