Grade 5 Curriculum

Grade 5 Curriculum Overview

Religion

Fifth grade students study the sacraments of the Church, age appropriate doctrine and dogma, scripture, prayer, lives of saints, and Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Students are provided opportunities to practice their faith by celebrating Eucharist on first Fridays and Holy Days, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, monthly Adoration and participating in community service opportunities offered. Learning is enhanced where appropriate with music, art, and technology.

Students study:

  • Creation, stewardship

  • Trinity, Incarnation, Grace, Paschal Mystery

  • Beatitudes

  • Sacramentals

  • Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation

  • Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick

  • Sacraments of Vocation: Holy Orders, Matrimony

  • Prayers: Apostles Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory be…,

  • Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy

  • Types of Sin

  • Conscience, Free will

  • Theological Virtues

Language Arts

Grammar: 5th Grade students strengthen skills in relation to English grammar and writing.

  • Nouns (many types)

  • Pronouns

  • Adjectives

  • Verbs

  • Sentence structure

  • Prepositions

  • Contractions

  • Punctuation and capitalization

  • Word relationships and usage

  • Current events reports

  • Essay writing

  • Book report writing

  • Expository writing

  • Journal writing

Spelling: 5th Grade students continue to strengthen their understanding of spelling mechanics which can lead to improved reading.

  • Phonics

  • Vowel pairs

  • Diphthongs

  • Prefixes

  • Suffixes

  • Syllables

  • Possessives and Contractions

  • Compound Words

  • Double consonants

  • Plural words

  • Prefixes and suffixes

Reading: As an important component of the Language Arts program, reading builds experience for 5th grade students as they visit new places, gain new experiences, and meet new people. Various types of reports, graphic organizers, and comprehension activities are included.

  • Non-fiction

  • Fiction

  • Science fiction

  • Drama

  • Action and adventure

  • Mystery

  • Poetry

Math: 5th grade students will review and reinforce skills learned in fourth grade, but will also include such areas of study including:

  • Place value: whole numbers and decimals

  • Building number sense

  • Adding and subtracting whole numbers, and decimals

  • Multiplying whole numbers, whole numbers and decimals

  • Variable and expressions

  • Finding a rule

  • Dividing with one and two digit divisors

  • Order of operations

  • Graphing ordered pairs

  • Rule, tables, and graphs

  • Dividing decimals

  • Reading and making graphs: bar, line, and circle graphs

  • Mean, median, mode

  • Geometry: lines, angles, circles, polygons, symmetry and transformations

  • Fractions and decimals, adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators, mixed numbers, multiplying and dividing fractions

  • Time, elapsed time

Social Studies: Throughout the year, 5th graders use reading, writing, and study strategies to read, understand, and remember nonfiction information. 5th grade Social Studies topics include:

  • Citizenship skills

  • Migration to the Americas

  • Early American cultures

  • Native Americans of North America

  • Life in the Eastern Hemisphere

  • Spain builds an empire: The voyages of Columbus

  • The 13 English Colonies

  • Life in the English Colonies

  • The French and Indian War

  • Events leading up to the Revolutionary War

  • The American Revolution

  • Review geography and map skills

Science

  • Water Cycle in conjunction with Weather and Weather Forecasting

  • Earth’s Layers

  • Earthquakes

  • Volcanoes

  • Rocks and Minerals

  • Atoms, Elements, Molecules

  • Force and Motion

  • Simple Machines

  • Electricity

  • Scientific Classification

  • Cells and body systems

  • Plants

  • Science Fair Project that is four test grades in the Spring of each year

Projects associated with these areas include but aren’t limited to:

Making Thermometers and Barometers

Making Seismometers, Volcanoes with Baking soda and vinegar

Classifying and investigating minerals and their characteristics

Making electric circuits.

Making models of the arm to discover how muscles work

Growing beans to show how roots always grow down and how plants follow the light source

Also included in these activities is use of the metric system as well as balances, graduated cylinders and beakers.