Fifth Grade Curriculum

RELIGION

Students are provide with the following opportunities:

• to experience community
• to receive systematic instruction in the essentials of Catholic faith
• to develop skills in loving God and neighbor
• to give expression to their own growth in faith

Students will specifically learn the following:

• The Church is the Body of Christ
  Every member has an important role to play within the Church.  Christian leaders are called to serve.  The Church's ordained leaders play a special role in the Church.  Through the actions of its members, the Church serves the needs of the people of God.  All of the Church's members are called to serve.
• The Church is Our Faith Community
  Prayers is a very important part of Christian life.  There are many different kinds of prayer.  Prayer is the response to the presence of God.  The Eucharist is the most perfect prayer of the Christian community.  Prayer is an expression of our faith in God.  Liturgical prayer is the Church's official public worship of God.  The sacraments are seven signs through which Jesus continues His saving work.  God speaks to Christians through Iheir ordinary experiences of life, through the Church, and through the Bible.
• Family Life
  This program celebrates all those good things that are a part of every family and assists the family in reaching its full God-given potential.

Students are provided the following learning experiences:

• discussions
• creative writing
• plays
• art
• liturgical celebrations
• Catholic television
• Scripture reading
• songs

SCIENCE

Students will follow an integrated science curriculum, which includes the following subjects:

Physical Sciences:

• Atoms and The Periodic Table of Elements
• Properties of Solids, Liquid and Gases
• Compounds and Chemical Reaction

Life Sciences:

• Cell Biology
• Body Systems - circulation, Digestion, and Kidney system
• Plant Cells

Earth Sciences:

• Weather
• Solar System

Scientific Method

• Investigation and Experimentation
• Using Balances, Thermometers, Graduated Cylinders
• Reporting Laboratory Work

Study materials include the student science textbook, directed reading workbook, quiz sheets, review questions, video and audiotapes and use of the Internet.

The science curriculum provides many opportunities for students to develop and maintain the essential skills that form the basis for lifelong learning.  The Scientific Method skills are essential for investigating the natural world.  Students learn to asks a question, for a hypothesis, experiment and analyze results.  The curriculum integrates science with reading, writing and math skills through meaningful activities and strategies.

LANGUAGE ARTS

The Language Arts program consists of three main components: Reading, English, and Spelling

Reading

Students will concentrate on the following story elements:

• author's style of writing
• comprehension
• thinking strategies

Literature is enriched through:

• attendance at theatrical productions
• use of computerized reading software - Accelerated Reader

Students read orally for:

• fluency
• enjoyment
• expression
• comprehension

English

Written and oral communication is integrated throughout the curriculum.

Grammar, correct usage and mechanics are emphasized in:

• writing
• reports
• creative writing
• writing letters
• speaking and listening skills
• library and dictionary skills
• daily oral language

Critical listening and speaking skills are reinforced through:

• oral presentations
• dramatization
• group discussion

Spelling

Spelling words are combined into phonetically based lessons, high frequency words and words drawn from a variety of curriculum areas are included.  Students are encouraged to use these words in their daily writing.

MATHEMATICS

Mathematics builds number sense and gives students the confidence to choose when to use an exact or estimated answer.  It offers a variety of problem-solving experiences that are interesting and real to life.  Strong skills are developed in the following key strands:

• adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers
• adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals
• number theory and fractions
• measurement - metric, standard
• ration and percent
• geometry
• statistics and probability
• place value
• multiplying and dividing fractions

Activities extend, enrich, and reinforce the strands.  In addition, activities involving the use of a calculator, logical reasoning, and computer are offered.

Assessment of progress is constantly check formally and informally, individually and by group.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Fifth grade students study American history and geography from the first appearance of the American Indians to the civil War era.  There are three main strands emphasized: knowledge and understanding, civic understanding and values, and skills.

Students will learn:

• how ethnic diversity has shaped the culture of the U.S.
• how the themes of geography - place, location, movement, interaction, and regions - can be applied to and help us learn more about the United States
• how historians study the past and how studying the past can help us understand the world today
• about the people who came to the Americas
• about major world explorations and the staking of new territories
• about European settlements, Spanish and French colonization, English Settlement in the South, New England, and in the Middle Colonies
• how colonies changed from being loyal subjects of Great Britain to being ready to go to war with Great Britain
• about the American Revolution and how the U.S. became an independent nation
• about the constitution and its effect on American identity
• different aspects of our nation's birth
• westward expansion
• about slavery, plantation owners, middle class, and poor whites in the South
• about the development of the North
• the conflict of the Civil War

Students are provided with the following learning experiences:

• class discussion
• field trips
• Catholic television
• projects
• research reports
• computer - CD ROM
• "Time For Kids" magazine