Grade 5

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English Hide

The English and language arts curriculum is designed to develop and promote the student's interest in and knowledge of language and literature, including his abilities to listen, speak, write, and read effectively. He accomplishes this through a comprehensive program that includes a balance of written and oral language. Teachers employ a variety of instructional activities to help students learn the necessary skills and strategies to become proficient communicators. It is hoped that each boy will acquire a lifelong appreciation for the power of the spoken and written language, a love of literature, and a personal belief that literacy can enhance his life. The English/language arts program is built upon three critical strands: listening and speaking, reading, and writing. It also includes four essential conventions: grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. Current events, writers' workshop, non-fiction book reports, biographies and autobiographies provide opportunities for fifth grade students to integrate reading, writing, research, speaking, and listening. Students read a variety of novels, stories, poems, current events and non-fiction pieces. They develop literary critiques and responses. Students write their own stories and poems as well as regular journal writing. In conjunction with their social studies curriculum, they write about colonial society. As part of their community service project of supporting an orphanage in Nepal, they write letters to grade five students in Nepal. Students learn the eight parts of speech, troublesome verbs, the case of pronouns, prepositional phrases, appositives, and basic clauses. They learn how to use the colon and how to punctuate direct quotations, names of poems, songs and stories. In spelling, they learn appropriate roots, suffixes and prefixes.

Mathematics Hide

The mathematics curriculum assumes that students will make sense of mathematics in which they engage and become confident, active learners. Building this understanding is a long process that is in sequence and includes mathematical tools, technology and manipulatives. Students solve real-life problems and investigation, explore and investigate mathematical ideas and think both inductively and deductively. Communication is essential: "Students communicate to learn mathematics, and they learn to communicate mathematically" (NCTM Standards). Stuart Hall mathematically-literate students exhibit confidence in their abilities, are flexible, efficient and accurate with basic facts and computation, and demonstrate a variety of problem-solving strategies. The mathematics curriculum is built upon five essential strands:

• numbers and operations
• patterns, functions and algebra
• geometry and spatial sense
• measurement
• data analysis, statistics and probability

The following topics will be covered in 5th Grade:

• Long Division with Decimal divisors and dividends
• Operations with Fractions
• Expressions and Equations
• Addition and Subtraction of Integers
• Relating Fractions, Decimals and Percents
• Geometry

Social Studies Hide

Stuart Hall social studies is a study of humanity. Students study the past in order to understand its connection to the present and how it directs the future. The curriculum emphasizes that ethnic and religious groups of the United States and other countries have a role in shaping the diverse society in which we live. The curriculum educates students to use critical thinking to understand the world and how each person fits in the world. The social studies curriculum is built upon four strands:

• civic values, ethics, rights, responsibilities and social participation
• geographic literacy
• historical literacy
• cultural literacy

Fifth grade students begin to understand the relationship between historical beliefs and the American system of government. They learn about how the struggle for independence led to our current historical beliefs. They develop location skills in order to be able to identify states, capitals and boarders. They understand a variety of map systems and how historians use them to acquire information. They study the factors that influence and cause change. They study the Native American culture and examine how some groups became assimilated and others excluded. Students also recognize the contributions of many cultures upon the emerging American nation.

Science Hide

The science curriculum is designed to promote an understanding of the nature of science and an appreciation of its methods and philosophy. The program prepares each student for the future by providing opportunities to investigate, explore, and evaluate the world. The program addresses how science works and what processes and methods expand scientific understanding. In kindergarten through grade five, all three strands (Earth, Physical and Life) are studied. In contrast, in grades six through eight, students study one strand per year. This reflects a shift to more in-depth study in the older grades. The science curriculum is built upon three critical strands: Earth Science, Physical Science and Life Science. Hands-on exploration and the use of the scientific method are central to the approach used to investigate the natural phenomena associated with the various strands of science. This approach includes eight essential processes: observing, communication, comparing, ordering, categorizing, relating, inferring, applying. Fifth grade students study solar energy and how it can be used to heat houses and buildings. They understand the action of pendulums, planes and catapults and how to graph the behavior of various objects. They learn about the presence of various nutrients in a sample of food and how controlled ex-periments can support or refute hypotheses. Students understand how to organize and record results of experiments and how scientists report their findings.

Religion Hide

In an endeavor to educate the whole child, we are guided by and faithful to the Roman Catholic tradition of faith in God and in Jesus Christ who reveals to us the love of God for all people. Studying the basic symbols, practices and concepts of religion makes much of history, literature, art and contemporary life intelligible. The intent of the curriculum is to help the student discover and articulate his own beliefs. Because the family is the primary educator in matters of faith and spirituality, we support both parents and students in their religious identities and in the faith foundations established in the home. Active faith propels one toward the pursuit of peace and justice in a diverse world. By educating each child to the love of God, self and neighbor, religious education at Stuart Hall forms in each student deep human values, a sense of wise freedom, and an informed, active faith. The religion curriculum is built upon four strands:

• Scripture: the student understands that scripture is an account of faithful people and that it has literary and historical contexts and inspirational aspects.
• Tradition: the student understands tradition as the collective lived and living response in relationship with God.
• Faith: the student understands faith as trust in God.
• reason: the student recognizes the role of conscience and discernment in religious and ethical understanding.

The primary goal of 5th grade religion is for students to understand the sacraments in the life of the Church. They appreciate sacraments and rituals from Christian Tradition, as well as other religious systems that may be reflected in the student body. They understand the difference between private devotions and formal community worship. Over the course of the year students will begin to understand that Scripture is the basis for ritual and that Scripture can inspire those who are sick or grieving. Students also discover that the sacraments are rooted in Scripture. Students discover that all sacraments are communal in nature, that they bind us to other believers over time, and are continuing signs of God's infinite love for us. They see that sacraments are visible signs of God's grace and that all religious systems include some type of ritual(s). They begin to understand that prayer, humility and a clean conscience are critical to participating in the sacraments. Students also learn how other faith traditions have sacraments similar to and different from the Catholic tradition.

International Languages Hide

Through the study of foreign language, the goal is for students to:

• develop communication skills that enable the student to interact with a broad and varied range of people
• gain insight into other cultures and broadens understanding of the self as well as other
• become global citizens by breaking down barriers and customary border
• accept personal and world responsibility by fostering a sense of intellectual curiosity about cultural values.

The goal for the fifth grade is for students to begin to communicate on a novice level. The following topics will be covered during the fifth grade year:

• Verbs: irregular, present and future tense
• Adjectives: Describing people
• Country Study
• Likes and dislikes
• Games and skits

Art Hide

The study of the visual and performing arts provides the students with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge of the arts through a sequential, creative, integrated and inclusive program that prepares them for further, more focused study. The arts teach students to participate in society in an intelligent way by encouraging them to "look at things carefully, hear things thoughtfully, feel things sensitively, and understand the role of the arts in the life of the individual and the collective life of [world] culture." The focus for the fifth grade year in art is on the creation of a large scale art project. A fifth grade student increases his understanding of the importance of art as a cultural expression. He has increased his ability to work on a long-term collaborative project as he works with other students in creating art. He is able to develop his own project based upon cross-curricular themes. Specifically, a fifth grader will demonstrate a more sophisticated attention to detail by creating a figurative sculpture using wire and plaster.

Music Hide

The study of the visual and performing arts provides the students with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge of the arts through a sequential, creative, integrated and inclusive program that prepares them for further, more focused study. The arts teach students to participate in society in an intelligent way by encouraging them to "look at things carefully, hear things thoughtfully, feel things sensitively, and understand the role of the arts in the life of the individual and the collective life of [world] culture." Grade five students meet for music once a week. They prepare their voices for chapel singing and Noels. One of the most popular activities is hand chime ringing, which may result in accompanying a chapel song. Throughout the year, the boys write down melodies the teacher plays on piano, in do-re-mi-fa syllables. Several units focus on understanding key signatures, a somewhat complicated but fundamental aspect of the language of western music. On occasion, students may also be exposed to unusual instruments, historical influences on styles of music or interesting facts about composers and performers.

Physical Education Hide

The primary focus of the physical education program is the student's total physical and emotional development. All students learn the motor skills needed in everyday living and in recreational activities. Students develop and maintain sound physiological functions through vigorous muscular activity. The curriculum provides situations for learning to compete so students learn to cooperate with others, treat others with respect and strive for achievement of common goals. Students learn to accept responsibility for their actions. The program provides a life-long sense of responsibility for health and well-being. The physical education curriculum is built upon four strands:

• Physical activity
• movement skills and knowledge
• physical fitness and mental wellness
• social development and movement interaction

Through games like volleyball, basketball, soccer, hockey, prison ball, and around the pole, the fifth grade student learns more about team games and sports. Through games, such as ultimate Frisbee, basketball-baseball, net ball, baseball, and badminton, he learns more about cooperative games. He participates in the Presidential Physical Fitness Testing Program to develop his cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, and agility, by testing himself on a challenge course of events. He learns movement directions, including counter-clockwise and diagonal, and he learns to com-bine various movements, directions, and beat.

Computer Studies Hide

The computer lab provides an environment in which students, teachers, librarians and lab instructors collaborate on curricular-based projects. Through their years at Stuart Hall, the students explore a variety of hardware, software applications and telecommunications media. Students are introduced to these things at an early age and continually develop their skills. As the field changes, they adapt easily and explore confidently as new technology is incorporated into the curriculum. Critical thinking skills and problem solving strategies are a primary focus. Students will be knowledgeable, independent users of powerful computer applications. The Unkefer instructors, librarians and classroom teachers collaborate to create projects that use open-ended software such as multimedia programs and word processing. Students develop computer skills (copying and pasting, draw tools, etc.) that transfer easily across applications and computer platforms. Changes in hardware, software and curriculum keep the program alive and in a constant flux. The following yearly plans for each grade level are subject to variations depending on classroom teacher input, new products, and changes in technology. Students create presentations that incorporate graphics, text, scanned images, animation, digitized sounds and photos, and movie clips that effectively communicate information. These may be presented in web page and multimedia formats. Throughout the Middle Form, writing continues to be a critical component of the program. The students become independent users of word processing and desktop publishing programs. Math standards are supported through the use of graphing tools, databases and spreadsheets. The students develop skills in storing data, analyzing and interpreting results, and communicating information through graphs and textual summaries. Students use the networked library and Internet resources for researching information. Some of these resources include: on-line atlases and encyclopedias, computerized card catalogues, newspaper and magazine articles, and information services. Students may be involved with telecommunications projects with other schools nationally or internationally to share data and ideas. Problem solving and critical thinking skills are nurtured through a variety of projects. The Unkefer instructors use simulation programs and Internet sites that let the students solve problems in a variety of open-ended ways. The Middle Form students use advanced programs, such as Adobe Photoshop and the Office Suit, which in and of themselves create many opportunities for problem solving and critical thinking. The students often work in pairs or small teams sharing their approaches to the different problems. A discussion of successful problem solving strategies closes such class sessions.