5th Grade

In Fifth Grade students exercise personal responsibility by changing classes, maintaining their own supplies, and attending to greater organizational needs in instructional time. Students are challenged to set personal goals and monitor their own progress throughout the year. Opportunities exist for leadership as helpers are selected for Safety Patrol Teams and Breakfast Cart Duty.  Extracurricular club activities are offered for fifth graders, such as STEM club, 4-H, and beginner band. 

In the classroom we learn to analyze complex texts.  We explain the use of figurative language, themes, perspectives, and text structures.  We write multiple paragraphs using text evidence by integrating information from more than one source.  Students expand their vocabulary through independent reading and explicit instruction in word origins and context clues. 

Students explore the world around them including Earth's place in the universe, matter- its properties and interactions,  physics concepts of force and motion, heredity: inheritance and variation of traits, and how to use and apply the scientific method. 

History comes alive through the study of America's past from the 1870’s to 2023. Students learn about Industrialization, World War I and II, Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. Then beginning in January, students dive deeply into the history and culture of TN- from pre 1796  to current 2024 events. Students learn about historic events with places and times in Tennessee.

Real world math applications emerge as we learn to use fractions and decimals, volume, and standard and metric units of measurement.  We begin expressing word problems in terms of algebraic thinking. Students complete complex computations using the order of operations. Students apply previously learned concepts of shapes to learn the hierarchy of quadrilaterals as well as describe triangles by their properties. They work in quadrant one of the coordinate plane as well as completing patterns to plot and interpret points. Students will learn to add, subtract, multiply and divide both fractions and decimals. They will be introduced to negative numbers, absolute value, and variables. 

Our most recent field trips and special events have included plays, science museums, and sidewalk chalk art competitions.   We celebrate the end of elementary school and prepare for and anticipate the next stop: middle school!