As students enter the Fifth Grade, they are on the verge of becoming more independent learners and thinkers. One of the greatest transitions that students need to make is to become even more organized and responsible in keeping up with multiple nightly assignments. Fifth Graders also need to pace themselves as they meet short-term guidelines for long-term projects. Some students are immediately ready to accept this challenge while others need greater support and closer supervision. Fifth Graders are enthusiastic and inquisitive individuals who relish the opportunity to explore such topics as world geography, Greek mythology and culture, and endangered species.

Language Arts and Literature

Writing, reading, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, oral presentations, and drama are all integral parts of a language arts curriculum designed to enable students to move easily between ideas and words. Students are regularly invited to take risks in expressing themselves orally and in print. A nurturing environment, which encourages experimentation and acknowledges progress, allows for rich possibilities of individual expression.

In literature class, we begin the year with a common summer reading book, and move on to shared books such as The Cay, Tuck Everlasting, and Bridge to Terabithia, as well as a study of Greek myths. Students are encouraged to become increasingly analytical and specific about what they read during the course of the year; in both discussions and written responses, they are expected to use details from the text to support their inferences. "That's an interesting statement," the teacher frequently responds to students. "What's your evidence?"

Independently, fifth graders are encouraged to read nightly and to share their thoughts and feelings about books with their teachers and classmates. Students, teacher, and librarian create an ongoing dialogue about books by exchanging regular entries in open-ended readers' journals. In addition, assigned book presentations encourage students to explore different genres.

As fifth graders read, they think about the many choices authors make. As they write, they are encouraged to use the books they admire as mentor pieces. Each student keeps a writer’s notebook to record what he or she remembers or thinks about or has noticed; this writing helps students to clarify their thinking and to collect ideas which they can build upon to create more developed pieces.

Students choose topics and write at a comfortable pace on individual computers. Throughout the process, they confer with the teacher and with classmates. This process fosters fluency and flexibility and allows each student the satisfactions of authorship. The undertaking and completion of student personal narratives, compiled later as a set of memoirs, is a clear example of the value we place on helping each child to develop his or her own voice. “Why does this topic matter to you?” a student is asked. “Why is it worth writing about?”

Fifth graders work on expository writing in conjunction with a social studies unit on endangered species. In all their writing, they are encouraged to tighten their organization, to be descriptive, and to experiment with sentence structure and stylistic elements. The mechanics of writing are continually taught and reinforced. Students keep individual lists of the skills they have been taught and for which they are held accountable as they self-edit their writing.


Mathematics

At the beginning of each math class, students look at a “number of the day” and guess how it relates with previous numbers of the day. Numbers are drawn from such categories as population statistics, meteorological records, mileage distances and sports pages. Questions are generated to explore the relationships of these numbers. How much greater is the population of Tokyo than Milton? How long would it take to fly to Sidney, Australia? How does this year’s snowfall compare with last year’s? How much has the Dow Jones Industrial Average changed since the beginning of the fall? Students are constantly asked to make sense of the numbers they see in the world around them.

Although students will ultimately be relying on calculators to assist their computation in higher level math classes, fifth graders are challenged to become as facile as possible with number facts. Students need to solidify these basic computational skills to form a solid foundation for future math explorations. The ability to estimate and produce “ballpark” figures is crucial for ensuring reasonableness in answers. Topics covered during the year include reviewing numeration and place value, solidifying whole number operations, working with fractions and decimals, and geometry. The use of manipulatives, such as Cuisenaire Rods, help develop basic concepts and understanding.

Over the course of the year students become more confident proposing problem solving strategies and communicating their mathematical thinking. A Problem of the Week offers challenges for students and families alike. How many squares can be made on a chessboard? How many consecutive hits does a Red Sox star need to make to reach a batting average of .400? How many Rhode Islands can fit into Alaska? Throughout the year, we promote a lifelong love for problem solving and a friendly attitude toward numbers.

Mathematics is applied in science and social studies classes. Students calculate mileage and time when they design itineraries around their chosen state in a U.S. geography unit and update market values monthly for group stock portfolios. Mathematics is a part of the real world and fifth graders come to realize this more and more as the year continues.


Science

Fifth grade students are still curious! They continue to view the process of discovery with a childlike sense of wonder coupled with an ever growing intellect. They work hard to make sense of their world. In science, students are encouraged and expected to develop an understanding of the physical and natural world by investigating questions they have about how something works, what it is, and why it does what it does. Often in answering questions, students find more mysteries and questions to investigate. Science in the Lower School uses hands-on exploration and discovery to develop problem solving skills as well as laboratory skills. Within the context of meaningful experimentation, students will observe, describe, classify, predict, sort, build, measure, test, and collect and interpret data.

In fifth grade, students will study several different topics as a means of developing these skills. Among other units, they will study anatomy through a study of the human body and by reconstructing a rodent skeleton found in an owl pellet; they will study the laws of motion through experimenting with the behavior of pendulums, cars, and model boats. Working in small groups, students will select a topic for a science project that relates in some way to our study of the human body. Students will then design and conduct an experiment to test a theory or answer a question they have posed.

“Big picture” thinking is an important theme throughout the year. Students are called upon to move beyond learning individual facts to putting together many discreet pieces of information as they begin to understand how complex systems work.

Engineering units continue this theme as students design, test, and redesign in an attempt to solve complex building problems that have no easy solutions. The winter will include an extended science/computer unit that will allow students to build and program Lego robotic vehicles to solve various challenges.

Because communicating /ideas leads to refining and developing our knowledge, students will often be asked to write about the work they are doing, sometimes in lab notebooks in which they record their observations, predictions, data, and conclusions, and sometimes in more formal reports. Students will use discussions to share ideas and evaluate their own understanding. Our goal is for students to pose questions about the physical world, design experiments to answer those questions, articulate the method used, and justify the answers with evidence in the form of data.


Social Studies

Our world is becoming smaller and smaller. As global interdependence becomes a greater reality for our students, it is crucial for them to develop a general background and basic understanding of the world in which they live. Fifth graders begin the year by drawing a map of the world as they know it. After studying countries and physical features of the continents throughout the year, they complete a wonderfully detailed map of the world from memory in May. Geographical skills such as latitude and longitude and reading scales and legends are reinforced throughout their study. An intensive unit on our own United States in the spring allows students the opportunity to become experts on an individual state, as they create pennants, time lines, graphs, itineraries and tourist promotions. A class subscription to Time For Kids affords students the opportunity to keep appraised of global current events.

Although the focus on ancient Greece is Greek mythology, social, religious and cultural aspects of ancient Greece are also explored. Students conduct research and investigate topics of their own choosing. A highlight of this unit is a trip to the Classical Collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.


Technology

The Lower School has an exciting technology curriculum with sufficient hardware and software to provide our children with a firm foundation in using technology to enhance the learning and teaching process. Throughout the Lower School children explore different kinds of computing environments from writing in Word to programming in Logo, to learning to enhance images in Photoshop, to making classroom presentations in PowerPoint or Flash, to making robots with Lego. Building on our children’s inquisitiveness we encourage them to experience different creative roles such as designers, builders, critics and problem-posers. We want our children to be comfortable with many different applications; including manipulating text, composing music, creating art, editing imported graphics, using, and being proficient with the practical office tools of word processing, spreadsheets and presentation tools. All teachers have access to their own computers, software applications, digital cameras and technical and creative support.

Fifth graders probe more deeply into programming, continuing to use the MicroWorlds environment, as well as working with Lego robotics kits. Using their growing critical thinking skills, fifth graders cull information from the web to enhance their work. The children use the Greenleaf eMac desktop computers daily for writing, include using a variety of software packages with the goal of using text, images, and sound to tell a story or present a point of view. Computer projects are selected by the students and connect to the larger curriculum. For example, children have created programs in MicroWorlds depicting Greek myths and authored animated guidebooks on one of the US states. As children work on these projects, planning and independent and collaborative problem solving are emphasized.


Grade 5 Play

The performing arts program culminates in the preparation and presentation of the 5th grade play. During the year 5th graders learn stage presence, character development, and work on becoming an ensemble. The play is then performed at the end of the year for other Lower School students, for parents, and for family friends. By bringing the entire class together as cast and crew, the play provides a cooperative focus for the last weeks of they year, and it builds group spirit and wonderful memories that unite the students as they complete their Lower School experience.


Art

Fifth grade art students learn to handle more advanced materials and techniques and are given more autonomy enroute to becoming increasingly more independent creative thinkers. Several of the major units, particularly printmaking and ceramics, involve complex, multi-step processes that not only stimulate students’ artistic abilities but also support skill development in the areas of creative problem-solving, organization, and time management. Projects coordinate at times with classroom learning, such as an in-depth study of Greek art and a linoleum print based on the state project. Fifth-grade students strive to attain a higher degree of representation in their work, and learn to increase their observational drawing skills as well as apply the elements of art and principles of design more consciously and effectively in their artwork. The year culminates in designing and creating the sets for the Fifth Grade Play, a project that requires taking initiative, giving up individual ownership, working together, and problem-solving on a very large scale.


Library

Important library skills such as computer card catalog use, knowledge of the Dewey decimal classifications and good research techniques are reinforced and expanded as students search for information to complete social studies and science projects.

The fifth graders discuss, critique and share books they are reading. Responding to literature is an important part of the fifth grade year and the librarian is aware of both the curriculum and the personal tastes of the students, optimizing matches between students and their reading. Students participate in the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award Program by reading some of the twenty nominated books. In discussions, they learn how to evaluate a book for quality before submitting their final class choice to the statewide committee.

The students’ interest in books is further supported by the librarian’s participation in the Readers’ Journal program as she writes to them about books they are reading and suggests others they might enjoy. Students are encouraged to use the library at any time to browse or check out books.


Music

The fifth grade students are the backbone of the chorus and the orchestra; taking a leadership role in both winter and spring concerts. In chorus the fifth continue to practice posture, breathing, diction, and stage presence. They are gaining confidence singing in two parts and will begin to explore three-part harmony in preparation for 6th grade. Students further develop their musical skills in listening, playing instruments, note reading, and movement. Composition and improvisation continue to be explored through individual and small group projects using technology. The grand finale of the Lower School experience is the fifth grade play. This process provides the student with opportunity to practically apply the skills they have learned in music throughout their years in Lower School. Solo and ensemble singing, harmonization, projection, stage presence, enunciation, expression, dramatic presentation, mutual support and group cooperation are some of the skills focused upon throughout this process.


Physical Education

Through exposure to a broad variety of activities, each child in the Lower School physical education program is encouraged to develop to his or her own physical potential (awareness of one's body, personal strength, and control). Emphasis is placed on the social, psychological, and moral development of the child as well as the physiological. The importance of improving one's personal performance, setting realistic goals, playing wholeheartedly, and competing within a supportive environment is also stressed through class activities which are designed to elicit maximum student participation. Throughout the year, the goal is to develop in each child: competency in basic skills, an interest in physical fitness, an understanding of and appreciation for a variety of team and individual sports, and the confidence and desire to participate in physical activities throughout life.

The fifth-grade program includes physical fitness, ice skating, track and field, and Project Adventure. Ball skills and techniques are taught along with strategy and teamwork in soccer, field hockey, football, volleyball, basketball, softball, and lacrosse.


Woodworking

New students are introduced to basic concepts of woodworking by making the 8”x16” box. All students have a variety of power tools available as well as hand tools. They are required to draft sketches of their work before attempting its execution in wood. A finished product is required. Where possible, projects overlap with topics being considered in social studies. This is the culminating year of the woodworking program and students are encouraged to make use of the considerable skills they have learned throughout the Lower School.