5th Grade Curricula

5th Grade Course Overviews by Content Area
Provided below are brief overviews of the content taught in core academic classes.  For more specific information regarding the scope and sequence of each curriculum, please utilize our curriculum maps, which can be found in Rubicon Atlas.

Language Arts
Students in ELA 5 read both fiction and nonfiction, with close attention to key ideas and details, craft, structure, and the integration of new ideas and knowledge. Reading units include Close Reading and Analysis, Interpretation (focus on literary elements), Nonfiction Complexity, Argument and Advocacy, and Fantasy (focus on themes and symbols.) Students write opinion, informational, and narrative pieces, using the craft elements and organization appropriate to each. Fifth grade grammar focuses on practicing standard language conventions, as well as the functions of different parts of speech--including verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. Students learn Greek and Latin affixes and roots to develop vocabulary and improve fluency

Math
Math 5 focuses on four critical areas: (1) Number and Quantity; (2) Algebra; (3) Geometry; (4) Measurement, Data, and Probability. Students will: (a) Understand the place value system; (b) Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths; (c) Add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions; (d) Write and interpret numerical expressions; (e) Analyze patterns and relationships; (f) Graph points on the coordinate plane; (g) Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties; (h) Convert measurement units within a given measurement system; (i) Represent and interpret data; (j) Understand volume. Math Online Resources

Science
5th grade science explores the areas of Earth & Space, Living Systems, and Chemical Interactions.  With each of these areas, students will dive deeper into the systems that make our planet thrive and the factors that are our biggest obstacles.  Included in this curriculum are advanced topics in the areas of gravity, solubility, and photosynthesis.

Social Studies
5th grade social studies begins with a review of map and geography skills, which leads into the Age of Exploration and settling of the “New World.” After covering the early settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, followed by the founding of the 13 original colonies, the semester ends with the American Revolution.