By the end of 5th Grade, a student will:

Spelling/Language Arts

  • Use a dictionary to define and spell words
  • Understand grammar, parts of speech, word usage, mechanics of writing and punctuation
  • Make evaluative judgments of fact or opinion when reading
  • Form generalizations from given details
  • Write to express feelings or opinions
  • Show an increasing awareness of the value of social conversation for sharing information or persuading others
  • Write limericks and Haiku according to established patterns

Mathematics

  • Estimate and find the quotient of any whole number divided by a one or two digit whole number
  • Identify the place value of digits in a decimal to thousandths
  • State the number obtained when a whole number or decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of ten
  • Order three or more decimal numerals or fractions from least to greatest
  • Convert a common fraction or mixed numeral to a decimal (to thousandths) and conversely
  • Estimate and calculate the area of a rectangle, triangle, or parallelogram
  • Approximate the volume of a figure
  • Estimate and measure the number of degrees in an angle and recognize that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180 degrees
  • Use a compass and straight edge to construct a line segment given its end point and a circle given a certain radius
  • Read and interpret the data on a line graph, bar graph, and circle graph
  • Find the arithmetic mean, median, mode, and large (average) of a set of numbers in decimal notation

Reading

  • Distinguish between a simile and a metaphor
  • Preview and skim expository selections
  • Form generalizations from given information
  • Infer a time sequence in a story
  • Know how to identify the elements of a plot – introduction, conflict, climax, and resolution
  • Know how to use an index and glossary
  • Increase vocabulary knowledge through each story presented
  • Identify cause and effect relationship to stories

Science

  • List examples of compound machines and identify several simple machines in each example
  • Use a lever to show the work is conserved in the system: work in = work out, and explain that force may be exchanged for distance and visa versa
  • Measure the amount of work done in lifting an object
  • Compare and contrast food chain and food webs
  • Develop a food web given a group of forest or ocean organisms
  • Demonstrate the difference between potential and kinetic energy and explain how, when energy is transferred from one form to another, it is still conserved

Social Studies

  • Identify and use scales, keys, and symbols on a map
  • Read contour maps
  • Identify the main climate zones
  • Observe that the countries of the Western Hemisphere depend on one another for many things
  • Explain how a country’s economy is based on their natural and human resources
  • Describe the physical land features (e.g., river, mountains, etc.) and climates of the countries in the Western Hemisphere
  • Locate and label countries and major cities of the Western Hemisphere.