Grade 5

Fifth Grade ELA:

The Wit & Wisdom curriculum for Grade 5 is designed to deepen students' understanding of diverse topics through a structured approach that emphasizes close reading, writing, speaking, listening, and vocabulary. This comprehensive curriculum integrates literature, history, and the arts to build students' knowledge, ensuring they engage with texts of increasing complexity while developing critical thinking and communication skills. Here are key components:

Key Components:

Close Reading and Text Analysis: The curriculum encourages repeated engagement with complex texts to build literacy and comprehension skills. Texts include both fiction and nonfiction, with frequent exposure to diverse genres and perspectives.
Writing and Speaking: The program places a strong focus on informative/explanatory, opinion/argument, and narrative writing, ensuring students use evidence to support their claims. It also promotes effective speaking and listening through structured discussions and presentations.
Vocabulary and Language Skills: Vocabulary development is embedded in every module, with an emphasis on the rich, hybrid history of the English language. Students are encouraged to explore words through play and deeper inquiry.
Inquiry and Research: A major feature of the curriculum is inquiry-based learning, where students pose questions and conduct research to answer them, fostering curiosity and critical thinking skills.
Integration of Arts: Students regularly engage with fine arts and visual media, enhancing their observational, analytical, and interpretative skills. This interdisciplinary approach helps connect literary and visual texts.

Module Themes:

Cultures in Conflict: Explores the cultural conflict during U.S. territorial expansion, focusing on the experiences of the Nez Perce tribe.
Word Play: Delves into the nuances of the English language, using works by authors like Lewis Carroll and Norton Juster to demonstrate the importance and fun of wordplay.
A War Between Us: Examines the Civil War through the perspective of young soldiers, focusing on the deep divisions between the North and South over slavery.
Breaking Barriers: Investigates how athletes have used sports to challenge social barriers related to race, gender, and class.

Alignment with NYS Standards:

The Wit & Wisdom curriculum aligns with the New York State Next Generation ELA Standards by focusing on rigorous reading and writing tasks, fostering skills necessary for college and career readiness. It includes a strong emphasis on close reading, writing to sources, and integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines. It also adheres to the standards for speaking and listening, inquiry-based learning, and vocabulary development.

This curriculum is robust and helps meet educational standards while encouraging students to explore, think critically, and communicate effectively.

The Just Words program is a research-based reading and spelling intervention designed to support students in grades 4-8 who have not yet mastered basic reading and spelling skills. It focuses on improving word recognition, spelling, and fluency, using a structured approach that targets decoding skills, vocabulary development, and word patterns. Below is a robust description of its key components, aligned with the New York State (NYS) English Language Arts (ELA) Standards for grade 5:

Key Components of the Just Words Program:

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics:
- The program strengthens students’ understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. This component helps students recognize and manipulate sounds in words, crucial for decoding (sounding out) unfamiliar words.
- NYS Standard Alignment:
  - RL.5.4 (Reading: Foundational Skills): "Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension."
  - RF.5.3 (Reading: Foundational Skills): "Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words."
Syllable Patterns and Word Structure:
- Just Words emphasizes recognizing syllables and applying these patterns to decode unfamiliar words. It also includes instruction on word parts such as prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
- NYS Standard Alignment:
  - RF.5.3: "Use knowledge of letter-sound relationships and syllabication to decode multisyllabic words."
  - L.5.4 (Language: Conventions of Standard English): "Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown or multiple-meaning words and phrases."
Word Lists and Practice:
- The program uses carefully selected word lists that are organized by spelling patterns and difficulty levels. Students are given frequent practice with these lists to build automaticity in reading and spelling.
- NYS Standard Alignment:
  - L.5.2 (Language: Conventions of Standard English): "Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing."
Fluency and Automaticity:
- Students practice reading words quickly and accurately to improve fluency. The program supports students in increasing their ability to read with expression and comprehension, reducing the effort needed to decode words during reading.
- NYS Standard Alignment:
  - RF.5.4 (Reading: Foundational Skills): "Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension."
Vocabulary Development:
- By exposing students to high-frequency words and teaching them how to decode complex words, Just Words also promotes vocabulary expansion. This is essential for reading comprehension and writing.
- NYS Standard Alignment:
  - RL.5.4: "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text."
  - L.5.4: "Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase."
Comprehension and Application:
- While the primary focus of Just Words is on decoding and spelling, it also provides practice with applying these skills in context. Students are encouraged to read sentences and passages using the words they’ve studied.
- NYS Standard Alignment:
  - RI.5.10 (Reading: Informational Text): "By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade 5 text complexity band independently and proficiently."

How Just Words Aligns to NYS ELA Standards:

Reading Foundational Skills (RF): Just Words aligns with the foundational reading skills in the NYS ELA standards by addressing the systematic development of phonics, word recognition, and fluency. It is designed to meet the needs of struggling readers by providing intensive support in decoding and word recognition.
Language (L): The program also aligns with the NYS standards for language, particularly around spelling, vocabulary, and grammar. It supports students in understanding the structure of words, which is critical for both writing and reading comprehension.
Reading Literature (RL) and Reading Informational Texts (RI): Just Words enhances students’ ability to decode and understand text, supporting their overall ability to engage with both literary and informational content as outlined in the NYS ELA standards.

By targeting fundamental skills in word recognition, decoding, and spelling, the Just Words program provides crucial support for fifth-grade students who are still developing their reading abilities. Its design ensures that students meet the NYS ELA standards, building a strong foundation for academic success in language arts.

Mathematics

Pequenakonck Elementary School has adopted the hands-on and minds-on K-5 Math Curriculum, enVisionmath2.0, as the instructional resource to use within our math workshop model. Students explore grade level concepts with engaging materials, manipulatives, videos, online access and interdisciplinary activities that support student learning. The program is organized to promote focus and coherence each day. Assessments provide meaningful feedback to support student learning. The comprehensive program focuses on Common Core Clusters, develops understanding, and most importantly, connects mathematical content and processes. Learning is also supported through small group and collaborative activities.

Mission Statement: The goal of mathematics instruction is to produce individuals who understand mathematics and becomes mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics to everyday settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study listed below.

Resources

Pearson Envision Math 2.O, Grade 5
New York Ready Math State Assessment Preparation Student Workbook
The Common Core Learning Standards focus on eight Mathematical Practices. These practices are the habits of mind, dispositions and processes that help students understand mathematics.

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Standards-based Classroom Mathematics Goals

Students will:

Efficiently apply strategies to solve problems
Clearly communicate mathematical thinking using a variety of mathematical practices
Understand the place value system
Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers
Perform operations with decimals to hundredths
Use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions
Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions
Understand concepts of volume and relate volume to multiplication and addition
Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system
Represent and interpret data
Write and interpret numerical expressions
Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems
Analyze patterns and relationships
Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties

Mathematics Units

Understanding Place Value
Adding and Subtracting Decimals to Hundredths
Fluently Multiplying Multi-Digit Whole Numbers
Using Models and Strategies to Multiply Decimals
Using Models and Strategies to Divide Whole Numbers
Using Models and Strategies to Divide Decimals
Using Equivalent Fractions to Add and Subtract Fractions
Applying Understanding of Multiplication to Multiply Fractions
Applying Understanding of Division to Divide Fractions
Understanding Volume Concepts
Converting Measurements
Representing and Interpreting Data
Algebra: Writing and Interpreting Numerical Expressions
Graphing Points on the Coordinate Plane
Algebra: Analyzing Patterns and Relationships
Geometric Measurement: Classifying Two-Dimensional Figures

Social Studies

Mission Statement: The goal of social studies instruction is for students to develop an awareness and understanding of the Western Hemisphere and the interdependence of others in the community, state, country, and world. Their knowledge of social studies and technology will enable the to become better problem solvers and critical thinkers. Students will understand the rights, responsibilities, and roles of good citizens in a democratic nation, and how they develop personal character and respect for others.

Resources

Trueflix videos on the continents, government systems, ancient civilizations, and cultures of the Western Hemisphere.Teacher created materials
PQ Library research websites
Field trip to the New York State Capitol Building in Albany, including the New York State Museum

Standards-based Classroom Social Studies Goals

Students will:

Demonstrate an understanding of social studies vocabulary
Demonstrate an understanding of social studies concepts
Reads and interprets a variety of documents, including various types of maps
Use PQ research websites as well as Google Slides to create multimedia presentations on the geography, governments, economics, ancient civilizations, and cultures of the Western Hemisphere

Social Studies Units

Geography of the Western Hemisphere

Students learn to identify locations on a map based on longitude, latitude, the four hemispheres, and the seven continents.
Students explore the landforms, water forms, vegetation, and climates of the Western Hemisphere.
Students study the regions of the United States.
Students choose a biome that can be found in the Western Hemisphere to research and present in the form of a teaching poster.
Using Google slides and PQ research websites, students create a “We’re Moving Where?” presentation exploring how living in a particular biome affects the home, career, and lifestyle choices of an individual.

Governments of the Western Hemisphere

Students will explore the Democracy, Parliamentary, and Dictatorship forms of government found throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Students will study the three branches of the United States Government.
Students will study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States Government.
Students will work in groups to create and present teaching posters that compare and contrast the three branches of the United States Government.
Students will work in groups to create and present teaching posters that compare and contrast the Democracy, Parliamentary, and Dictatorship forms of government found throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Economic Systems of the Western Hemisphere

Students will explore economic concepts such as wants and needs, bartering, goods and services, and natural, human, and capital resources necessary for a successful business venture,
Students will compare and contrast the mixed market/capitalism, traditional, and command economic systems found throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Using the popular television show Shark Tank as a model, students will work in groups to create a business proposal that will satisfy a need in the North Salem community.
Students will identify their business proposal as a service or a good, and identify the natural, human, and capital resources necessary to get their business up and running.
Using Google Slides, students will present their business proposals to a fourth grade class. Students will be prepared to answer questions regarding location choice, advertising, and customer incentives to promote business.

Ancient Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere

Students will compare and contrast the ancient civilizations of the Ancient Mayans, Aztecs and Incas.
Students will study the effects of the Spanish Conquest on each of these civilizations.
Students will work in groups to create teaching posters that compare the location, social hierarchy, technology, jobs, religion, and language systems of the three civilizations.

Cultures of the Western Hemisphere

Students will study the art, language, national celebrations, and cuisine of Canada, the United States, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Students will choose to research a national sport, cuisine, or celebration of a country located in the Western Hemisphere.
Students will use this research to create a poster explaining the rules and equipment necessary to play a national sport, a restaurant menu representing a national or regional cuisine, or an invitation explaining the history and significance of a national holiday or celebration in the Western Hemisphere.

Science

Mission Statement: The goal of science instruction is for students to develop explanations of natural phenomena. Using a hands on, multisensory approach, students will use scientific inquiry in order to provide new insights into the environment, chemistry, the human body, and sustainability.

Enduring Understandings

For every action, there is a reaction.
All things are interdependent. There is an order to everything in the universe.
In order to survive, all living things need air, water, nutrients, and a habitat

Resources

Trees of New York Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
Science 21 kit for Chemistry Unit
Teacher developed units
Bill Nye the Science Guy videos
The Great Body Shop magazine
Tree Identification Field Trip to Mountain Lakes
BOCES presentations on Sustainability, Orienteering, and Pollination

Standards-based Classroom Science Goals

Students will:

Apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment.
Describe how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other and the nonliving environment
Identify ways in which humans have changed their environment and the effects of those changes
Demonstrate an understanding of science vocabulary
Demonstrate an understanding of science content
Make scientific observations
Record and analyze scientific data
Research and create a science editorial to fulfil the Grade 5 Problem Solving Task

Science Units

Think Like A Scientist

Students use the scientific method to observe, take notes, take measurements, sketch, and gather information about the environment.

Tree Study

Students learn about deciduous and coniferous trees, chlorophyll, photosynthesis, and the life cycle of a tree.
Students take measurements to determine a tree’s approximate age.
Students use a tree identification field guide to study, identify, and collect leaves.
Students create a tree identification book.
Students write an essay on the importance of trees.

Chemistry

Students explain and analyze chemical and physical changes, including changes in states of matter.
Students study the makeup of atoms, molecules, and compounds.
Students study the Periodic Table of Elements.
Students recognize that one form of energy can be transformed into another form of energy.
Students study the properties of acid and bases.
Students choose, conduct, and present their own science experiments.

Growth and Development of the Human Body

Students understand and analyze the life processes common to all living things.
Students study the makeup of cells, tissues, and organs.
Students explore the nervous, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, muscular, and skeletal systems of the human body.
Students evaluate the factors that help promote good health and growth in humans.

Human Ecology and Environmental Management

Students will study the effects people have on the environment with the intent of becoming a society of thoughtful consumers who learn to tread lightly on the earth.
Students will explore how humans can meet the needs of food, energy, and waste disposal while still protecting air, land, and wildlife
Students will examine the food chain, including producers and consumers.
Students will understand how plants and animals depend on each other for survival.
Students will understand that the quantity of materials on earth is fixed.
Students will study pollution as an environmental disturbance that adversely affects the well being of organisms.

Grade 5 Problem Solving Task: Sustainability Editorials

Students examine a variety of sustainability editorials to study the components of persuasive writing.
Students brainstorm current sustainability issues for the purpose of choosing a topic on which to write about.
Using PQ Library Research websites, students search for an encyclopedia article and a periodical article pertaining to their sustainability topic.
Students choose a PQ library book on their topic for their third reference.
Using MLA Style, students create a reference page listing their three sources.
Using note-taking pages, students gather information from their three sources on the human action that is causing an environmental problem, the effect this human action is having on the environment, and solutions to this problem.
Using a graphic organizer, students organize the information they have gathered into a five paragraph editorial.
Using the “Golden Bricks” organizer, students make sure they have included a hook, a statistic, an anecdote, an expert quote, and a personal opinion supported by text evidence in their editorial.
Students participate in writing conferences to revise and edit their writing in order to produce a final draft which meets all the requirements of this assignment.

Health

The health program, The Great Body Shop, is designed to promote decision-making and behaviors that foster better health. Though students study similar topics at each grade, the depth of content and complexity of ideas builds from grade to grade. All students study injury prevention and personal safety, nutrition, functions of the body, growth and development/cycles of family life, disease and illness prevention, substance abuse prevention, community health and safety/violence prevention, self worth, mental and emotional well-being, environmental and consumer health, physical fitness.