Grade 5 Online Learning

Grade 5 Online Curriculum

Math

Fifth-grade math offers a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning four days a week. Lessons are taught live in Google Meet with assignments and instructions posted in Google Classroom. Students also access an extension of their lessons through the Pearson Realize™ online platform in addition to other online resources like mathisfun.com. Fifth-graders are continuing their units on fractions, decimals, graphs, puzzles and problem-solving, and multiplication and division. 

Literacy

Students continue to refine reading skills and deepen their understanding of oral and written communication. Google Classroom serves as the main platform for students to access posted daily assignments and materials.

 

The class has been divided into two literature groups reading either Replay by Ken Grimwood or Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, and students have been sharing and discussing their work with their book group twice a week via Google Meet. In these groups, students learn to identify symbolism and theme, and to discuss the motivations of characters and the intentions of authors. Independent reading is also encouraged daily.

 

Students communicate with their teachers in the form of letters about their analysis of the texts. Students have also developed short stories with dialogues and climax scenes that they have been editing and revising. Their book poster projects involve analyzing a book that they have read to demonstrate their understanding of various aspects including genre, theme, writing devices, and character. Using the Writing Workshop model, enriched with a range of mentor texts, students have been working through the pre-draft, draft, revising, editing, and publishing stages in their writing, as seen with their interdisciplinary language arts and social studies abolition essays.

 

Vocabulary work is conducted using Google Slides which include introducing several new words a week that students must define, determine parts of speech, identify synonyms and antonyms, write words in a sentence, and illustrate or attach a related image. Grammar lessons are interspersed throughout their learning with Google Docs worksheets posted for students to apply rules of capitalization and punctuation to complete and correct content.

Science

Fifth-grade science offers a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. In Google Classroom, students access instructions and assignments, and depending on the level of difficulty, the Lower School science teacher will join live class sessions via Google Meet. Students were able to complete their seed investigations projects after the Lower School science teacher provided images of their experiments for them to complete their lab reports. Moving on to study the moon, students referenced NASA online resources and the view from their windows to create lunar calendars.

 

In keeping with the fifth-grade science curriculum, students are now engaged in an engineering project to build their own amusement park ride. Learning to engineer remotely, students were mailed a package with various materials including wooden dowels, cardboard circles, and gear templates. In Google Classroom, students access assignments with step-by-step instructions on how to assemble various parts. Meeting as a class online, students review their tasks with the Lower School science teacher to ensure that the final project can be completed successfully. It is certainly a lot of moving parts – and they are moving along!

Social Studies

Students in fifth grade continue their social studies curriculum in Google Classroom, where assignments and supporting materials are posted. During Morning Meeting (via Google Meet), students review lessons, ask questions, and can share their work.

 

Fifth-grade students have undertaken several interdisciplinary language arts and social studies projects including their biographies and abolition essays. Having already written three different genres for their biography research project, students were assigned to create a larger story in which to fit these genre pieces. Using Seminole Diary by Dolores Johnson as an example of a frame story, students structured their biography in the same manner by following a Google Docs template. While working on their abolition essays, students focused on the transition from outline to essay, as well as how to write a bibliography and citations.

 

Students also read an article from The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1848 by Jason Porterfield and were assigned sections to paraphrase in preparation for their Mexican-American War role-play. Learning about Mexican history, students have also been creating timelines, viewing videos asynchronously, and learning new vocabulary from a pre-recorded read aloud of Voices of the Alamo by Sherry Garland.

Art

Using Google Classroom, students view instructional videos and access posted assignments in addition to attending drop-in art classes via Zoom. Students were mailed art materials to ensure that project completion was equitable. Remote projects have included collage, drawing, and watercolor painting, with some assignments referencing conceptual art by Sol LeWitt or abstract art by Alma Woodsey Thomas. Students also share their personal projects in discussion threads in Google Classroom to further inspire creativity and build each other’s confidence.

Physical Education

Students have been accessing age-appropriate exercise videos and suggested activities via Google Classroom. Online learning provides students with resources to promote independence, remain active, and maintain overall health and wellness during this challenging transition. Gross-motor activities, dance, fitness routines, agility activities, yoga, mindful breathing exercises, dance, backyard games, jump rope, shadow boxing, and wellness videos encourage students to think creatively about movement and wellness options during this time. Students have been excited about sharing the many ways they continue to remain active both independently and with their families on Google Classroom streamed threads. 

Spanish

Students attend Spanish class via Google Meet once per week for a more robust and immersive experience. Students continue to review basic structures, while adopting new vocabulary and grammar that serves to broaden speaking, reading, listening, and writing of Spanish. Integrating online tools for a more engaging experience, students use various apps such as Word Reference, Nearpod, Kahoot, Mentimeter, and Gimkit, while also accessing assignments in Google Classroom.

 

The fifth grade has been reviewing the verbs ser and estar, as well as how to tell time, dates (day, month, year), the weather, numbers from 0 to 10,000, the alphabet (paying close attention to vowels), seasons, Hispanic speaking countries and their capitals, and developing simple questions. Fifth-graders also continue to learn how to talk about themselves and others, and how to communicate their likes and dislikes.

 

As a culmination of their learning, students have been working on a project called “The End of Term Mini-Game,” in which they create a board game and write all of the content taught and learned in class, while adding more grammar and vocabulary aspects based on their personal interests.