Literacy

Our Literacy Curriculum's foundation is based upon six comprehension strategies that your child will be working with all year. If this is not your first year at Beebe then you should already be familiar with most of the comprehension strategies since you have used them in previous grades. The comprehension strategies that you will work with this year are detailed in the chart below.

Trimester 1
Form Sensory Images
Connect Known to New
Ask Questions
Infer Meaning

Trimester 2
Ask Questions (continue)
Infer Meaning (continue)
Form Sensory Images (revisit)
Determine Importance

Trimester 3
Determine Importance (continue)
Connect Known to New (continue)
Synthesis

Through the comprehension strategies we do several other activities in reading such as:
Novel Studies
Literature Circles
Class Newspaper
Book report
Guided Reading Groups
Shared Reading
Word Study
Read and Relax
Reading Response Journals
Research
And much more!!!

Math

In 5th grade we have three areas of focus in which we concentrate on, they are: Number, Algebra, and Statistics.

Number and Operation
Fractions - students will be able to read, write, compare, order, represent, name, express in lowest terms, convert between mixed number and improper and understand the concept of common fractions.
Decimals - students will understand the concept of decimals, be able to compare, order, simplify, round, estimate decimals and recognize and use common fraction, decimal and percent equivalence.

Students will be able to:
an understanding of multiples and factors
an understanding of the meaning of multiplication and division and including multiple representations
an ability to make estimates or approximations and validate results when appropriate
an ability to recognize, analyze, select, and apply appropriate computational strategies and resources to problem solving and life situations
An understanding of the four phases of problem solving (understanding, plan, carry out and look back)
a mastery of addition and subtraction of fractions using like and unlike denominators
a mastery of addition and subtraction of mixed numbers
a mastery of addition and subtraction of decimal numbers through thousandths

Algebra

Students will be able to:
Use words or symbols to describe numeric and geometric patterns
Analyze and extend numeric and geometric patterns
Identify general patterns using concrete patterns
Identify and describe relationships between two quantities
Use a variety of strategies to solve algebraic problems
Represent and record patterns to make predictions using tables and graphs
Solve one step linear equations using inverse operations
Explain the Commutative, Associative, Distributive, Zero and Identity properties and use them to solve problems
Solve problems containing variables
Connect and apply algebra to other mathematical areas

Statistics and Probability

Students will be able to:
Collect, organize, and analyze data
Formulate questions for areas of investigation
Design an appropriate method for investigating questions
Collect and record data using appropriate tools
Choose appropriate format for representation of data
Organize, display, analyze data using tables, bar graphs, pictographs, line plots, circle graphs and line graphs
Calculate mean, median, mode and range of a set of data
Compare how changing the scale of a graph changes representation of data
Determine why data might vary from set to set
Draw conclusions supported by data
Determine all possible outcomes of a simple event
Determine whether an event is likely, unlikely, certain, or impossible to occur
Demonstrate the ability to connect statistics an probability to other mathematical areas, disciplines, and life situations

Social Studies

Our 5th grade Social Studies curriculum is centered on three main themes that change with the Trimesters. The outline below details what themes you will see and what topics are covered under each theme.

Trimester One
Theme: Revolution (What are the causes and effects of revolution?)
American Revolution ( 13 colonies through the Constitution)
Economic Revolution ( Agricultural to Industrial Society)

Trimester Two
Theme: Common Good / Individual Rights in a Pluralistic Society (How does society maintain the common good of a diverse population?)
Civil War / Reconstruction (U.S. then and now, current civil wars and human rights.
Immigration (business, child labor, labor unions, monopolies, sweat shops, and industrial cities)

Trimester Three
Theme: Power (How does power affect people?)
Isolationism to Internationalism
WWI
Depression
WWII
Cold War
Global Economy (as related to power)

Science

The following lists the units we will study this year as part of our science curriculum:

Animal Unit- this unit deals with animal behavior ( inborn and learned), animal habitat, and animal adaptations.
Experimental Unit - This unit will teach students all about scientific method and experimental design. We will conduct several different experiments during this unit.
Simple Machines Unit- In this unit we will study levers, pulleys and gears. IN this unit you will get to play with Legos!
Respiratory Unit- Just as the title tells you, in this unit we will study how our lungs work to help us breathe as well as discuss healthy lifestyle.
Weather - This unit is divided into two separate parts. Part 1 focuses on the properties of air ( wind, atmosphere). The second part focuses on weather prediction and forcast.

Writing

Writing is a big year in fifth grade, and to help make our students the best possible writers they can be, District 203 has implemented a curriculum known as 6 + 1 trait writing. Basically this curriculum breaks writing down into separate categories to let students focus on just one area of their writing at a time. The main 6 traits that are focused on are, Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions. The last trait that is looked at is Presentation. We will be doing a lot of writing and these different aspects of writing will be focused on at different times and then gradually it is our hope that the student will be able to write a paper with all of these traits in mind. The table below shows what types of writing genres will be used while infusing the six traits.

Trimester 1
Poetry
Narrative

Trimester 2
Persuasive
Expository

Trimester 3
Expository
Research project

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Revised on: Friday, February 24, 2006