GHA Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Curriculum Guide

Fifth Grade

253.265.2150
gigharboracademy.org
6820 32nd St NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Gig Harbor Academy
Gig Harbor Academy is committed to providing the highest quality
education to all students. One way to provide a quality education is with
an effective curriculum that reflects high standards and high expectations.
Thus, GHA has developed rigorous content standards aligned with
national guidelines. But even the most rigorous standards cannot make
schools and students successful without the support of parents.
Each grade level’s curriculum guide is designed to inform parents of
GHA’s expectations for students in the major curriculum areas: reading/
writing, mathematics, and science. These expectations are aligned with
the curriculum that is used by the classroom teacher for daily instruction.
These curriculum guides also provide examples of what your child should
know and be able to accomplish upon completion of each academic year.
GHA believes in educating the whole child, therefore these expectations
are the foundation upon which we build the educational experience for
each student.
Because of learning styles and differences, we know that not all children
reach the same expectations at the same time. If at any time you wish
to talk about your child’s educational progress, classroom teachers are
always available to speak with you directly. GHA believes that all children
can learn if parents and schools work together.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Reading Writing and Speaking

GHA’s English Language Arts Learning Expectations are adapted from
two professional organizations, National Council of Teachers of English
and the International Reading Association’s combined document titled,
NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts.
In grade five, proficiency in reading is nurtured by exposing students to as
many literary forms as possible, i.e., fiction, poetry, drama, etc. Students
begin to read text critically in order to examine implied relationships and
understandings, and formulate and justify opinions about the text. They
will organize the information they extract from the text and demonstrate
their understanding in various written and oral forms.
Students continue to grow as writers as they write to describe, to inform,
to entertain, to explain, and to persuade. Students spend more time on
revising and editing their work as they gain greater understanding of
written expression. Precise and descriptive vocabulary and varied sentence
structure become important tools for creating tone and voice within a
text. Students are expected to have greater control over the conventions of
writing, including sentence formation, grammar, capitalization, spelling,
and punctuation. Students will be expected to plan, draft, revise, and
edit writing in order to more effectively communicate their ideas. At the
fifth-grade level, students will conduct short research projects based on
focused questions. Students will gather relevant information from sources
and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
Students improve their skills in planning oral presentations and using
grammatically correct language and specific vocabulary when delivering
oral presentations, as well as including visual aids and appropriate
gestures to enhance their delivery. Students will be able to summarize
their presentations before delivery and summarize the presentations of
others after listening to them.

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Students read and produce evidence of understanding what
they have read.

• Students make reasonable interpretations of what they have read
by making connections between parts of the story or book read,
among several reading materials, and between reading materials
and real-life experiences.

• Make and support conclusions with evidence, “read between
the lines” to infer information, recognize and compare cultural
differences within a text, and relate personal experiences to
materials read, heard, or viewed.

Students comprehend material read to gain information
and share it with others, either orally or in written format.

• Restate or summarize information read, connect new information
from readings to prior knowledge and experience in order to build
an understanding.

• Independently read complex material fluently, using reading skills
to correct reading errors, and to determine pronunciation of new
words.

• Produce reports that are informative for a specific purpose and
audience, use a range of strategies when writing the reports, and
logically support their interpretations in written and/or oral
formats.

• Appropriately talk with others about their reflections on written
material or presentation, i.e., respond to questions with appropriate
elaboration, solicit others’ opinions and comments when
communicating, etc.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Mathematics

GHA math standards are adapted from the National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics (NCTM), Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
The fifth-grade math curriculum places emphasis on number sense with
whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. This focus includes concepts of
prime and composite numbers, identifying even and odd numbers, and
solving problems using order of operations for positive whole numbers.
Fifth grade students develop proficiency in the use of fractions and
decimals to solve problems. They collect, display, and analyze data in
a variety of ways and solve probability problems, using a sample space
or tree diagram. Students also solve problems involving volume, area,
and perimeter. They are introduced to variable expressions and open
sentences, and will model one-step linear equations in one variable, using
addition and subtraction. Students will investigate and recognize the
distributive property. All of these skills assist in the development of the
algebraic concepts needed for success in the middle grades.

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Mathematics has its own language of specialized vocabulary and language
patterns which are integrated into classroom instruction. Students
will begin to use correctly the concepts, symbols, and vocabulary of
mathematics. Problem solving has been integrated throughout the math
curriculum at GHA and, in all grades; the development of problem-
solving skills is a major goal.
Numbers and Operations
Students apply the appropriate order of operations for expressions
involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

• Use, interpret, and construct multiple representations of a number
and translate among equivalent relationships for integers, fractions,
decimals, and percents.

• Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with
decimals to hundredths.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

• 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.

Algebra

Students use symbolic algebra to represent and explain mathematical
relationships.

• Analyze patterns and relationships.
• Apply algebraic skills to solve everyday problems.
• Write and solve equations with inequalities.
• Create line graphs of equations
• Explore prime and composite numbers.

Geometry

Students compare and analyze attributes and other features of two and
three-dimensional figures, polygons, and angles.

• Understands perpendicular lines and congruencies.
• Relates two to three dimensional shapes and quantifies volume.
• Use area formulas of shapes to solve problems.
• Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and

mathematical problems.

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Measurement

Students use appropriate units of measurement to measure two and
three- dimensional objects.

• Convert like measurement units within a given measurement
system.

• Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume and
relate volume to multiplication and to addition.

• Estimates and makes precise measurements in standard and metric
units and develops strategies for estimative calculations.

Data Analysis and Probability

Students represent and interpret data.
• Understands the concept of probability and explains the relationship
between experimental and theoretical probabilities.
• Interpret statistics from graphs, charts, and tables.
• Predict outcomes from data collected.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Science

GHA follows the Next Generation Science Standards developed by The
American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science
Teachers Association, and National Research Council.
The science learning expectations in fifth grade help students formulate
answers to questions such as: “When matter changes, does its weight
change? How much water can be found in different places on Earth? Can
combining other substances create new substances? How does matter
cycle through ecosystems? Where does the energy in food come from
and what is it used for? How do lengths and directions of shadows or
relative lengths of day and night change from day to day, and how does
the appearance of some stars change in different seasons?”
Students are able to describe that matter is made of particles too small
to be seen through the development of a model. Students develop an
understanding of the idea that regardless of the type of change that matter
undergoes, the total weight of matter is conserved. Students determine
whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
Through the development of a model, students are able to describe ways
the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. Fifth
grade students develop an understanding of the idea that plants get the
materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water. Using models,
students describe the movement of matter among plants, animals,
decomposers, and the environment and that energy in animals’ food was
once energy from the sun.
Students are expected to develop an understanding of patterns of daily
changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the
seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

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In the fifth grade learning expectations, students are expected to
demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in developing and using
models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and
interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking,
engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and
communicating information; and to use these practices to demonstrate
understanding of the core science ideas embedded in the expectations
below.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Matter and Its Interactions

• Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too
small to be seen, i.e., evidence could include adding air to expand a
basketball, compressing air in a syringe, dissolving sugar in water,
or evaporating salt water.

• Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless
of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing
substances, the total weight of matter is conserved, i.e., reactions or
changes could include phase changes, dissolving, and mixing that
form new substances.

• Make observations and measurements to identify materials based
on their properties, i.e. materials to be identified could include
baking soda and other powders, metals, minerals, and liquids.
Examples of properties could include color, hardness, reflectivity,
electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, response to magnetic
forces, and solubility; density is not intended as an identifiable
property.

• Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two
or more substances results in new substances.

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

• Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth
on objects is directed down.

Energy

• Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body
repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once
energy from the sun, i.e., models could include diagrams, and flow
charts.

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From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for
growth chiefly from air and water.

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants,
animals, decomposers, and the environment, i.e. the idea that
matter that is not food (air, water, decomposed materials in soil)
is changed by plants into matter that is food. Examples of systems
could include organisms, ecosystems, or the Earth.

Earth’s Place in the Universe

• Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness
of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances
from Earth.

• Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily
changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and
the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky, i.e., patterns
could include the position and motion of Earth with respect to the
sun and selected stars that are visible only in particular months.

Earth’s Systems

• Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere,
biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact, i.e. examples
could include the influence of the ocean on ecosystems, landform,
shape, and climate; the influence of the atmosphere on landforms
and ecosystems through weather and climate; or the influence of
mountain ranges on winds and clouds in the atmosphere.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

• Describe and graph the amounts and percentages of water and
fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the
distribution of water on Earth.

Earth and Human Activity

• Obtain and combine information about ways individual
communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and
environment.

Engineering Design

• Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that
includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials,
time, or cost.

• Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem
based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints
of the problem.

• Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and
failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or
prototype that can be improved.

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Social Studies

Social Studies at Gig Harbor Academy has inquiry at the heart of
instruction. Teachers use questions to spark curiosity, guide instruction,
and deepen understanding of topics being investigated. Each inquiry unit
takes root in a compelling question that draws from one or more of the
social studies disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history.
Children are naturally curious about the complex world they inhabit. But
they quickly become disengaged when instruction is not engaging nor
meaningful. Intentionally teaching social studies in an inquiry approach
and having compelling questions drive student investigations builds
critical thinking, problem solving, and participatory skills that makes
learning not only more engaging but also more relevant.
Fifth grade begins with a social studies inquiry unit titled “Complex
Societies”. This inquiry provides students with an opportunity to
evaluate a series of innovations by three complex civilizations— Maya,
Aztec, and Inca. In examining the compelling question “What makes a
complex society complex?” students explore how complex societies and
civilizations adapt to and modify their environment to meet the needs of
their people. Students use the social studies practices of comparison and
contextualization as they work with sources related to the ancient writing
developed by the Maya, specialized agricultural methods developed by
the Aztecs, and transportation/communication networks developed by
the Inca. The goal of this inquiry is to provide enough background about
these innovations and technological advancements to support students as
they develop arguments about what makes societies complex.
Three supporting questions that students will investigate are “How did
the Maya use writing to represent activities in their culture?” “What did
the Aztecs do to master their watery environment?” and “Why were
roads important to the Inca empire?” In order to answer these questions,
students have to gather and evaluate information, develop answers using
evidence, and then communicate their conclusions.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Spanish

The ultimate goal of Spanish at Gig Harbor Academy is students’
acquisition of the speaking skills needed to interact in Spanish in real-
life situations. The curriculum is organized around broad themes such
as family members, greetings, animals, alphabet, shapes, and colors.
This allows students to connect the language they are learning to
meaningful content. Lessons in Spanish are planned to include a wide
range of culture-rich, age-appropriate activities, such as singing, dancing,
rhyming, playing Spanish educational games, and using iPads with
students working independently, in pairs, and in groups.
Spanish class incorporates materials that encourage young students’
interaction and involvement with the language, including stuffed
animals, puppets, storybooks, videos, and games. Students are engaged
in activities, such as storytelling, that emphasize the gradual acquisition
of language rather than the memorization of vocabulary and rules. Also,
incorporated into lessons are cultural activities, such as introducing the
foods, music, and dance that are enjoyed in Spanish speaking countries.
Spanish is used in the classroom as much as possible both by teacher and
student. If a student asks the meaning of a word in the foreign language,
the teacher uses both gesture and description to explain the word, rather
than reverting to English.
Most students at Gig Harbor Academy are beginners to Spanish and have
had no previous instruction in the language. It is our intent to teach Spanish
in an engaging and fun way so that students, over time, will develop the
ability to do such things as greet and respond to greetings, express likes
and dislikes, make requests, and begin to provide information. We do
this through various topics such as family, shopping, directions, food and
customs, places and events. As a culminating educational experience, all
students participate in an annual Spanish festival performance.

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Art

Gig Harbor Academy has implemented an approach to education referred
to as Discipline Based Arts Education. (DBAE). DBAE is an approach
developed by The Getty Center for Education in the Arts. DBAE continues
to be an outstanding framework which insures that all students receive an
excellent and ongoing study of the arts. It also involves the integration
of visual art into any curriculum in order to enhance overall learning.
DBAE presents a time proven art curriculum involving the following four
components: aesthetics, art criticism, art history and art production:

Art Production:

The production of art guides students through higher levels of thinking,
imagination, and contemplation. The production of art conjures
imaginative and critical thinking processes. The production of art
expresses our deepest understanding of our visual world. The creation of
art in any form is the expression of the heart, mind, spirit, and hand. Art
helps children understand other subjects more clearly – from math and
science, to language arts and geography…and much more.

Art History:

Art history has given us a peek into an understanding of past cultures
and times. By studying art history we begin to realize the connections
which help us make sense of the world. Not only do students begin to
understand art history, they begin to connect the dots relating to our
physical, spiritual, and soulful life on this planet.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide
Art Criticism/Analysis:
One may look inside of oneself and love a particular piece, and another
may not. Analysis and criticism simply speaks about it. There is a
difference between liking a work of art and understanding its relevance to
the big (art world) picture. This process involves higher levels of thinking.
Art criticism and analysis often goes hand in hand with the beginnings
of aesthetics.
Aesthetics:
The values and ideas of “what is beautiful” is a highly personal one. Students
begin to understand the relationship between what is personally beautiful
and what is more beautiful as a collective society. Critical thinking skills
are used in aesthetics as we endeavor to design and create our personal
environments as well as to personally respond to architecture and public
spaces.
All grade levels work with a variety of materials and methods which are
age appropriate. By the completion of 5th grade, GHA art students have a
solid foundation in visual art which well prepares them for middle school
art classes.

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Physical Education

The physical education program at Gig Harbor Academy is a
comprehensive and skills-based curriculum. The program helps students
develop locomotor skills, balance, spatial awareness and manipulative
skills. Students engage in a wide variety of outdoor activities, sports,
and challenges that will increase their physical, social, teamwork and
cooperation skills. The goal is to provide a safe, fun and motivating class
that will encourage all students to want to participate , have fun and try
their personal best. In addition, positive sportsmanship is taught and
encouraged throughout the year.
The physical and health curriculum exposes students to relevant issues,
with the goal of promoting healthy choices while helping students
understand the benefits of lifelong physical activity. Focused fitness
activities help teach students the importance of physical health and
daily nutrition. Gig Harbor Academy students are offered differentiated
instructional strategies that create a safe and inclusive environment
ensuring that all students are successful.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Technology

The objective of technology enrichment at Gig Harbor Academy is two-
fold, digital citizenship and creating information:

Digital Citizenship:

Digital citizenship is the appropriate, safe, and responsible use of
technology. In the lower grades we ask questions such as, “How do you
safely go places on the computer?”, “What can you do when someone
is mean to you online?”, “How can you use the alphabet to find things
online?”. In the upper grades, questions such as, “Which keywords will
give you the best search results?”, “What kinds of responsibilities does a
good digital citizen have?” are asked.

Bridging the Gap Between Consumption and Creation:

At Gig Harbor Academy we wish to teach creation rather than only
consumption of information. Even our youngest children have now been
raised with electronic devices and use them intuitively. However as adults
we daily use computers to write documents, organize data, and automate
tasks. Our technology program is designed to bridge that gap between
consumption and production, and do so in an exciting and meaningful
way.
To that end there are a number of fundamental concepts to outline
and build upon step-by-step. Among these are articulating a problem,
expressing a concise and specific solution, then developing a logical and
elegant procedure to carry out that solution. We will explore how large
problems can be broken down to simple tasks and handled in turn or in
parallel through teamwork.
At Gig Harbor Academy there are several devices and robots available
that allow for the introduction and exploration these ideas with even
some of the youngest students. Scratch, an environment developed by
scientists at the MIT Media Lab is utilized. Students can program and
share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation.

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As children explore Scratch, they learn to think creatively, work
collaboratively, and reason systematically. They also use math and language
in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of
early–childhood numeracy and literacy.
In the upper grades structured languages are introduced, where specific
commands or phrases are used to accomplish the solutions we have
designed. Students work hands-on with core computational concepts
such as iteration and conditionals, and math concepts such as coordinates,
variables, and random numbers. When students learn about variables
in traditional math classes, they usually feel little personal connection
to the concept. But when they learn about variables in Scratch, they are
used immediately and meaningfully, whether they control the speed of an
animation, or keep track of the score in a game they are creating.
As they learn about the process of design a student will start with an idea,
create a prototype, debug it when things go wrong, get feedback from
others, then revise and redesign it. This spiral leads to new ideas, which
lead to new projects, and so on. Designing animation, games, or stories
through Scratch enables students to express themselves more fully and
creatively, develop as logical thinkers, and understand the workings of
new technologies they encounter everywhere. The problem-solving habits
they develop will help them achieve and overcome throughout their lives.

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Fifth Grade Curriculum Guide

Music

The objective of the Gig Harbor Academy music program is to develop
joyful musicians who are confident and accurate singers, controlled and
accurate rhythmic performers, and inquisitive listeners who are sensitive
to the expressive and historical qualities of music.
In each class, students are given the opportunity to: sing focusing on
tune, pitch, and expressiveness; read: developing skills from identifying
notation symbols to reading complex notation; listen: to quality music
of many genres and cultures; move: reinforcing beat, and form, and
exploring Laban’s themes of movement; and to play instruments:
improving instrumental technique from shakers and sticks to drums and
pitched percussion, to ukulele and recorders.

Beginning in preschool, GHA students are introduced to a variety of ways
to make music with their voices and bodies through stationary gross-
motor movement, locomotor movement and lots of vocal exploration.
From prekindergarten to first grade, students follow the First Steps in
Music curriculum and participate in a “musical workout” of eight different
activities in each class. Second through fifth grade classes are guided by
the Conversational Solfege curriculum and focus on reading notation as
they improve their musical skills. Fourth and fifth grade classes also add
recorders and The Complete Recorder Resource to their music classes to
increase their technical abilities and study music theory in greater depth.

The music program also includes two large music performances each year,
plus several opportunities to perform musical selections at our “Colors”
all-school gatherings and other school events. 21



Empowering every child
through joyful discovery

Gig Harbor Academy
6820 32nd Street NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

253-265-2150
www.gigharboracademy.org