Curriculum:
We are in the process of adapting the Common Core Standards for our fifth grade program. Our focus at Truckee Elementary is to create a safe learning environment for all of our students to explore learning, engage in goal setting and develop fully as students. Via our content instruction, we integrate our reading, writing, speaking and listening standards.
For science, our students attend Mrs. Stewart's magical Science Lab once a week in which they investigate different science concepts via hands-on lab work. We offer additional support within the classroom via the FOSS Program to further develop our students' concept knowledge. In fifth grade, our areas of concentration are: Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Earth Sciences.
For social studies, students utilize the text The History Of Us by Joy Hakim to explore the history of North America from Beringia and the first Americans who settled on the continent, to the primary Cultural Regions of Native Americans, to the European Explorers, to the formation of the thirteen colonies, to the cause/effects of the American Revolutionary War, the American revolution War and its major battles, and the Westward Expansion of the United States. Students will utilize the DBQ (Document Based Questions) Project, which relies on primary resources and essay writing to cover the content material.
For math, we adopted a program last year, Everyday Math, which is alligned to the Common Core standards. Students are explicitly taught the given fifth grade math concepts; they then are given the opportunity to problem solve in small groups and develop their understanding of the concepts beyond just a computational realm.
For reading, we utilize the Accelerated Reading program in order to reach the individual reading levels of all of our students. Students have the opportunity to read books of their choice at their independent reading level (IRL) as well as books which we as the teachers choose in order to monitor our students' growth as readers. Students take quizzes following the completion of a book; our goal is for our students to pass the quiz with a comprehension rate of 80% or higher. All of our fifth grade classes monitor how many words the students have read as a class which is a nice opportunity for the students to work as a team. In addition, students are taught reading skills specific to literature and non-fiction reading material based on the Common Core standards through Daily Five utilizing CAFE strategies.
The following books are our Read Aloud books for the year: My Side of the Mountain, Blood on the River, My Brother Sam is Dead, Fever 1793, and Wonder.
For writing, we use the program Step Up To Writing in order to effectively instruct our students in a variety of writing styles; our focus in the fifth grade is: (1)expository writing which examines a topic and conveys ideas and information clearly, (2)narratives which develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences, and (3)opinion writing which is connected to a text or multiple texts supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
We integrate the Second Step program in order to help our students develop their skills for social and academic success. Lessons cover a variety of topics; for example, empathy and respect, listening with attention, being assertive, predicting feelings, taking others' perspectives and more.
We are in the process of adapting the Common Core Standards for our fifth grade program. Our focus at Truckee Elementary is to create a safe learning environment for all of our students to explore learning, engage in goal setting and develop fully as students. Via our content instruction, we integrate our reading, writing, speaking and listening standards.
For science, our students attend Mrs. Stewart's magical Science Lab once a week in which they investigate different science concepts via hands-on lab work. We offer additional support within the classroom via the FOSS Program to further develop our students' concept knowledge. In fifth grade, our areas of concentration are: Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Earth Sciences.
For social studies, students utilize the text The History Of Us by Joy Hakim to explore the history of North America from Beringia and the first Americans who settled on the continent, to the primary Cultural Regions of Native Americans, to the European Explorers, to the formation of the thirteen colonies, to the cause/effects of the American Revolutionary War, the American revolution War and its major battles, and the Westward Expansion of the United States. Students will utilize the DBQ (Document Based Questions) Project, which relies on primary resources and essay writing to cover the content material.
For math, we adopted a program last year, Everyday Math, which is alligned to the Common Core standards. Students are explicitly taught the given fifth grade math concepts; they then are given the opportunity to problem solve in small groups and develop their understanding of the concepts beyond just a computational realm.
For reading, we utilize the Accelerated Reading program in order to reach the individual reading levels of all of our students. Students have the opportunity to read books of their choice at their independent reading level (IRL) as well as books which we as the teachers choose in order to monitor our students' growth as readers. Students take quizzes following the completion of a book; our goal is for our students to pass the quiz with a comprehension rate of 80% or higher. All of our fifth grade classes monitor how many words the students have read as a class which is a nice opportunity for the students to work as a team. In addition, students are taught reading skills specific to literature and non-fiction reading material based on the Common Core standards through Daily Five utilizing CAFE strategies.
The following books are our Read Aloud books for the year: My Side of the Mountain, Blood on the River, My Brother Sam is Dead, Fever 1793, and Wonder.
For writing, we use the program Step Up To Writing in order to effectively instruct our students in a variety of writing styles; our focus in the fifth grade is: (1)expository writing which examines a topic and conveys ideas and information clearly, (2)narratives which develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences, and (3)opinion writing which is connected to a text or multiple texts supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
We integrate the Second Step program in order to help our students develop their skills for social and academic success. Lessons cover a variety of topics; for example, empathy and respect, listening with attention, being assertive, predicting feelings, taking others' perspectives and more.