5th Grade

The Child

Students in fifth grade are typically creative, enthusiastic about learning, eager for new challenges and more capable of sustained effort and independent work than ever before. They appear physically strong and balanced. Adolescence is approaching but has not yet arrived, allowing a window of harmony in the social and scholastic arenas. Their sense of self-consciousness emerges, yet they remain confident and in harmony with their surroundings. Students develop an ordered sense of space and time, and they gain a deeper understanding of personal responsibility and ethical principles. Children start to look at what is coming in the teen years and wonder how they will handle the changes they are beginning to experience in themselves.

The Class

Curriculum this year meets the 5th grader by encouraging themes of balance. Fifth graders explore the history of human struggle and accomplishment in the ancient world. These histories present the diversity of experience in the early civilizations of India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. Students investigate mythologies, and religions of these cultures, and they discuss philosophies of creation, life, and death. Working with early forms of writing, geometry, and architecture, fifth graders trace the roots of modern culture. In mathematics, decimal notation used in the four operations is introduced while students continue with fractions, multi-digit problem solving, and word problems. They also learn freehand geometry to gain a sense of the structure of space and delineated form. Studying botany nurtures the beauty in the world, as they balance scientific observation with aesthetic appreciation.

    • Fractions & decimals

    • Metric measurement

    • Geometric drawing

    • Narrative & expository writing

    • Letter writing

    • Independent reading & literature discussions

    • Grammar Punctuation

    • Spelling

    • Vocabulary

    • Mythology & cultural history of ancient India, Persia, Egypt, Babylonia

    • Greek history & culture

    • Spanish

    • Botany

    • Further studies of animals

    • North American Geography

    • C-flutes

    • Reading & musical notation

    • Part & rounds singing

    • Strings

    • Drawing

    • Free-hand geometric drawing

    • Watercolor Painting

    • Beeswax modeling

    • Advanced knitting

  • Eurythmy, developed by Rudolf Steiner, is an art of human movement set to music, poetry, or speech. It is intended to be a complement to intellectual learning. By studying eurythmy, students learn dexterity of movement, grace, poise, balance, and concentration. They also develop a sense for sound and space and a feeling for social harmony.

    • Collaborative games & skills

    • Hikes