Grade 5 Curriculum

Humanities: EL ELA

Units of Study

Over the course of the school year, teachers and children embark on four in-depth studies:

1. Stories of Human Rights
2. Athlete Leaders of Social Change
3. The Impact of Natural Disasters
4. Research to Build Knowledge for Ourselves and Others

What are human rights, and how do real people and fictional characters respond when those rights are threatened? In this first unit of study, fifth grade students develop their ability to read and understand complex text as they consider this question.  Through close reading, interpretation, and analysis of fiction and nonfiction texts, students begin to build their understanding of human rights. Throughout the unit, students closely read selected articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) related to events in Esperanza Rising where human rights are threatened.

In the second unit, students consider the factors that contribute to the success of professional athletes as leaders of social change. They read about a number of professional athletes who have been leaders of social change, beginning with Jackie Robinson. They also think about the relationship between people and events in the text as they gather factors that led to Jackie Robinson's success in leading social change. Students also read about other athletes who were also leaders of social change, beginning with Jim Abbott. They research and write essays to compare and contrast the factors that contributed to the success of the athletes they study with those of Jackie Robinson. Once students have read about a few athletes, they then consider the common factors that contribute to being an effective leader of social change.

In this unit of study, students read literary and informational texts to understand the impact of natural disasters on places and people. Students work to research a natural disaster, focusing on answering the question: "How do natural disasters affect the people and places that experience them?" As they research, they think about how authors use reasons and evidence to support particular points. Students read and analyze literary texts about the aftermath of natural disasters, including poems, songs, and Eight Days: A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat.  As students explore, they analyze the way illustrations in texts and visuals in videos contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of the text. Finally, they analyze how the narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

For more detailed information on the specifics of the Grade 5 EL ELA curriculum, click here.

Mathematics: Illustrative Math

In Grade 5, the Illustrative Mathematics curriculum is designed to progressively build upon foundational concepts. Each unit connects to and extends ideas from previous units, weaving a coherent mathematical narrative throughout the year. The Illustrative Math Curriculum uses a problem-based learning approach, ensuring that students not only master grade-level content but also develop critical, lifelong cognitive skills. This methodology deepens conceptual understanding, promotes active learning, and fosters skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and perseverance. The curriculum is designed to be student-centered, encouraging inquiry, collaboration, and active engagement with challenging real-world problems.

The year comprises eight units:

Unit 1: Finding Volume

This unit introduces the concept of volume, building on students' understanding of area and multiplication. Students learn to find the volume of right rectangular prisms and figures composed of such prisms. They measure volume by counting unit cubes and observing its additive nature. This learning extends from grade 3 knowledge of area to volume, involving multiplication of side lengths.

Unit 2: Fractions as Quotients and Fraction Multiplication

Unit 2 Focuses on interpreting fractions as quotients and extending understanding of multiplication to include fractions. Students explore division situations leading to fractional results and multiply whole numbers by fractions, including fractions greater than 1. This unit builds on grade 4 concepts of fractional groups and comparisons, using multiplication for representation.

Unit 3: Multiplying and Dividing Fractions

Students discover multiplication of fractions by fractions, and division involving whole numbers and unit fractions. They interpret area diagrams with fractional side lengths and engage with division expressions involving a whole number and a unit fraction. This unit extends previous multiplication concepts to fractions and connects to the understanding of division as equal sharing.

Unit 4: Wrapping Up Multiplication and Division with Multi-digit Numbers

Unit 4 covers multiplication of multi-digit whole numbers and division involving up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors. Students use the standard algorithm for multiplication and strategies based on place value for division, building upon grade 4 strategies for multiplication and division and introducing more complex numbers.

Unit 5: Place Value Patterns and Decimal Operations

Students use this unit to deepen their understanding of place value and operations with decimals to hundredths. They read, write, compare, and round decimals, and perform operations on decimals including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This work expands upon grade 4 knowledge of decimals, applying this to more complex operations.

Unit 6: More Decimal and Fraction Operations

Students solve multi-step problems with measurement conversions, line plots, and fraction operations. They add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators, interpret multiplication as scaling, and solve problems involving fractions and decimals. This unit connects concepts of place value and fractions, integrating skills from previous grades.

Unit 7: Shapes on the Coordinate Plane

In this unit, students discover plotting on a coordinate grid and classifying shapes based on properties. They plot coordinate pairs, classify triangles and quadrilaterals, and explore numerical patterns on the coordinate plane. The unit utilizes earlier knowledge of shapes and coordinates, applying these concepts in more complex situations.

Unit 8: Putting It All Together

The final unit of the year consolidates and reinforces major concepts and skills from the grade. Students revisit multiplication and division of whole numbers, apply volume concepts, and engage in fraction and decimal operations. Through a series of real-world tasks and games, this culminating unit integrates concepts from the entire curriculum, offering students an opportunity to apply their skills in novel contexts.

For more detailed information on the specifics of the Grade 5 Illustrative Math curriculum, click here.

Science: Amplify

Science learning in Grade 5 is guided by the Amplify science curriculum, with supplementary materials added to ensure alignment with Massachusetts state standards. The following unit summaries demonstrate how students engage in three-dimensional learning to answer and solve real-world questions and problems.

Patterns of Earth and Sky: Analyzing Stars on Ancient Artifacts. Students take on the role of astronomers, helping a team of archaeologists explain the illustrations on a recently discovered, thousand-year-old artifact with a missing piece. Students use mathematical thinking to make sense of patterns in the sky, which they figure out by using physical and digital models and obtaining information from science books. They plan and conduct investigations to figure out how the spin and orbit of our planet are the cause of the daily and yearly patterns of stars we see in the sky.

Modeling Matter: The Chemistry of Food. In the role of food scientists, students work to identify a potentially hazardous food dye in a food coloring mixture, then to create a good-tasting and visually appealing salad dressing. They engage in hands-on investigations and use physical and digital models to gather evidence about mixtures at the observable scale and at the scale of molecules. They develop visual models and write explanations about mixtures, including whether they are likely to change or remain stable.

The Earth System: Investigating Water Shortages. In the role of water resource engineers, students ask questions and investigate what makes East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, prone to water shortages while a city on the other side is not. Students develop and use system models that help them figure out how water cycles through parts of the Earth system at the nanoscale and at the observable scale. They apply their understanding of condensation and evaporation to design freshwater collection systems as a possible solution for East Ferris’ water shortage problem.

Ecosystem Restoration: Matter and Energy in a Rain Forest. Students take on the role of ecologists to figure out why a reforested section of the Costa Rican rain forest ecosystem is failing—the jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in the area are not growing and thriving. Students use a digital model and terrariums as models to figure out the ways that animals and plants in an ecosystem get the matter and energy they need to grow. They analyze data about the ecosystem, and use evidence to make scientific arguments about what is causing the problem and to design restoration plans to address it.

Compost and Ecosystems: Designing Sustainable Solutions. Students assume the role of engineers in this engaging unit, exploring the crucial role of decomposition in ecosystems and compost in waste management. They delve into the science of decomposition, examining the interconnected roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Through hands-on activities, like analyzing biodegradability in school lunch waste and comparing various composting methods, students gain insights into sustainable waste management. Students use their discoveries to guide their design of a compost prototype or a school-wide composting protocol.