5 th Grade Curriculum

1. 5th Grade Curriculum Mrs. O’Sullivan and Mrs. Verhines

2. BAND • 5th grade band has begun and your student will be given information on obtaining an instrument. • More information and questions can be answered by Mrs. Sommerfeld or Ms. Anderson. • It is important for students to practice and remember to bring their instruments to school on band days.

3. POWERSCHOOL ***PowerSchool is our online, school grade book system. ***Please take time to check out the features available to parents. ***You can receive notifications of late, missing, or below a certain grade/percent. ***We post almost every day so that you can monitor your child’s progress. No progress reports are issued. *** 5th graders can be forgetful and need your support to help make sure that work is getting done and turned in.

4. WEEBLY is our classroom website. Both Mrs. O’Sullivan and Mrs. Verhines have a webpage that are interlinked to help you. Supplemental information to unit projects and directions can be found here. Assignment notebook is available for you to monitor assignments and due dates. Online textbook and resources will be available soon.Mrs. O’Sullivan’sWeeblyMrs. Verhines’ Weebly WEEBLY

5. Cantoring • Students who volunteer are paired and trained to cantor for school masses. • Students work with Mrs. Opaleski and the church accompanist; Mr. Hassey twice during the week they are scheduled.

6. Altar Serving • 5th graders have the opportunity to altar serve at Mass. • The training will take place this fall. Dates and times will be announced as they become available. • All Catholic students will have the opportunity to serve during daily and weekend Masses.

7. Field Trips • Various field trips are planned throughout the year offering enrichment to our core curriculum. • Examples include: “Healthy Hearts 101” at St. Joe's Heart and Vascular Institute on October 16th, Wild Swan Theater productions, and …Storer Camp.

8. Storer Camp • Our fifth-grade culminating field trip is to YMCA Storer Camp located outside Jackson, Michigan. • This school year we are scheduled to go Monday, May 13th through Wednesday, May 15th. • Parents will be asked to volunteer as cabin leaders. Fathers will be put in the boys’ cabins and mothers in the girls’. We will do a lottery drawing if we have more than the needed parents. Cabin leaders must be fingerprinted and live VIRTUS trained to attend.

9. Storer Camp continued • Storer Camp provides an environmental education correlated with science and social studies topics. It is a fun way for students to learn with hands-on activities and role playing simulations. • Please help prepare your child by having them spend the night away from home during the school year. • A camp tuition payment is due late October.

10. T.E.A.M. • Teaching Educating and Mentoring is a 10 week course taught through the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. • It is incorporated into our religion and history curriculum. • Class room skits and discussion help students to gain important safety knowledge. • A reflective essay is due for the last class period. • A graduation ceremony culminates this unit.

11. Science Lab • Once a week the 5th grade is scheduled in the science lab. Lab and hands-on activities will be done in the lab or in class. • Inquiry and processing skills are used as the students use microscopes and hands-on activities related to content are demonstrated.

12. Language Arts • Consists of three components: Reading, writing and grammar • Reading skills will be evaluated through the STAR reading assessment and a Qualitative Reading Inventory. • Students will have the opportunity for independent reading, reading of whole-class novels, and literature circles. There will be various assignments that accompany each of these. • Students have the opportunity to take Accelerated Reader quizzes throughout the year.

13. Math • Math is taught by Mrs. Verhines. • The book is My Math, which has many supplemental online activities, worksheets, and test practice. The text book can be found online. Usernames and passwords will be available soon. • Pop quizzes and chapter test will be given periodically. • Homework is given nightly and scored on a 5 point basis. Late or incomplete work will not receive full credit. • ALEKS, our online math program will supplement chapter concepts during enrichment time or at home. Chapter tests should coincide with the completion of a ALEKS pie slice.

14. Writing • Students will have the opportunity to write every week. • Students will be instructed in various forms of writing including: narrative, persuasive, expository, research, creative, and responding to literature. • There will be several small writing assignments throughout the school year. • Later in the year, students will have a poetry writing assignment which culminates in a fun Poetry Slam.

15. Science • Both sections of science class is taught by Mrs. Verhines. • 5th grade content is Earth Science, Physical Science, Health and the Human Body, and Life Science. • Vocabulary words must be defined in the student’s notebook and will be tested the day before the chapter content test. • Worksheet will be assigned to each unit. • Science Reports are due in February and must be science content related, but no animal reports will be accepted.

16. Grammar • There will be roughly two English, or grammar, assignments each week. • Students are expected to neatly complete each assignment in cursive handwriting, with skipped lines. • Assignments are graded on a 5 point scale. • Tests occur about once every month.

17. Religion • Religion class is taught by each student’s homeroom teacher. • Students will deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith through prayer, Adoration, weekly Mass, Altar Serving, an examination of the parts of Mass, and a detailed study of the 7 Sacraments. • 5th graders will take a Diocesan test on material covered throughout all their elementary classes. A study guide and review worksheet will be handed out in April. The test will follow an ample time for review. • We also supplement instruction with the Steps to Respect Anti-Bullying program and the Benziger Family Life Series.

18. Social Studies • Our social studies curriculum is taught by both Mrs. O’Sullivan and Mrs. Verhines. • Classes use the same text, study guides, worksheets, and tests. We try to maintain the same schedule. • We study European exploration, Native Americans, the 13 colonies, events that led to the Revolutionary War, and the formation of a new country and constitution. • Along the way, we will watch related movies, create 3-D projects, draw detailed maps with keys, and write creative and articles.

19. Spelling • Students are given a weekly unit to complete in their textbook. Pretests are given early in the week and proficiency entitles the students to add more challenging words for the final test. • Bookwork is due on the day it is corrected, usually Thursday or Friday. • The final test is on Friday. • A school spelling bee takes place in November with 2 student representatives from each class.

20. Preschool Buddies • Students have the opportunity to assist in the preschool classroom. • This is a year-long service activity for students. • Activities include: helping with lunches, playing a game, or reading a story. • Preschool duty takes place during recess time and follows an alternating schedule.

21. Questions????? • THANK YOU FOR COMING!

22. Wish List Items • We appreciate any donations to help out in the classroom. • Plastic spoon and forks • Napkins • Paper plates • Clear plastic cups 14 or 16 oz. • Small and large Ziplock baggies • Book donations of graphic novels or Harry Potter • Trinkets, prizes, small stuffed animals for incentive raffles