Fifth Grade
Language Arts: Little Silver provides a Balanced Literacy program that supports a Gradual Release of Responsibility instructional model. The fifth grade curriculum guide provides a resource that guides instruction to create a foundation for lifelong literacy. Students are exposed to: Phonics, Word Recognition, Fluency, Literature, Informational Text, Writing, Speaking, Listening and Language with Common Core standards that prepare them for college and career readiness. The curriculum is supported with leveled resources, mentor text and digital on-line sites that include rigorous text for both instructional and independent work. In compliance with the Common Core Standards, curriculum in the fifth grade enhances students’ ability to:
- Demonstrate independence
- Gain strong content knowledge
- Comprehend, critique, value and provide evidence
- Use digital media capably
- Understand others’ perspectives and cultures
Math: The fifth grade Math curriculum in Little Silver includes criteria established in the Common Core Standards. The curriculum guide provides enduring understandings and essential questions that begin to prepare our students to be ready for college and career. A variety of concrete resources and lessons provide students with hands-on learning tools that are relevant to their developmental level and are differentiated to their learning needs. Instructional time should focus on three critical areas, as required by the Common Core Standards: (1)developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, and developing understanding of the multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions); (2) extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations; and (3) developing understanding of volume. Curriculum is supported with a variety of resources including, but not limited to, Envision, a Scott Foresman publication, concrete manipulatives, and on-line sites.
Science: Little Silver’s Science curriculum is based on the NJ 2009 standards. The curriculum is supported with resources in Language Arts, technology, and published texts by Scott Foresman. Four areas of knowledge are covered in fifth grade: Science Practices, Physical Science, Life Science and Earth Systems Science. The units of study are named: Astronomy; Cells and body Systems; Producers, Consumers and Energy; Population Ecosystems, Forces of Motion and Electricity.
Social Studies: In fifth grade students learn about ancient civilizations in history to gain perspective on today’s global society . The curriculum is supported with resources in Language Arts, technology, and published content by Houghton-Mifflin.