5th Grade

Fifth graders are asked to read a lot in a variety of subject areas. They’ll learn to analyze characters, plot, and settings, as well as to recognize an author’s purpose for writing and his organizational strategies. By reading all the time in their classrooms, in libraries, and at home, they’ll be able to find what they like to read. Reading for pleasure helps students build their vocabulary and fosters a lifelong love of literature. (Soon, their opportunities for independent reading will be swallowed up by the wealth of middle and high school reading assignments and peer activities.)

Fifth graders have become skillful writers with their own individual styles. They produce and present research projects, and write more complex narratives and creative fiction. They are asked to edit their writing, using what they have learned about the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. As in reading, they should be encouraged to explore writing for personal expression, putting their often intense feelings onto paper through poetry, stories, and song writing.

Fourth graders begin to use research tools, such as a dictionary, encyclopedia, library and the Internet, to gather information independently on a topic. Most importantly, they start to learn to organize this information into paragraphs, essays, projects, and presentations that help students synthesize their learning — although their work is appropriately far from “perfect.” They develop a writing style where their personality comes through as well as skills to help them edit their work.

Math
Fourth graders read, write, compare, add, subtract, multiply, and divide with very large whole numbers. They do more equations with fractions and decimals and learn about prime numbers (numbers that can only be divided by themselves and 1). They solve problems about factors (one of two or more numbers that can be multiplied) and multiples (a number that can be divided exactly by a smaller number) and explore geometry formulas for determining perimeter and area, and for measuring angles. Fourth graders figure out conversion problems, such as determining the number of minutes in an hour, or ounces in a pound. They not only read graphs, tables, and charts but should be able to create them from data they’ve collected.

Science
Fourth graders begin to compare complex systems in a complex manner. This can mean looking at changes in the Earth over long periods of time, observing the water cycle, or understanding the interactions between organisms and their environment. Students work on projects that ask them to build hypotheses and make predictions. Science topics may include matter and its different states, forms of energy, and the solar system.

Fifth graders are flip-floppers. They think of themselves as mature and independent but can revert to immature behavior when they want the comfort they are often afraid to ask for. They spend much of their day learning the complex and ever-changing social rules for interacting with their peers. This can make it tough for teachers, who have to steer them back to the academic tasks of the classroom. It can also make it tough for some fifth graders, who may need to switch their focus from classroom social dramas to good study skills and time management.

Fortunately, by this stage, fifth graders have developed the ability to think logically about concrete problems. This means that when they look at a problem, they can pull out the necessary facts and strategies needed to solve it, and then move those thoughts around in different ways until they are able to figure it out.