5th Grade

RELIGION

Fifth Grade religion class is taught by Martha Hillmer.

In fifth grade religion, students cover a wide variety of topics. Content includes:

They learn about the images of the Holy Spirit, what it means to give witness of their faith, and how to make Christian decisions. 

Religion study also includes a deeper understanding of the roles of Jesus and Mary, and God’s plan for salvation. Other topics include: the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the liturgy of the Church, and the seven sacraments.

Fifth graders gain a more complete understanding of sanctifying and sacramental grace, sin and forgiveness, and prayer.

Students will discuss Jesus as a model of prayer, the Transfiguration, the Litany of Saints, the Paschal Mystery, and the liturgical year.

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LANGUAGE ARTS/READING

Fifth Grade language arts/reading classes are taught by Martha Hillmer.

The Fifth Grade Language Arts curriculum encompasses reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar skills.

The primary grade reading series continues in Fifth Grade with a focus on reading comprehension skills along with vocabulary in context, and spelling and grammar related to the literature. Students will learn about a variety of authors, and read various types of high interest literature.

Students will learn how to write a coherent paragraph, which includes beginning, supporting, and ending sentences.  They will also learn about writing social and business letters. 

Students will learn how to improve a variety of skills including speaking, listening, library, and dictionary skills. 

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SCIENCE

Fifth Grade science class is taught by Donna Zvonar.

Students will learn to use science process skills and the scientific method to solve problems.

Students will learn to use standard science equipment including a thermometer, measuring tools, pan balance, spring scale and microscope.

They will study units on invertebrates, including pond water organisms, earthworms, and snails; seedless plants including mushrooms, yeast and fungi. They will participate in 2 lake studies and learn about water quality and conservation. Every other year, they will prepare for a mission to the Challenger Learning Center.

Every other year, students will also write a research paper and participate in a science fair.

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SOCIAL STUDIES

Fifth Grade social studies class is taught by Marta Mason.

The Social Studies program is a two year US History program.  Units include the
study of basic geography skills; the names and location of all fifty states and the oceans and continents; the Native Americans and their hardships; the European explorers and their impact on North America; the original thirteen colonies and the struggles that went along with the forming of a new nation.

The students will also learn about the basic make-up of our country’s government, this will include a study of the three branches of government. 

The students will learn about the American Revolution and its impact on the world.

They will study slavery, why it existed and its impact on the past and present
world; and the Civil War and Reconstruction and how America was changed by
these events.

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Art

St. Mary's Art is taught by Carrie Jimenez.

Students will apply the elements of visual art to create and construct their own art work.

Students will explore the different areas of art through drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture.

Students will be able to understand how the choice of tools or media are used to create certain features in a work of art.

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MUSIC

St. Mary's Music is taught by April Myers.

In fifth grade, students are introduced to the concept of harmony. Singing one song with two separate pitches is a concept that is stressed throughout the year.

Composing and improvising is introduced, along with rhythms of sixteenth notes and rests.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

St. Mary's physical education is taught by Susan Bassie.

The physical education curriculum has four focus areas:  manipulative skills, physical fitness, cooperative learning and sport skills/rules. 

Students work on their coordination and practice skills like shooting a basketball, passing a volleyball, and hitting a baseball. 

Movement  and fitness principles are taught through lessons and practiced with daily cardiovascular, strength, and stretching routines. Good sportsmanship practices are learned and expected. Exercise safety and equipment safety is expected. 

Health is also addressed in the classroom once a week where topics such as:  personal hygiene, nutrition, disease prevention, anatomy, physical fitness, conflict resolution, and chastity education are addressed.

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COMPUTERS/TECHNOLOGY

St. Mary's computers/technology is taught by Jamie Hartrich.

The fifth grade computer/technology curriculum focuses on expanding and building upon computer/technology terminology and age-appropriate software. 

Fifth graders build upon their keyboarding accuracy and speed and will type 12-15 words per minute with 90% accuracy. Students are introduced to proofreader marks and how to proofread and edit documents.

Students will build upon their word processing skills by learning vertical alignment, tabs, leaders, tables, inserting special characters, and creating basic newsletters.

Fifth graders will build and expand upon spreadsheet concepts and learn how to write formulas.  Presentation software is introduced to fifth graders.  They will learn the basic concepts of presentation software and how to present information.

Plus, fifth graders will learn the window parts and toolbars, adding slides, deleting slides, modifying slides, adding objects, adding hyperlinks, adding animation, and adding transitions. 

Web design is also introduced to fifth graders.  They learn the basic web design concepts and how to create a web page using word processing software.

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