The State College Friends School 5th Grade Class Page

Teacher Tim

Welcome to the 5th grade class at State College Friends School. We are glad you are visiting!

OUR THEME

Our interdisciplinary theme is Navigating Your World. Fifth graders are more and more cognizant of the world around them and this year of study supports them as they grow into this awareness.

In literature we explore characters who navigate their worlds with humor and insight and strength. In social studies we trace the explorations of James Cook and Ernest Shackleton, trying out their skills as navigators and exploring their roles as leaders. With an eye toward becoming good citizens of our global community, each fifth grader also spends a good deal of time during the second half of the year becoming an expert on one country in the world, researching its culture, geography, and way of life. This Country Project culminates each spring with our Fifth Grade World's Fair. In science we focus on the human body with special emphasis on how to navigate toward healthy choices. Natural connections with our Theme and math abound in the realm of fractions, decimals, and percents and their roles in our lives as careful consumers.

HANDS-ON LEARNING

We begin our school year with an original simulation called Endeavor. Students spend the first two weeks in Explorers' Academy during which they review and practice the skills and ideas every explorer needs: reading, calculating, journaling, note-taking, map-drawing, and orienteering--not to mention baking and knot-tying. Next we launch four-person crews onto The Voyage that will trace the path of James Cook and his ship The Endeavour, paying particular attention to the geography and cultures of Oceania. The simulation ends after arriving back in England where students pursue the Final Project, a chance to work independently or in small groups exploring a related topic of their choice in depth.

An integral part of the fifth grade experience is a deep exploration into global geography. As we make our way around the world, from Oceania to Europe, students examine a variety of maps, globes, and reference materials and end each unit by drawing a map of the continent or subcontinent studied. By the end of the year students and parents alike are amazed by the geography each student has retained and demonstrated in May when students draw the world "by heart." In learning its geography and tasting its many cultures, we hope that each fifth grader has taken an important step in becoming responsible and compassionate citizens of the world.

To augment our Theme, 5th graders enjoy a variety of field trips throughout the year including a day-long canoeing expedition at Black Moshannon State Park in September, an overnight trip to Philadelphia in the spring, and an end-of-year learning experience aboard a skipjack in the Chesapeake Bay (www.livingclassrooms.org).

OTHER CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS

Language arts includes group reading and interpretation of intermediate novels such as Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell, The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Wanderer by Sharon Creech, The View from Saturday, by E. L. Konigsburg, and Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry.

Our writing program is inspired by Lucy Calkins (Columbia University) and her "Units of Study" curriculum. Throughout the year, students publish personal narratives, literary essays, memoirs, creative fiction and poetry. Students also write daily across the curriculum with attention to organization, fluency, vocabulary development, grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Special language arts projects include 'Zines and our annual Caldecott project. 'Zines (short for 'magazines') provide an opportunity for students to start the year by exploring a topic of their choice and using multiple genres-poems, puzzles, narratives, comic strips, etc.- to convey their understanding of it. We deepen this experience with multi-genre writing during our social studies Country Project later in the school year.

Our work with Caldecott books starts in the fall as we examine past Caldecott Award winners and honor books (as well as excellent picture books that were not recognized!) and establish our own criteria for excellence. In December we select nominees for our school-wide mock Caldecott, share these books with students in our Lower School, and finally conduct a school-wide mock Caldecott contest in January.

The 5th grade mathematics curriculum is rich yet balanced. We practice computation in various forms daily and also emphasize the connections embedded within mathematical concepts. With the assistance of Everyday Mathematics (The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project), 5th graders at Friends School study operations, numeration, algebraic thinking, data, measurement, and geometry. Every week in Project Math students have the opportunity to work in small groups or partnerships on a wide variety of problems that require critical thinking and logic and once or twice each year we work on large hands-on projects for the whole class like building castles or constructing a life-size replica of Abraham Lincoln's log cabin.

Students in 5th grade also have special classes in art, yoga, physical education, music, and Spanish. They participate in community service weekly, choosing between Peace Choir or school service. Students also get a chance to develop public speaking and drama skills, producing a series of poem recitations and skits over the year culminating with our class play in May. Weekly sessions of TEAM Time give students an opportunity to use low ropes activities to grow in the vital areas of Trust, Empowerment, Action, and Mindfulness.

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