+ Science + Social Studies

Fifth graders start out by learning to observe and record information about the natural world around them on the school’s extensive nature trail. Then, they take these skills out into the diverse landscape and geological history of the North Shore. We discuss the layers of the earth, and how the tectonic plate movement has impacted continental drift over the past hundreds of millions of years. The students study plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, and seismic waves and construct earthquake-resistant building models. e consider the properties of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, the effects of hot weathering, glaciers, and volcanoes, and how to interpret rock layers and index fossils to determine the relative ages of rock formations. We travel to Appleton Farm to learn about the history of how people have used the natural resources of New England. We visit Halibut Point State Park to explore glacial striations and granite and learn how quarry workers cut and transported granite in the 19th Century.

Fifth graders’ hands-on exploration of “The Land” culminates in a three-day camping trip to the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine, that aptly extends their curriculum, placing them in a natural setting in which they must work as a team to satisfy their needs while remaining conscientious about their impact on the land. Students’ responsibilities start on day one with the challenge of “packing in” all their food and equipment to their campsites. Over the next days, they work in the fields and barns, chop and stack wood, cook over an open fire, wash dishes with seawater, and explore the woods and shoreline. They also participate in daily lessons on natural history, ecology, and sustainability, experiencing deep environmental awareness through appreciation and preservation of the natural environment.

+ Language Arts

Fifth graders begin their year with a novel that explores the tradition of living off the land, like Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Our exploration of the elements of narrative—theme, character, setting, point of view, and so on—along with units on grammar and mechanics and on research techniques, foster deeper engagement in their work in the forms of personal essay, fiction, comic strip or graphic prose, poetry, and research paper and presentation. Also, at the beginning of the year, as they hone skills of observing and recording on the nature trail, the students begin to keep their nature journals. They find inspiration in the nature writing of Cynthia Rylant, Rachel Carson, and Jane Goodall. In a unit on tall tales, we meet such characters as Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan and consider how that tradition has a rich connection with the American landscape. We explore the beauty and diversity of the landscape and national parks of the United States. Each student chooses a state and prepares a report and slideshow to share with classmates. In a unit on civil rights, students begin by reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham and the poetry of Langston Hughes and move forward, considering civil rights issues that persist today with such texts as Malala, A Brave Girl from Pakistan, In Our Mothers’ House, and This Day in June. Students choose their own topic and step through the process of research, report writing, and presentation planning in anticipation of an event to which the lower school and parents are invited.

+ Mathematics

Fifth grade math students delve deeper into problem-solving strategies so they can begin to solve higher-level, complex problems in mathematics and logic. They practice the strategies for performing operations with decimals, fractions, mixed numbers, and ratios. In units on measurement, they calculate the perimeter, area, and volume of rectangles, squares, triangles, and parallelograms; the radius, diameter, and circumference of circles; and the mean, mode, median, and range of sets of numbers. We introduce fifth graders to the concept of percent and they learn to calculate 5%, 10%, 15%, and 75% of a number. We also introduce the students to integers and they learn to add and subtract positive and negative numbers. In a unit on number theory, students learn about prime factorization, exponential notation, operation order, and Venn diagramming.

+ Social/Emotional

Twice a week we engage the fifth graders in a lesson from our Open Circle social/emotional curriculum. We gather in an open circle—open because we include one extra space to underscore that there is always room for another voice and no one is ever left out—for a short lesson and conversation and a story or an activity. As an example, in the Problem Solving unit students identify the first two steps of problem solving: calm down and identify the problem, and they practice these strategies by filling out “I feel __ because __” statements. We step through the problem solving process: brainstorming, deciding on a positive goal, making a plan and trying it, and overcoming obstacles. We consider the characteristics of positive and negative leaders and define what it means to be a positive leader in the classroom and on the playground.

+ Spanish

In fifth grade, students will be expected to participate entirely in Spanish (with exceptions for new students and those that joined the school recently). Students should be able to choose greetings and perform self-directed greetings in a variety of ways. They should be able to map out the Spanish classroom with bilingual labels for all classroom materials and places. They should also be able to discuss their likes and dislikes, their weekend activities, the weather, their families and homes, and their appearance and personality with little to no support. They spend the first few months of class reviewing and deepening understanding of this vocabulary, and identifying weaknesses to be targeted with flashcards and independent practice.

By the end of fourth grade, students should be able to understand spoken Spanish on familiar topics. They should be able to respond to questions in full sentences and produce questions and answers in discussion with little to no support (on known topics). They should recognize common Spanish language patterns and be comfortable assuming the meaning of cognates and new vocabulary in context.

+ Visual Arts

For much of the year, the fifth grade art class becomes a global studio. The students explore Mexican culture, ritual, and popular arts, and create art objects for the school’s El Día de los Muertos altar. They use weaving and wrapping techniques to create 3-D yarn “God’s Eyes” and embossing techniques to create milagros, metal-tooled religious folk charms used as votive offerings. Students also learn about Tibetan culture and employ resist techniques, using cray-pas oil pastels and water color paint, to create floral mandalas. They explore Indian ritual art and Mehandi, or traditional henna body art design. They create a work on paper, drawing a Mehandi hand design using balance, repetition, and alteration. Other folk art projects include mosaic tiles, found object masks, and tissue paper collage candles.

Fifth graders also practice the fundamentals of drawing the human body and expand their knowledge of the elements of composition. They practice gesture drawing—sketching the human figure in quick intervals to create movement and action; they draw hands communicating in sign language; and they complete self-portraits. They study how Georgia O’Keefe used enlargement and selective cropping as composition tools and create their own large-scale pastel floral drawings. They explore the work of Wayne Thiebault and experiment with techniques for creating positive and negative space, achieving depth of value, and drawing 3-D forms.

+ Music

In music class at GUS, fifth graders: learn basic technique for West African and Caribbean style drumming and percussion ensembles; relate rhythm notation to the playing of an instrument (drums and simple percussion); learn and perform drumming ensembles to accompany Caribbean, South American, and West African songs; improvise simple drumming rhythm patterns; collaboratively create original drumming ensembles; listen to and study classical selections performed at a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert; musically mentor Kindergarten partners through joint music classes and all-school performances; build a repertoire of seasonal and community songs.

The “Land” theme is expressed through the study of drumming and its various expressions in different parts of the world.

Fifth graders perform in all-school Grand Friends’ Day, Solstice, and May Day celebrations. In addition, the culminating “Songs and Rhythms of the World” performances have included drumming and music around the world, as well as music of the South African Anti-Apartheid movement and the American Civil Rights movement.

+ Dance

In dance class, students create, express, communicate, and secure confidence through the study of movement. They participate in exercises that foster creativity, challenge them physically and expressively, require teamwork, develop identity, promote problem solving, and require that they describe their creative process. Children gain body awareness, coordination, locomotor skills, musicality, and choreography techniques through formal and improvisational modern dance lessons.

When fifth graders study poetry in their language arts class, in dance they choreograph spoken word dances.

+ Physical Education

In fifth grade we continue to focus on the skills students will need for the sports they play in upper school. We engage in games and activities that incorporate these skills and also small, in-class tournaments that promote good sportsmanship and teamwork. All students participate in all activities. Our goal is to help students work on the same skills but at the pace that is appropriate for them. We encourage them to seek their personal best and to measure themselves by their own improvement rather than the abilities of peers. Students will also continue to play many of the games they have been playing in past years but with added rules and greater intricacy.

+ Community Service

For their community service, fifth graders work with fourth graders to keep a local beach clean and free of trash. They are also the official paper recyclers for the school.