5th Grade Parent Guide

Through the study of the English language arts, students will learn to read fluently and understand a broad range of written materials. They will be able to communicate well and listen carefully and effectively. They will develop a command of the language and demonstrate their knowledge through speaking and writing for a variety of audiences and purposes.

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to...

Reading

• Read literary and informational texts with accuracy and fluently with appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression
• Engage in and sustain independent reading of texts from a variety of genres  
• Read and comprehend grade appropriate complex literary and informational texts  
• Interpret figurative language and analyze its effect on meaning within a text
• Compare and contrast the structures of various texts

Writing

• Using all phases of the writing process, complete published pieces in a variety of genres including memoir, research based persuasive essay, biography, and poetry; and for a variety of purposes including narrative, informational, and argumentative
• Use evidence from literary or informational texts to respond and/or support responses or reflections
• Monitor for spelling, punctuation, and grammar

Listening and Speaking

• Come to discussions prepared having read or studied the required material in advance
• Demonstrate active listening and comprehension
• Engage in a range of discussions 
• Listen attentively to comprehend, evaluate, and respond to directions, ideas, text, and data

• Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung
• Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
• Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
• The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson
• Galaxy Games by Greg Fishbone
• Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill
• Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
• The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
• The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs by Cylin Busby 
• Pennypacker by Sara Pax
• The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer Maschari
• Gabby Duran: Troll Control by Elise and Daryl Conners
• A Week Without Tuesday by Angelica Banks
• Bad Magic by Pseudonymous Bosch
• Brambleheart: A Story About Finding Treasure and the Unexpected Magic of Friendship by Henry Cole
• Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby
• The Adventures of Lettie Peppercorn by Sam Gayton
• The League of Beastly Dreadfuls by Holly Grant
• Jack and Louisa: Act 2 by Andrew and Kate Bolger
• Masterminds: Criminal Destiny by Gordon Korman
• Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson
• The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd
• Just My Luck by Cammie McGovern
• The Hero Two Doors Down: A Story of Friendship Between a Boy and a Baseball Legend. by Sharon Robinson
• The Only Girl in School by Natalie Standiford
• Baker’s Magic by Diane Zahler
• Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
• Timmy Failure by Stephan Pastis
• The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey
• The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman

Social Studies is intended to promote civic competence through the integrated study of the social science and humanities. The primary purpose of Social Studies is to help young people to develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. Students will explore these six practices via the overarching theme of The Western Hemisphere: The United States, Canada, and Latin America.

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to...

Gathering, Interpreting and Using Evidence

• Identify evidence about topics related to historical events occurring in the Western Hemisphere
• Gather data to support arguments about specific social studies topics
• Use primary and secondary sources such as art, photographs, artifacts, oral histories, maps, and graphs to demonstrate cultural understanding

Chronological Reasoning and Causation

• Identify important turning points in history
• Compare histories of different places in the Western Hemisphere while utilizing timelines
• Recognize and identify patterns and changes in history

Comparison and Contextualization

•  Identify how the relationship among geography, economics, and history affects events in the study of the Western Hemisphere
• Compare and contrast geological resources in the Western Hemisphere

Geographic Reasoning

• Utilize geographic tools and structures to uncover the political and geological changes in the Western Hemisphere
• Begin to understand how specific environments affect human activities and how those human activities affect the physical environment in the Western Hemisphere

Economics and Economic Systems

• Study and develop an understanding of different economic systems in the Western Hemisphere
• Understand the interdependence among different countries in the Western Hemisphere
• Assess how technology has influenced global economies

Civic Participation  

• Develop an awareness of citizenship and the role individuals have within the political systems reflected in the Western Hemisphere
• Demonstrate an understanding of the structures within a society that promote interdependence and the productive debate that lead to development and progress within the Western Hemisphere.

Mathematics is a language we use to identify, describe, and investigate the patterns and challenges of everyday living. It deals with numbers, quantities, shapes, and data, as well as numerical relationships and operations. Mathematics is a way of approaching new challenges through investigating, reasoning, visualizing, and problem solving with the goal of communicating the relationships observed and problems solved to others.

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to:

Operations and Algebraic Thinking:  

• Write and interpret numerical expressions
• Analyze patterns and relationships
• Number and Operations in Base Ten
• Understand the place value system 
• Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths

Number and Operations – Fractions:

• Use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions
• Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplications and division to multiply and divide fractions

Measurement and Data:

• Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system
• Represent and interpret data
• Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume and relate volume to multiplication and addition

Geometry:

• Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems
• Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties

The goal of science education is to develop an understanding of the inquiry process as it is related to key concepts and principles of the life, physical, and the earth/space sciences. The curriculum addresses the integration of the sciences with technology and society as students learn to connect the importance of scientific knowledge to its application in everyday life.

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to...

Structures and Properties of Matter

• Develop a working definition of the term “matter”
• Make observations to differentiate between solids, liquids, and gasses
• Draw connections between a material and its mass and volume

Matter and Energy in Organisms 

• Explain the importance of the Sun in photosynthesis and what plants need to grow
• Understanding “interdependence” and its relationship to the food chain
• Construct a food web on how energy is used in an ecosystem 
• Analyze and draw conclusions about the cycling of energy in an ecosystem and the impact of humans

Earth’s Systems:

• Compare the sizes of the planets in our solar system
• Discover how the pull of gravity impacts Earth’s shape and path around the Sun
• Construct models to show the connections in the Sun-Earth-Moon system
• Identify Earth’s major systems
• Describe how people affect Earth’s systems and how people work to protect them
• Discuss ways that communities use science ideas and knowledge to help protect Earth’s resources and environments

Science:

• Interactive Simulations https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new
• Interactive Simulations http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1390665/
• Interactive Games http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/games/-/science/all/interactive
• Clearinghouse of Websites http://interactivesites.weebly.com/science.html
• Animal Games https://switchzoo.com/
• Videos http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/index.htm

Math:

• Videos https://www.khanacademy.org/
• Math Fact Fluency https://xtramath.org/#/home/index
• Math Fact Fluency https://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards
• Problem Solving Games https://www.mathplayground.com/

Special Education Programs

A unique education program means specially designed individualized or group instruction to address student’s academic goals in reading, writing, and math.  The Committee on Special Education will determine appropriate program recommendations based on the continuum of services and students’ progress. 

Related Services

Related services are supportive services required to assist a student with a disability and include speech-language pathology, hearing services, vision services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services, and parent counseling and training.  A student’s need, identified through an evaluation, will provide the basis for written annual goals and appropriate provision of services. 

Resource Room & Consultant Teacher

Resource Room is a special education program where students require specialized supplementary instruction in a small group setting outside the classroom for a portion of the school day.  Resource Room is capped at five students per group.  Consultant Teacher, another special education program, is for students who require additional specially designed individualized or group instruction within regular education classes.  

Integrated Co-Teaching, or “Inclusion”

Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) is a special education program where students required specially designed instruction in an individualized or small group setting for multiple subjects within regular education classes.  A general education teacher and a special education teacher jointly provide instruction to a class that includes both students with and students without disabilities to meet the diverse learning needs of all students in a class.  ICT is capped at 12 students with a disability.

Special Class

Special Class is a special education program where students with disabilities have been grouped together with similar individual needs and academic goals for the purpose of being provided specially designed instruction in a small-sized class without general education students.  Students in a special class are exposed to the general education curriculum and are on a Regents pathway to graduation.  

Supplementary Aids and Services

Supplementary aids and services are other supports (i.e., additional personnel, assistive technology, instructional modifications) that are provided in regular education classes, Specials, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings to enable students with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with the least restrictive environment. 

English as a New Language (ENL) programs provide instruction in English with home language support, emphasizing English language acquisition. Students in ENL programs can come from many different language backgrounds, and English may be the only common language among the students. As per CR Part 154, there are two types of ENL components:

Stand-Alone ENL: Students receive English language development instruction taught by a New York State certified ESOL teacher. Students acquire the English language needed for success in core content areas (English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and/or Mathematics). Stand-Alone ENL is a separate time devoted to English language acquisition and English language development. The required amount of stand-alone ENL instruction depends on the English proficiency level of each student.

Integrated ENL: Students receive core content area (English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and/or Mathematics) and English language development instruction including home language supports and appropriate ELL scaffolds. Integrated ENL along with the subject area are taught by a New York State certified ESOL teacher and a New York State certified Common Branch (K-6) teacher or a teacher that is dually certified. The length of instruction depends upon the student’s proficiency level. The English Language Proficiency levels are: Entering, Emerging, Transitioning, Expanding and Commanding. For a child to exit the ENL program he/she must score an English proficiency level of Commanding on the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) or a level of Expanding and a 3 or 4 on the English Language Arts (ELA) assessment.

The Dual Language Program (DL) represents an innovative approach to education whereby students learn all curricular areas in TWO languages. The Patchogue-Medford School District DL Program serves both the English dominant and Spanish dominant student.

Goals of our program:

• Promote educational excellence for all students
• Foster the development of bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate individuals
• Promote multicultural awareness
• Provide high-quality instruction in TWO languages that supports students in demonstrating mastery in all the core subjects
• Provide an academically challenging curriculum
• Encourage all parents to become active partners in their child’s education

Our Bilingual Programs serve youngsters in kindergarten through fifth grade at:

• Bay Elementary (K-5 DL)
• Canaan Elementary (K-4 DL)
• Eagle Elementary (K-5 DL)
• Medford Elementary (K-5 DL & 4/5 Newcomer Program-Transitional Bilingual)

Side-by-Side Dual Language (DL) is comprised of English and Spanish dominant children, each receiving instruction both in their Native and New Languages. English instruction is provided by an English-speaking classroom teacher and Spanish instruction by a bilingual teacher.

Newcomer Program (TBE) provides English Language Learners with high-quality instruction in both their native and new language simultaneously while promoting cultural awareness and support until students are ready to be mainstreamed into English-only classes.

Information literacy is a skill necessary for today’s world of rapidly increasing information. Students will have to assimilate more information than has appeared in the last 150 years.

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to:

Information Literacy

• Continue to search the library computer catalog to identify and locate materials for individual interests and research needs
• Continue exploration of the virtual reference collection. 
• Continue to explore various literary genres within fiction and nonfiction
• Explore chapter books by noted authors, including state and national award nominees and winners
• Introduce the Newbery award
• Discuss elements of a story: characters, plot, setting, and theme.
• Continue to use a simple research process, learn how to evaluate a variety of resources, and summarize findings in students’ own words

Technology: Computers

• Introduce the effects of cyber-bullying
• Demonstrate the ability to use basic operation commands (opening and closing programs, save, log-on)
• Prepare documents that include a variety of media
• Determine correct keywords to use when conducting Internet research
• Work collaboratively with a team using information technology resources
• Adhere to safety and security policies
• Identify personal information that should not be shared. Explain the risks and dangers of sharing personal information

Physical Education Programs offer students the opportunity to enhance their minds and bodies.

As a result of their schooling, students will be able to:

Physical Skills

• Students will continue their refinement of motor skills to enhance sport-related situations and activities. Students will continue to pursue their development of teamwork, sportsmanship, and cooperation in modified competitive activities

Knowledge

• Students will begin to adhere to the understanding of rules within sports as well as develop multiple strategic methods to be successful within the activity.  In addition, students will understand and recognize fitness concepts while developing lifelong healthy habits

Physical Activity

• Students will be able to identify their heart rate during physical fitness activities. Students will also participate in sport-related activities and fitness

Intrinsic Value

• Each student will participate with the desire to succeed with confidence, and ultimately have fun, in a safe and nurturing environment, while developing the love of living a healthy lifestyle

Our art and music programs help our students build perseverance and achievement, teach responsibility, expose students to history and culture, help improve coordination, reading, math and social skills, as well as nurture self-expression and creativity.  The arts connect us to the world and open our eyes to new ways of seeing.

Music Appreciation

• Students will learn about history and genre throughout their experiences, building knowledge of key musical terms, analyzing melody and harmony, rhythm, and form.  Students will learn to read, write, and compose music as well

Movement

• Reinforcing body awareness with various movement activities

Improvisation

• Exploring creativity through movement, rhythm, and pitch

Performance

• Giving opportunities for students to learn to sing, as well as use the recorder, ukulele, and world drumming, as a foundation to performing within an ensemble

Ensemble

• Students in grades 4 and 5 will have the opportunity to join the band, orchestra, and choral ensembles.  Students perform in a winter and spring concert.  Both the orchestra and band program involve weekly instrumental music lessons throughout the school day on a rotating period basis

The elementary art curriculum focuses on integrating aesthetics, studio art, collaboration, connections to literature and art history in an engaging, creative and imaginative environment with an emphasis on the Elements of Art and Principles of Design.

Art skills/fine motor skills are taught as scaffolded skills based on appropriate development of the young artist and accommodations are made for students to reach their individual goals.  

• Exploring Materials: Students will continue to build skills and creatively explore materials in an advanced manner such as: utilizing studio materials to make the illusion of form or actual 3-dimentional forms, applying paint techniques while comparing paint viscosity, transparency and opacity with different kinds of paint and applying materials to create values and textures
• Use of Principles of design and Elements of art: Students will practice using line, shape, pattern, form, color theory, space, value, balance, rhythm, variety, proportion, unity and emphasis. Students will apply these to works of art
• Cultural connections: Students will explore examples of cultures and artists of the world that coincide with the principles and elements studied to create their own art
• Cross curriculum connections: Students will continue to use literature with illustrations to expand their visual literacy while utilizing social studies, science and math skills, at and above grade level to challenge advance learners to create new images in art
• Reflections: Students will continue to understand their own craftsmanship. Students will be able to identify in their own work and others where there are areas of improvement or great accomplishments. Students will be asked to use art vocabulary while commenting on work. Students will also begin to recognize how art creates emotion