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Fifth grade is
both a challenging and exciting year for students. The goal for
every fifth grader is to accept responsibility for his/her
actions in order to enhance self-confidence and to understand
how each student is ultimately responsible for decisions made.
Organization, study techniques, and setting goals are all skills
that fifth graders work on continually throughout the year. At
this grade level there is more emphasis on developing time
management skills, along with planning and completing projects
independently. These skills are necessary for success in middle
school and are strengthened during this important transition
year.
Language
Arts
Starkey students
refine and master previously-learned knowledge and skills in
increasingly complex presentations, reading selections, and
written compositions. They identify a speaker’s persuasive
technique in presentations. Students read from classic and
contemporary selections, as well as informational text.
Students learn to recognize the way an author organized
information and engage in more sophisticated analysis of
characters, plot, and settings. Fifth graders are also required
to read independently in novels of their choice, and
participation in the Accelerated Reader program is encouraged.
Fifth grade students select and use different forms of writing
for specific purposes such as to inform, persuade, or
entertain. Students vary sentence structure and use
conjunctions to connect ideas. A study of literary devices such
as suspense, dialogue, and figurative language offers students
opportunities to enrich their writing skills. Fifth graders
edit their writing based on their knowledge of grammar and
usage, spelling, punctuation, and other conventions of written
language. Students produce final, error-free pieces of written
composition on a regular basis. They also search out multiple
texts to complete research projects and use visuals to support
their research.
Mathematics
The fifth grade
math curriculum focuses on helping students make sense of math
in meaningful ways. Students learn that there are different
ways to solve a problem, and they must demonstrate a true
understanding of concepts.
Within a
well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points
at Grade 5 include comparing and contrasting lengths, area, and
volume of geometric shapes and solids; representing and
interpreting data in graphs, charts, and tables; and applying
whole number operations in a variety of contexts. Students
develop a deeper understanding of decimal and fraction
concepts.
Fifth graders
build a foundation of basic understandings in:
Ø
number, operation, & quantitative reasoning
Ø
patterns, relationships, & algebraic thinking
Ø
geometry & special reasoning
Ø
probability & statistics
Instruction for
mathematics emphasizes the process of problem solving.
Social
Studies
A fifth grade
student studies the history of the United States from its early
beginnings to the present, with a focus on colonial times
through the 20th century. The roots of
representative government in this nation, as well as important
ideas in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Constitution are studied. Students also learn about the variety
of regions in the United States. Through social studies, the
fifth grade student at Starkey uses critical thinking skills
(sequencing, categorizing, summarizing information, and making
inferences while drawing conclusions) to study the history of
the United States.
Fifth grade
Social Studies build a foundation in:
Ø
history
Ø
geography
Ø
economics
Ø
citizenship
Ø
culture
Ø
science, technology & society
Ø
social studies skills
Science
& Health
In Grade 5, the
study of science includes planning and implementing field and
laboratory investigations. As students learn science skills,
they identify structures and functions of Earth systems. They
also learn that adaptations can improve the survival of members
of a species, and they explore an organism’s niche within an
ecosystem.
Science is a way
of learning about the natural world. Students study how science
has built a vast body of changing and increasing knowledge.
Fifth graders
learn that a system is a collection of cycles, structures, and
processes that interact. Investigations are used to learn about
the natural world. Students learn that certain types of
questions can be answered by investigations, and that methods,
models, and conclusions built from these investigations change
as new observations are made.
Since
opportunities for student exploration are provided through
hands-on lab situations, fifth graders demonstrate their science
expertise by participating in the Science Expo in January.
Communication
It is important to each fifth grade
student that parents and teachers communicate frequently. Fifth
grade teachers communicate with parents in a variety of ways,
including:
Ø
Back-to-School Night
Ø
Open House
Ø
Daily Assignment Agenda Book
Ø
Starkey Newsletter
Ø
Progress Reports at 3 weeks
Ø
Report Cards at 6 weeks
Ø
Student’s work and notes sent home in weekly
progress folders
Ø
Comments in weekly folders
Ø
Conferences – personal and phone
Parents are encouraged to schedule a
conference any time there is a concern or they would like to
visit with a teacher. We care about our fifth graders and want
them to succeed. The fifth grade teachers’ conference period is
8:05-8:55 a.m. Parents are also urged to call the school
(257-2210) to participate in phone conferences, as needed.
Weekly
Progress Folders
Every fifth
grader will bring home a progress folder each Thursday with
completed work. It may also include messages of importance
pertaining to school-wide or fifth grade activities. Parents
can communicate with any fifth grade teacher in the comment
section provided in each folder. Parents are asked to sign that
they have seen the papers, and then the students return the
empty folders on Friday.
Assignment
Agenda Book
On the first day
of school, each student will receive an assignment agenda book
which will fit inside his/her binder. Homework assignments are
written in this book daily and should be checked off when
completed. This book always stays in the student’s binder and
therefore goes back and forth between home and school daily. It
is a tool for both organizing and assuming responsibility for
all work. It also assists fifth graders with time management
skills.
Character
& Citizenship
In order to
create and maintain the best learning environment possible,
character and citizenship are integrated into all fifth grade
activities. The six pillars of “Character Counts” –
trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and
citizenship – are emphasized, modeled, and reinforced daily.
A STUDENT IN FIFTH
GRADE MUST PASS THE TAKS MATH AND TAKS READING TESTS IN
ORDER TO BE PROMOTED TO SIXTH GRADE.
The
fifth grade teachers’ conference time is 8:05 a.m. – 8:55 a.m.
Please call the school office (257-2210) to schedule a
conference.
FIFTH GRADE FACULTY
Hollis Uecker Grade
Level Chair
Southwest
Texas State University
Degree: Bachelor
of Science
E-mail: hollis.uecker@kerrvilleisd.net
Bruce Kryzer Winona
State University & St. Mary’s University of Winona,
MN
Degree: Bachelor
of Science
E-mail: bruce.kryzer@kerrvilleisd.net
Sheri Fryrear University
of North Texas
Degree: Bachelor
of Science
E-mail: sheri.fryrear@kerrvilleisd.net |
