Fifth Grade
Teacher: MRS. Keaten & Mrs. Davila
Newsletter
Welcome to St. Mary Catholic School Intermediate Grades 5. You and your child are in for a
wonderful year of discovery and learning. We will put our faith into action and learn respectfully from one another.
wonderful year of discovery and learning. We will put our faith into action and learn respectfully from one another.5th grade is typically the grade where students should become more independent. Parents are asked to monitor homework and give help only if it is really needed. These are the grades where students are taught to study for tests. Parents may take the opportunity to review materials with students before a test. We take notes and learn study habits and traits. School begins at 7:45 AM with prayer in Cargill Hall. We begin teaching at 8:00. If your child is consistently late, he or she is missing important instruction.
5th graders participate in STARBASE and take a four-day overnight trip to Camp Kappe in the spring.
In the Intermediate 5th grade we work hard, play hard during a daily recess period, learn to get along with our peers, and try to settle our differences among ourselves. We are looking forward to an exciting year working with your child.
ELA – Vocabulary/Spelling; English/Writing; and Reading.
- Vocabulary/Spelling units are on a two-week rotation. The first week vocabulary cards are completed, and a spelling test is taken. The second week a vocabulary test is taken over the same unit which includes applying vocabulary words, synonyms, and antonyms in sentences.
- By 4th and 5th grades reading skills should have been introduced and mastered to a certain extent. In Intermediate grades we build on these skills and further develop them. Our Reading instruction does not use a basal reader. Instead, mini lessons on skills are taught and practiced and then applied to novels that are read in class. Typically, 5th grade reads 4 novels each year.
- Students are expected to read AR books, complete products, and take AR tests to achieve an AR goal each nine weeks and that grade is counted as a test grade.
- English grammar and writing are taught using the textbook, Voyages.
Math
- Homework should be expected nightly and may take up to 30 minutes to complete. Students are expected to know all their math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). The following are some topics we learn: fractions, long division, two and three digit multiplication, decimals, and geometry. Stations are used to build and reinforce math skills.
Science
- Consists of videos, Texas Interactive Science, experiments, and taking notes for tests.
- Some topics covered are: weather, types of matter, resources, and the water cycle.
Social Studies
- Consists of completing projects, reading and discussing chapters, and taking notes that need to be studied in order to be successful on tests.
- Test consist of multiple choice, fill in the blanks, and discussion questions.
- Forth graders cover the United States Regions and Texas History.
- Fifth graders cover the geography and history of the United States.
Religion
- Requirements include at least 10 hours of service each semester. Some of this is achieved by being a Mass buddy to Pre-K students, helping with recycling, and straightening the church books each week. Additional service time must be completed out of school.
- Students attend weekly Mass on Fridays.
Homework/Social Skills
- Teachers keep a weekly tab on behavior, social interactions, and work habits which make up your student’s conduct grade that is entered each week in SIS (renweb).
- Our Friday letters are posted on the school website on Fridays.
- Each student has a binder that is used to encourage organizational skills. All subjects have an area of the binder. Periodic binder checks are conducted, and students are encouraged to keep binders neat and current. Some items in the binder will be kept for nine weeks or sometimes even for the year. Other items will be recycled once we have covered that material or at the end of the nine weeks.
- Homework is given on a nightly basis. Homework may take from 45 minutes to 1 hour. This does not include reading for 60 minutes per week for AR or studying math facts for 40 minutes per week.
Technology
- Classes provide instruction on keyboarding skills, Microsoft Office skills, and research skills on a weekly basis.
Spanish
- Fifth grade students attend Spanish classes weekly in which they focus on vocabulary and grammar to improve conversational Spanish.
Fine Arts
- Students attend Art classes weekly. The children study famous artists and use a variety of media and techniques. They are able to express their creative styles through original work.
