What kind of subjects and issues are taught in 5th grade?

Question

What kind of subjects and issues are taught in 5th grade?

Answer 1

5th graders are entering into a world of higher education. This is the year of change for many students.
These are some basic subjects that they will be taking.

Language Arts/English will consist of:

Composition—Students practice writing, from planning to proofreading, as they write a memoir, an editorial, a research paper, a business letter, and more.
Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics—Students learn about parts of speech, punctuation, and research skills. They continue sentence analysis and diagramming.
Vocabulary—The Vocabulary Workshop helps students enrich their vocabulary, develop word analysis skills, and prepare for standardized tests.
Spelling—Students learn sound-symbol relationships and spelling patterns, identify affixes and how they affect the meaning of words, and recognize base words and roots in related words.

In Literature students analyze, compare, and creatively respond to a variety of works. The emphasis is on classic works, including tales of Robin Hood and St. George; selections from Don Quixote and Shakespeare's The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream; "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"; and Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Students read works of nonfiction, as well as four novels (selected from a long list of such classics as Pippi Longstocking, Call It Courage, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).

Fifth grade math students sharpen their computational and problem-solving skills while applying mathematical concepts to real-world problems. Students will:

Continue to develop computational skills using larger numbers up to millions.
Estimate sums and differences before finding exact solutions.
Develop concepts of ratio, proportion, and percent.
Through a proprietary, research-based series of lessons, develop strategies for solving word problems that progress from simple addition problems to problems with complex data.
Identify and apply characteristics of polygons, circles, and triangles.
Develop research-based intuitive understanding of fractions together with practical computational skills.
Expand understanding of probability and its link to fractions.
Develop computational skills using decimals.

In Science students will explore topics such as:

Water Resources—water pollution; conservation; aquifers; watersheds; wetlands.
The World's Oceans—properties of ocean water; currents, waves, and tides; the ocean floor; marine organisms.
Earth's Atmosphere—layers; weather patterns, maps, and forecasts; fronts; El Niño and the Greenhouse Effect.
Forces of Motion—types of pushes or pulls; position and speed; inertia; energy as a measure of work; gravity and motion.
Chemistry—structure of atoms; elements and compounds; the periodic table; chemical reactions; acids and bases.
Cells and Cell Processes—structure; membrane function; respiration and photosynthesis; growth cycles; genes and DNA.
Taxonomy of Plants and Animals—levels of classification; plants, animals, monerans, viruses, protists, and fungi.
Animal Physiology—circulatory, respiratory, digestive, excretory, and immune systems.

Students undertake the first year in a two-year detailed survey of the history of the United States.
Students will: study the development of various Native American civilizations.
Learn about European exploration and the growth of the 13 colonies.
Investigate in detail the causes and consequence of the American Revolution.
Examine the Constitution and the growth of the new nation.
Become familiar with Jacksonian democracy, westward expansion, and "manifest destiny."
Study the Civil War and Reconstruction.

If the school has an Art program they will study and create various works, both realistic and abstract, including sketches, masks, architectural models, prints, and paintings.
Investigate the arts of the American Indians, and Colonial and Federal America.
Create artworks inspired by works they learn about, using many materials and techniques. For example, after studying the John James Audubon's extraordinary paintings of birds, students make bird paintings with realistic color and texture; and they make weavings inspired by the colors and patterns of Navajo blankets.

Sometimes a school will have a class on Music once a week, if the do then the student will learn to sing along with folk songs.
Practice moving to music.
Listen actively to different kinds of music.
Read and write music.
Learn to recognize melody in two, three, and four note patterns.
Identify rhythms in music using eighths, quarters, rests, and half notes..
Become familiar with string and percussion instruments of the orchestra.
Recognize duple and triple meter.
Begin to understand standard musical notation.

Answer 2

This differs from state to state. Go to the state department of education web page and look under curriculum and you should be able to find a list of topics taught at each level.

Answer 3

Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic. The three R's.