In fifth grade, students conduct a detailed study of the seven sacraments, the mission of the Church as an extension of Jesus, and the students' obligations as sacramental people.

In fifth grade, students focus on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. In addition, they explore measuring and graphing data, geometry, probability, and statistics.

Fifth graders continue to expand their vocabulary and become conversant with many types of literature: fiction and nonfiction, poems, and plays.

To reinforce what they have learned in past years, fifth grade students review the parts of speech, capitalization, punctuation, and sentence structure. In addition, students learn prewriting strategies, such as clustering and brainstorming, outlining, and taking notes. Fifth graders also master imagery techniques, like similes and metaphors, and many new kinds of writing, including expository writing, and business letters.

The music series begun in kindergarten and progressing through grade eight emphasizes rhythm, tone color, form, melody, harmony, listening, and music appreciation. During class, students enjoy singing, playing rhythm instruments and musical games, dancing, listening for enjoyment, and listening for analysis.

Children in fifth grade participate in the Christmas Musical.

In the upper grades, the emphasis turns toward team games and athletic skills. After warm-up exercises, students may practice fitness testing or play soccer, floor hockey, basketball, volleyball, wiffleball, softball, speedball, or other organized games.

Using guidelines established by the Diocese of Pittsburgh, teachers show students what functions computers can and cannot perform. Using this knowledge, students explore word processing and graphic capabilities and practice using the computer for language arts and math.

The five kingdoms of living things, kingdom, phylum, class, order, and species, provide the focus of science in the fifth grade. Students also become acquainted with chemistry, earth science, and physical science.

In social studies, fifth graders study the geography of the United States. Meanwhile, in history, students cover a range of subjects, from Indian groups and Europe's colonization of the Americas to the American Revolution and the Civil War.

By the end of fifth grade, students may handle basic conversations in Spanish. In particular, they will know colors, days, dates, numbers, weather, time, and geography.

Students in fifth grade have the opportunity to participate in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS), Pizza Hut Book-It Program, Student Council, Scouts, band, children's choir, cheerleading, and basketball. They can also become altar servers and enter literary competitions.

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Page last updated on June 25, 2010
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