Fifth grade is usually the milestone grade where an accumulation of knowledge from previous schooling is required to divulge new material. Reading skills required are beyond sounding out words and identifying consonants and vowels. Your student will need to recognize the five stages of plot in fiction which include:

• exposition
• rising action
• climax
• falling action
• resolution

He or she will need to comprehend the genres including biographies, poetry, plays, and fiction and so on. Complex textbooks and new vocabulary are introduced so knowing how to research and interpret word use is crucial. Writing with topical sentences for paragraphs, producing introductions and flow, and understanding and writing audience appropriate style, character dialogue, research papers, and citing works will be required. They ought to be able to apply grammar rules and create structured paragraphs with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a closing sentence. Research and report writing for all subjects is mandatory.

Math abilities for the prepared fourth grader should include the addition subtraction of decimals and fractions, division of a larger multi digit number by a single digit number, and the ability to find the area of shapes.

Fourth graders ready for fifth grade also should have established social skills that include the ability to think and create independently, understand and demonstrate responsibility, and participate in groups. They should be able to memorize and recite facts, perform research and understand cause and effect.

What’s to come? Fifth grade math will include working with fractions, decimals, per cents, and mixed numbers. They will learn about statistics, probability, the basics of geometry, and how to compute volume and area of objects. Science lessons will consist of  basic experiments, how to draw conclusions from observations, an introduction to physical science such as electricity, atoms, molecules, and chemistry and biology including environment, water cycles, and nature. History and social studies often includes map reading, timelines of historical events, and world history.

David taught elementary school in Central Texas for 8 years and has over 15 years of experience in online education related websites and blogs