In this activity, students will apply concepts about government and create their own country. You can tailor this assignment to meet the needs of your class, but are encouraged to offer numerous choices to students. This storyboard can serve as the summative assignment for the unit and can be presented for the rest of the class, either individually, or as part of a class-wide country fair where each country is on display simultaneously.
Possible Create-A-Country Checklist Items:
- Name of Country
- Type of Government
- Unique Laws
Example Country: Democracia
The flag of Democracia includes a sun and a scale. The sun is the beacon of light that represents the freedom and liberty for the world to see. The scale represents the equal balance of power among all of the Democracian citizens.
The government of Democracia is a direct democracy. All adult citizens are required to vote on each legislative, executive, and judicial issue. Due to the small population of 3,000, the voting system is efficient. Citizens can use the iVote app on their phones to participate.
This is the map of the island country of Democracia. To the left is the Sea of Liberty and to the right is the Bay of Rights. The capital is Jefferson and the Independence Mountain Range is a major land formation.
The three unique laws of Democracia are intended to maintain a fair level of representation and equality among the citizens. Citizens are required to vote in order to keep their jobs, are prohibited from cruel behavior, and must graduate high school.
Students should create a storyboard that reflects the day-to-day life of a citizen in their country. Students can elaborate on certain cultural practices, or how the government impacts their lives. Students may present their storyboards to the class, and the class can decide which country sounds most appealing to them.
Overview of Fifth Grade Learning Milestones
Fifth grade is a year of highly visible progress in reading and language arts. By the end of fifth grade students should be able to:
- Use grade appropriate vocabulary
- Apply comprehension strategies to a variety of literary genres
- Write and punctuate appropriately in research and composition assignments
- Speak and listen with grade appropriate skill
Fifth grade is also a year of development and skill building in mathematics. By the end of fifth grade students should be able to:
- Be proficient using the four math operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
- Use basic algebraic functions such as exponents and order of operations
- Apply geometric concepts to solve problems
- Use various methods of measurement with skill
- Understand data analysis and basic statistical terms
Fifth Grade Language Arts and Reading Curriculum Overview
The Time4Learning curriculum constitutes a solid fifth grade language arts program correlated to state standards, which many homeschool parents use as their entire curriculum. Non-homeschoolers utilize the lessons for extra practice, an online fifth grade tutorial, or summer enrichment. Fifth grade language arts is organized into two large sections: Language Arts and Language Arts Extensions.
- The language arts section contains 159 learning activities that are primarily based on vocabulary skills, fluency, and comprehension.
- Our Independent Learning Activities (ILA), think alouds, interactive guided instruction and read & respond lessons will build and develop working knowledge of language arts skills and give students plenty of practice.
Lessons are organized into different chapters that introduce and cover:
- Vocabulary skills – Teaches an application and expansion of grade level appropriate vocabulary incorporating the use of synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, prefixes, suffixes, homophones, idioms, and Greek and Latin roots. Lessons include interactive guided instruction, an interactive practice session, and quizzes over each topic.
- Process Skills – Students are challenged to summarize, predict, visualize, clarify, and understand scaffolding to enhance reading comprehension. Lessons use the Think Aloud format to introduce literary and expository texts to students.
- Comprehension – Teaches the student how to apply comprehension strategies to literary and expository texts. Students explore the use of summarizing, plot identification, main idea, theme, cause and effect, inferences, compare and contrast fact vs. opinion, making inferences, and the author’s purpose through the use of interactive exercises and quizzes.
- State Simulation Assessments – Students go through a mock assessment that teaches them how to apply reading comprehension strategies to standardized tests.
- An American Safari ILA – Students apply their knowledge by engaging in a series of activities that enhance reading, writing, and thinking skills. This Independent Learning Activity builds comprehension strategies through the use of a narrative about animals in the wild. Students learn how to write the four types of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory) through the use of learning activities.
- The Birchbark House – ILA – ILA that teaches students about human and animal relationships. Students apply their knowledge by engaging in a series of activities that enhance reading, writing, and thinking skills. Students learn how to use adverbs and construct singular and plural nouns through direct instruction and interactive practice.
- The Giver ILA – Teaches comprehension strategies through the use of a literature based chapter on knowledge and life choices. Lessons give the student opportunity to apply their knowledge through interactive activities enhancing reading, writing, and thinking skills. Students use recognition and application of language arts skills to identify common, proper, and irregular plural nouns.
- Mother and Daughter ILA – Students use pre reading, during reading, and post reading activities to explore a chapter on mother-daughter relationships and adolescence. Lessons give opportunity to apply knowledge through language arts activities such as reading and writing. In the final two lessons, students learn how to properly use commas and synonyms in sentence construction.
- The Black Stallion ILA – Teaches reading, writing, and thinking skills through the use of an integrated literature based chapter on survival and trust. Students are asked to recognize and apply language arts skills to reading comprehension. The chapter ends with the students learning how to correctly use subject-verb agreement and adjectives within sentences through the creation of a travel brochure.
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Fifth Grade Language Extensions Curriculum Overview
Fifth Grade Language Extensions Curriculum Overview
Language arts extensions is a component of the complete language arts curriculum. Many homeschooling parents have their child complete both the language arts and language arts extensions. Non-homeschoolers use the lessons for online tutoring, extra practice, or summer enrichment or as a fifth grade language arts tutorial.
The language arts extensions lessons are organized into several chapters that introduce and cover:
- Reading Strategies – Teaches students competency in reading skills through the use of text organizers, structure of words, text elements, and interpretation. Students are asked to summarize and paraphrase passages, identify the cause and effect relationship within a story, identify the meaning of affixes, and set purposes or goals as a reading strategy. In the last several lessons of this chapter grade level appropriate vocabulary are taught to enhance language use.
- Grammar – Teaches the punctuation rules, comma rules, and the use of quotation marks. In the grammar lessons, students are asked to determine the correct tense of verbs, indentify linking verbs, identify indirect and direct objects, use predicate adjectives within a sentence, use comparative and superlative adverbs within a sentence, correctly identify homophones and homographs, and correctly write hyphenated words within a sentence.
- Literature – Students will learn how to read and respond to various types of literature. Lessons will focus on the elements of a story such as plot, style, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and character development. Students will use traditional tales, historical fiction, fables, poetry, Greek mythology, and historical documents to recognize and experience the fact that literature is used as a record of human experience.
- Elements of Writing – Lessons focus on paragraph writing, letter writing, research reports, and composition writing. Students are asked to write a paragraph using topic and supporting sentences, create an outline to organize information, write a persuasive letter and cite sources in a research report. They will use story elements to write a composition in literal and figurative language and distinguish between first and third person point of view. Finally, they will be taught how to edit and revise their work.
- Tools for Learning – Students are asked to read poetry and prose aloud, demonstrate control of expression while speaking publicly, express their opinions respectfully, demonstrate effective listening skills through summarizing speeches or lectures, and give and follow detailed directions. Students develop proficiency in speaking and listening through interactive assignments.
- Conventions of Spelling – Teaches spelling and proofreading guidelines through the application of spelling rules and exceptions. Students are asked to consistently apply the given rules in nine spelling lessons covering words that include specific prefixes and suffixes.
Fifth Grade Vocabulary Curriculum Overview
Vocabulary building is emphasized throughout Time4Learning’s fifth grade language arts program using reading, grammar, spelling and writing exercises. Lesson activities cover:
- Synonyms, antonyms, affixes, homophones, and figurative language
- Multiple lessons on literature characteristics of different genres of writing
- Tools for learning effective listening, public speaking, and expressing opinions
- Analysis of both poetry and prose
Fifth Grade Math Curriculum Overview
The fifth grade math curriculum contains numerous math lessons, along with printable worksheets, quizzes and chapter tests. It constitutes a solid fifth grade math program correlated to state standards, which is important to many homeschooling users. Non homeschoolers use the program as an alternative to a 5th grade math tutor, for test preparation, extra practice, or summer enrichment.
- Animated characters present the fifth grade math lessons one step at a time, at the student’s pace.
- Each chapter of learning builds on previous skills.
- Interactive prompts and funny stories bring the lessons to life.
Math lessons are organized into 10 chapters that introduce and cover:
- Whole Numbers – Students learn how to apply concepts of place value and estimation through the use of Arabic and Roman numerals. Interactive assignments ask students to convert Roman numerals to Arabic numerals, expand numbers to the billion’s place, and estimate sums and differences with reasonableness in mind.
- Operations with whole numbers – Students develop an understanding of operations using addition and subtraction of whole numbers, multiplication using 3 by 2, and division with 2 digit divisors and 3 digit dividends. Students are asked to solve problems using exponents and order of operations. They will also identify prime numbers through factorization and apply problem solving strategies to real life situations.
- Decimals – Students apply their knowledge of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing using decimals. They are asked to read and write numbers to the thousandths place, use decimals in conjunction with the number line, add and subtract decimals with estimating sums and differences, multiplying and dividing decimals with estimating products and quotients, and identifying and converting decimals to percents.
- Fractions – Students develop their ability to add and subtract using fractions and mixed numbers through the use of interactive lessons. Exercises help students to apply this knowledge to multiplying and dividing with improper fractions, simplifying fractions, making equivalent fractions, working with mixed numbers, estimating fractions, and developing relationships between fractions, decimals, and percents.
- Algebra – Students identify the connection between algebraic patterns, equations and addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division through direct instruction, activities, and worksheets involving integer patterns, algebraic patterns, and equations.
- Measurement – Teaches units of measurement and conversions. Students are asked to apply formulas to customary and metric measures of length, weight, capacity, and temperature. Lessons on time will enable students to determine elapsed time in real life situations. Finally, students will learn formulas and apply them to calculate measures of area, perimeter, and volume.
- Geometry – Students will discover various geometric concepts that apply to real situations. Students will explore geometric terms and learn their proper application, learn about three dimensional figures, learn and use surface net and scale drawing to build their own figures, determine the measurement of angles, graph using ordered pairs, and use symmetry and transformation to identify shapes.
- Probability – Teaches the concept of probability. Students are asked to predict outcomes by using methods of probability and applying this to simulated situations.
- Data Analysis – Students are taught the many kinds of graphs such as bar graphs, line graphs, histograms, Venn diagrams, and pictographs. Students are asked to use basic statistics and terms such as mean, median, mode, and range to organize data. They are also taught the purpose and use of the stem and leaf plot.
The fifth grade science curriculum contains a number of lessons, worksheets and quizzes, organized into an assortment of chapters. Members use the science curriculum as a 5th grade science tutorial, for extra practice, or summer enrichment.
Fifth Grade Social Studies Curriculum Overview
The fifth grade social studies curriculum contains numerous lessons, as well as worksheets and quizzes, organized into different chapters. Members use the social studies curriculum as a fifth grade social studies tutorial, for extra practice, or to supplement their homeschooling approach. Although the materials are extensive, social studies is included as an added bonus. It does not correlate to all state standards and is not animated.
In the fifth grade social studies curriculum, students will cover:
- Olmec – The Olmec Civilization and its location, means of travel, dwellings, food production, art and religion, writing, counting, and calendar are discussed. Interactive assignments require the students to identify important facts.
- Phoenicians – Students learn about the Phoenician Civilization and its location, role of city-states, identification of important cities, influence of Egyptian trade, trade routes, culture in terms of clothing and hieroglyphics, manufacturing, navigation and seafaring, and the development of an alphabet and its basis for our current alphabet.
- Shang/Zhou Dynasty – Teaches students about the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Students are asked to point out the location of these dynasties on a map, describe the use of bronze and the creation of silk textiles, explain their use of a sophisticated writing system, explain the roles of art and religion, identify the various rulers and influential people, describe the period known as China’s Golden Age, explain the Confucian Philosophy, Lao-tsu and Daoism.
- Nubian Kingdom –The Nubian Civilization is taught through lessons on its location, important cities, conflicts with other nations, similar surrounding cultures, and natural resources.
- Ancient Greece – Students learn about Ancient Greece through lessons that require them to locate the Ancient Greek civilization’s location on a map, explain their city-states, define tyrants, describe the roles of the Greek gods and goddesses, describe the Greek alphabet and how it was developed, explain the contributions of the Greek scholars, and define the role that art, architecture, music, athletics, drama, and literature played in the development of Greek culture.
- U.S. Politics 1801-1840 – Students learn about the early presidents and politics of the United States during the period of 1801-1840. Assignments require students to describe the life of Thomas Jefferson, the importance of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Zebulon Pike Expedition, the presidency of James Madison, the events that led to the War of 1812 and the battles of that war, the presidency of James Monroe, the Missouri Compromise, the presidency of Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act, the Trail of Tears, and the Seminole Wars.
- U.S. History 1820-1850 – Teaches the students an overview of the history of the states by examining the influence of Westward Expansion, the means of travel, the Santa Fe Trail, the Texas War for Independence, the Battle of the Alamo and the important men who fought there, The Oregon Trail, the Mormons migration West, the Mexican –American war, and the California Gold Rush.
- U.S. Economy in the mid-1800s – Students learn about the differences in the economies of the north and the south through exploration of industrial development. Lessons include the invention of rubber, the sewing machine, the telegraph, whaling, clipper and trade ships, the reaper, the railroad expansion, growing cotton in the south, slavery and the fight to free them, women who made a difference, and reformers for schools, prisons, and mental hospitals.
- Leading to American Civil War – The events that led to the Civil War are examined and students are asked to summarize the Compromise of 1850, the effect Harriet Beecher Stowe had on the slavery debate, The Dred Scott decision and the formation of the Republican Party, the Raid at Harper’s Ferry, John Brown, and the outbreak of the Civil War.
- The American Civil War – Teaches about the Civil War through a comparison of the Blue and the Grey and the Yankees and the Rebels. Lessons require the student to explain the differences between each side as the war began, describe the Battle of Bull Run and the battles at sea, explain the fight for control of the Mississippi River, describe the Peninsular Campaign and the Second Bull Run, describe the effect the Emancipation Proclamation had on African Americans, describe General Sherman’s march to the sea and explain why he did this, depict the events that led up to the surrender at Appomattox and the costs of the Civil War.
- Reconstruction 1865-1877 – Students learn about the reconstruction of the U.S. after the Civil War. Topics of interest include: the death of President Lincoln, the Johnson Reconstruction Plan, the carpetbaggers, amendments to the constitution, racism during reconstruction, and the Compromise of 1877.
- Geography of the United States – Teaches states and capitals and their location on a map, major cities, major regions, Midwest and Great Plains, major rivers, and the various time zones.
- World Geography – Students learn geography of the world through the study of time zones, the tropic of cancer and Capricorn, climate zones, polar and mountain regions, islands and rain forests, deserts and grasslands, archaeologists, artifacts and ruins, and how archaeologists can reconstruct the past.
- Economic System – Students are asked to describe the law of supply and demand, how economic systems produce and distribute goods, factors that affect how consumers make their choices, given examples of competition in the economy, the economic role of government, the national defense plan, productivity, exchange of goods and services, entrepreneurship, and the influence of income on education and career choices.
- 19th Century Individuals – Notable individuals and accomplishments are examined. Students are asked to identify the accomplishments of The Wright Brothers, Samuel F. Morse, Louis Braille, Elijah McCoy, Madame CJ Walker, and Alexander Graham Bell.
Fifth Grade Educational Resources