In online 5th grade, we have some of the most amazing students in all of SPPS!

Our 5th grade team is highly collaborative, and we utilize team teaching, small groups, and differentiated instruction to explore our multi-faceted curriculum. We have adapted our materials for the online environment, and have made our curriculum interdisciplinary and thematic, with an emphasis on creativity and projects. 

Our themes this year include:

• Self & Identity; Rights & Responsibility
• Stories of our Past and Experiences
• Shared Histories
• Finding Solutions
• Creativity and Self-Expression
• We are Global Citizens

Within each of these themes, our students create two or three larger writing projects, study relevant literature or non-fiction texts, and explore social studies topics that bring our content to life. We search for relevance in everything we learn. In some of our thematic units, our math curriculum takes center-stage as a way to understand real-life applications, such as our Spring unit on entrepreneurship (Creativity and Self-Expression).

Finally, because our world is increasingly becoming interconnected, a strong emphasis in grade 5 is on using accurate, thoughtful language, both in writing and speaking. We collaborate with our MLL department to teach ALL students with the same emphasis on mastering language in different modalities, settings, and ranges of discourse. Our students can express themselves as expert mathematicians, write five-paragraph essays, express their opinions respectfully, and ask thoughtful questions to probe for deeper understanding. No matter our background, we strive to be expert communicators.

If you would like to see what we mean, check out our student-created and student-curated website (but be warned that, like I-35 and I-94, it is always "under construction): https://oes5team.my.canva.site/5team