ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

HMH Into Reading: Curriculum Overview for Fourth and Fifth Grade   

HMH Into Reading is a comprehensive literacy program designed to foster a love for reading while developing essential skills in students from fourth and fifth grades. The curriculum emphasizes a balanced approach to literacy, integrating reading, writing, speaking, and listening. 

Key Features: 

• Engaging Texts: Students explore a diverse selection of texts, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and graphic novels, designed to meet various interests and reading levels.
• Skill Development: Instruction focuses on key literacy skills such as vocabulary acquisition, comprehension strategies, and critical thinking.
• Interactive Learning: Students participate in collaborative activities and discussions that promote communication and deepen understanding of the material.

 Writing Instruction 

In addition to reading instruction, students engage in frequent and meaningful writing experiences. The fourth and fifth grade ELA curriculum is highly pencil-to-paper, giving students multiple opportunities to strengthen their writing skills. Students will:  

• Complete multiple writing assignments throughout each nine weeks across genres such as narrative, expository, opinion, and creative writing.
• Learn and apply text structure and organizational skills, including crafting strong introductions, developing body paragraphs, using transitions, and writing effective conclusions.
• Practice grammar, sentence structure, and mechanics to improve clarity and style in their writing.
• Participate in guided practice, peer review, and writing conferences to support growth and independence as writers.

 Goals  

• Fourth Grade: By the end of fourth grade, students will develop foundational reading skills, strengthen comprehension, and become more confident in analytical thinking and written expression.
• Fifth Grade: By the end of fifth grade, students will be confident readers and writers, able to analyze texts, articulate their thoughts clearly, and produce well-structured writing.

MATH

Our Math Curriculum is the Texas Go Math by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. We cover all state standards required for Texas 5th graders.

We begin the year with Number and Operation: Place Value, Fractions, and Operations then continue with Number and Operations. The curriculum stresses knowing basic facts to do mental math. The second half of the year we begin Algebraic Reasoning, Geometry and Measurement, Personal Financial Literacy (students become little entrepreneurs with market days at SPX) and end with Data Analysis.

SCIENCE

Fifth Grade utilizes Into Science from HMH for Grade 5 as our starting point for scientific inquiry and investigation. We supplement guided instruction from the book with:

*Small group experiments that familiarize students with implementing the scientific method and using entry-level laboratory equipment

*Large group investigations that connect textbook instruction to real-world case studies

A capstone project of our science curriculum is a five-week project in coordination with Starbase Kelly at Lackland AFB, where students design, construct, and ultimately test rocket prototypes in a fun and safe environment.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Fifth Grade continues to use the myWorld curriculum provided by Savvas Learning Company. The Building Our Nation Grade 5 textbook is used for in-class guided reading, while the Savvas Realize digital learning platform is used for supplementary learning materials and online quiz and test assignments.

Fifth Grade also participates in a Living History Museum project, which calls for students to research an American historical figure and embody that figure in a staged museum during Catholic Schools Week