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MATH
Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District follows the Common Core State Standards. Attached are all standards grades K-12 for mathematics. You can use the table of contents to read Grade 5.
Common Core State Standards Math
The math curriculum used at LVJUSD at the elementary level is called Investigations. This is a student-centered program that generally follows this structure:
- 10 min ready math (quick review of math facts learned from previous lessons)
- Interactive activity or game (majority of the lesson)
- Daily Practice
- Homework
- This direct instruction in mathematics is done 5 days a week for 60-75 minutes. Assessments occur every 4-6 weeks and additional study material will be provided.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Attached are the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. The attached document is organized a bit differently than the math standards. Fifth grade standards are spread out among the first 33 pages.
Common Core State Standards English Language Arts
The English Language Arts curriculum used by LVJUSD for fifth grade is called Benchmark Advanced. This is a comprehensive program that includes writing, reading, speaking/listening, and language conventions. Although this program is new to the district, I used this curriculum at the school I taught at before Sunset.
The program is broken up into 10, 3-week units. These units switch between fiction and nonfiction texts and align with many science and social studies standards.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies in fifth grade focuses on the development of the United States starting from the pre-Columbian era. We strive to cover as much as possible up to Westward Expansion. Attached are the California State Standards for fifth grade.
Grade 5 Social Studies Standards
There are 6 major units of study that we cover and each unit has a unique project, which usually involves technology. These units are as follows:
- Early Native Americans
- Explorers of New America
- 13 Colonies and Colonial Life
- American Revolution
- American Government (Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Three Branches of Govt., etc.)
- States & Capitals
SCIENCE
In fifth grade, students have a combination of 80 minutes of science lab with Mrs. Luchetta and 80 minutes of content in my classroom. We cover the Next Generation Science Standards. These standards can be read by click this link.
Science in my classroom is taught in a variety of ways. As a site, we use a web-based program called Mystery Science. This curriculum involves hands-on "mysteries" students are asked to solve. The core topics we cover in class are:
- Chemical Reactions & Properties of Matter
- Ecosystems and the Food Chain
- Water Cycle, Resources, & Systems
- Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets