Grade 5

Year 5 students are seen as the role models of our school and are therefore expected to demonstrate the school’s Super Six Values at all times. Students are involved in a wide range of programs that aim to provide a positive, safe and memorable experience.

2023 Grade 5 Parent Information Handbook

English:

We follow the Victorian Curriculum, and the strands of Reading, Writing and Speaking & Listening.

Following on from our evidence based MSL/OG Approach in the Junior school we continue teaching the ‘Big 6’ – the pillars of reading success.

The outcome we want for our readers is ‘comprehension’. This is gained with accurate word recognition and language comprehension.

Daily Word Study lessons in Morphology incorporate the teaching of prefixes, suffixes, base words, vowel connectors and the suffix conventions needed to join these ‘morphemes’ (smallest meaningful unit in English language) to make words. Our students will learn about the layers of English language (Anglo Saxon, Latin and Greek) through this approach. This, along with their mentor text studies, will enhance their vocabulary which will enable students to further decode words and improve comprehension.

In Year 5 each week students will read and explore the language used within a mentor text. Students will be exposed to a certain amount of Tier 2 words to focus on and analyse in greater detail throughout the week. This will ensure full comprehension of the word; with the ultimate goal of enhancing their vocabulary in writing too.

Students are taught all of the vital skills to be a competent and successful writer. These are taught independently and based on student needs. Genres including: response, persuasive, narrative, information, explanation and script are all part of the Year 5 program. We also explicitly teach grammar across the week, which includes punctuation, editing and sentence structure. We model and pull apart rich vocabulary texts, then students are encouraged to use them in their own writing pieces e.g. figurative language.

We use ongoing evidence-based literacy assessment to find student’s strengths and needs. Students requiring additional assistance may be placed on an IEP (Individual Education Plans) in consultation with parents and offered additional Literacy Intervention e.g. MacqLit.

Literacy Homework:

Students are also required to read at least 4 nights of the week for at least 20 minutes. Weekly homework is reviewing taught spelling rules, vocabulary linked to our weekly mentor text and morphology tasks e.g. creating word sums from a Word Matrix (prefixes, base words and suffixes).

Mathematics:

Students will participate in 5 hours of Maths per week. Mathematics is broken into three scopes: Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability.

Students are placed into ability Number Groups. Regular assessments are conducted in order to track student’s progress, and these groups are fluid and change with student outcomes to ensure their learning needs are being met.

Inquiry Themes:

Moving away from the more traditional themes and methods of delivery, our inquiry units (1 per term) involve the children negotiating how they will achieve the intended outcomes; becoming more responsible for their learning. The tasks are open ended allowing for greater creativity and scope. We encourage independent learning, negotiation and allow students to make choices in their learning.

The units covered each year include:

Term 1: Science “Why is it so?”

Term 2: History – ‘Closing the Gap’

Term 3: Passion Project

Term 4: Geography – Travel Expo