Daily and Weekly Schedule
Every day the student should spend between 30 and 50 minutes on each of the following:
- Mathematics
- Grammar
- Nature Study/Science/Health
Every day the student should spend about 2 hours, divided into two 60-minute morning and afternoon sessions on the following:
- Reading
Every day the student should have two sessions of the following, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, no more than 20 minutes each:
- Writing/Penmanship
Two days a week, the student should have 30 minutes devoted to:
- Foreign Language
In addition, each of the following subjects should get at least 20 to 40 minutes at some point during the week:
- Art/Handicrafts
- Music
Do not neglect the fact that kids need recesses for lunch and in the morning and afternoon! This is a more demanding schedule than first through fourth grade. Here is an example:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 08:30-9:30 | 08:30-09:30 | 08:30-09:30 | 08:30-09:30 | 08:30-09:30 |
| Math | 9:30-10:00 | 9:30-10:15 | 9:30-10:00 | 9:30-10:15 | 9:30-10:00 |
| Writing | 10:00-10:20 | 10:15-10:30 | 10:00-10:15 | 10:15-10:30 | 10:-10:15 |
| Grammar/Spelling | 10:45-11:15 | 10:45-11:15 | 10:45-11:15 | ||
| Foreign Language | 10:30-11:00 | 10:30-11:00 | |||
| Science | 12:15-1:10 | 12:00-12:50 | 12:15-1:10 | 12:00-12:50 | 12:15-1:10 |
| Reading | 1:10-2:10 | 12:50-1:50 | 1:10-2:10 | 12:50-1:50 | 1:10-2:10 |
| Writing | 2:25-2:40 | 2:15-2:30 | 2:25-2:40 | 2:15-2:30 | 2:25-2:40 |
Subjects
Grammar
In fifth grade, grammar study continues.
Lessons 57 – 88 in Elementary English Grammar by Reed and Kellogg, one lesson per week.
Grammar will be reinforced through writing assignments.
Reading
In fifth grade, all reading is done silently with the exception of poetry reading. The student should become adept at the use of a dictionary to discover the meanings of unfamiliar words.
For in-school reading:
Start with McGuffy’s Fifth Eclectic Reader., two 50-60-minute sessions daily (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) until completed.
After that:
On Mondays: One chapter from Age of Chivalry in the morning and Grammar instruction/practice in the afternoon.
On Tuesdays: One chapter from Henty’s With Lee in Virginia in the morning, and Geography study in the afternoon. First go through Maps and Globes, then any good older Atlas.
On Wednesdays: One chapter from Age of Chivalry in the morning and Grammar instruction/practice in the afternoon.
On Thursdays: One chapter in the morning from Hero Tales from American History in the morning until complete, followed by Daniel Boone: The Pioneer of Kentucky. One poem from A Childs Garden of Verses in the afternoon followed by free choice from the fifth grade book list.
On Fridays: One chapter from This Country of Ours in the morning, starting from Chapter 73. Free choice from the fifth grade book list in the afternoon.
Fifth Grade Book List:
The Story of King Arthur and his Knights
The Champions of the Round Table
Oliver Twist
Struggling Upward
Tarzan of the Apes
Little Women and Little Men
The Story of the Treasure Seekers
Anne of Green Gables
Other titles worth considering that aren’t included in the curriculum:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
Puck of Pook’s Hill by Rudyard Kipling
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Wouldbegoods by Edith Nesbit
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge
NOTE: One should resist the urge to see some of these books as being specifically “for boys” or “for girls.” They all have important lessons for both sexes!
Writing
Composition — In fifth grade, students should start writing the classic five-paragraph essay. This marks a very important transition in the intellectual development of a child, as it marks the transition from the grammar or fact stage of thought to the dialectic or reasoning stage of thought. This ought not be an abrupt transition. In fact, full transition to the dialectical stage of thought shouldn’t be expected until 7th grade unless a child is quite gifted. Pushing this too fast at a child who isn’t ready is a recipe for failure and confusion.
For fifth grade, the essays can be based upon material read for school (including free reading from the book list), and they can be based upon a question regarding the material that is posed by the parent-educator. The questions posed by the parent that lead to the introductory thesis statement should be substantive, straightforward and easily answered from the material upon which the question is based. For example, regarding Tom Swift and his Airship, the question could be “Did Tom love his father?”
Spelling
Select 15 words per week, giving preference to words your child spelled incorrectly during writing exercises. If there aren’t fifteen words, supplement with words from McGuffy’s. As part of spelling exercises, have your child use every word in a sentence to make sure the meaning is understood.
In addition, you should assign your child one lesson per week from Word Lessons, starting with Chapter 73 where the student left off in fourth grade.
Latin
Beginner’s Latin Book, cover one chapter weekly, chapters 37 through 67. Most chapters have an associated reading/translation exercise in the back of the book. The chapter itself should be taught/studied during the first 30-minute weekly session. In the next session, a brief review of the material should precede the associated reading/translation exercise. For chapters without an associated reading assignment, the second weekly session should be used to practice the conjugations, declensions, tenses, noun-adjective agreement and so forth covered in the earlier lesson.
Mathematics
Goals:
Reducing fractions
Finding common denominators
Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions — both with and without common denominators
Complex multiplication and long division
Lower Arithmetic by Sutton and Bruce likewise covers first through sixth grade.
Don’t forget that the secret to mastery at this level is practice, practice practice!
Art/Handicrafts/Music
In fifth grade, your student should undertake formal study of a musical instrument. The actual instrument chosen doesn’t matter, so long as the child finds it interesting. It can’t hurt to let young students try several instruments before settling on one. You can purchase formal lessons if it is in the budget. If not, very good self-teaching method books are available for several instruments. The student should practice 3 days a week, for 15 to 25 minutes per session.
Good self-teaching guides include Mel Bay’s Complete Method for Modern Guitar and It’s Recorder Time by Alfred d’Auberge and Morton Manus. A good suitably-sized guitar or recorder can be purchased for less than $200 or $100 respectively.
Science/Nature Study/Health
Purchase a good chemistry set that hasn’t been dumbed-down into oblivion. A good choice would be the Thames and Kosmos C1000 for fifth grade only. (For Sixth grade you will need the Thames and Kosmos C2000, which encompasses everything included in the C1000 as well, so you can save money by purchasing the C2000.) These are available from many sources on the Internet.
It is tempting to get a cheap microscope, but I would recommend investing in a high quality student model, such as the Amscope B120C-E1 or something comparable. Also order the “Microscope Accessory Kit” from www.homesciencetools.com. This comes with a nice booklet containing projects and activities.
Finally, you will need a good electronics kit, like the Elenco MX905 75-in-1 kit, available from a number of online sources.
All of these come complete with detailed guides and numbered experiments.
Do a new chemistry experiment every Monday and Wednesday; and new electronics experiment every Tuesday and Thursday. On Fridays do an activity from the book accompanying the microscope.