5th Grade Curriculum
ECCS acknowledges that the Bible, the infallible Word of God, is our only source of faith and practice and that the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy Him forever.
ECCS fifth graders will study the life of Christ as it is presented in the four Gospels, using the Veritas Press Bible cards and The Journey Through the Bible text. We seek to bring the story of our Lord to life for the students by presenting the life of Christ in its proper historical and geographical context. In addition to a weekly lesson on the life of Christ, the students memorize applicable scripture along with catechism questions and answers numbers forty-five through eighty-two. Our ultimate goal is that seeds will be planted that will germinate and grow, resulting in each child developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Fifth graders will be able to understand the life of Christ from His birth to the ascension. They will comprehend the lessons taken from The Bible in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They will memorize scripture, quote the timeline of Christ’s life, write paragraphs describing the events in the life of Jesus, and understand how to apply the truths from the Gospels to their own lives. They will regularly work in groups to make projects and presentations to the class based on their studies.
Fifth graders study English grammar using the Language Network level 6 curriculum. They continue their study of the grammar of the English language through a review of Shurley Grammar chants, jingles, drills, and sentence classifications. The Language Network focuses on diagramming, punctuation, and sentence and paragraph composition while requiring the application of grammatical principles in the writing process across the curriculum. Fifth graders will be able to state in their own words that God gave us a written message (the Bible) and why, therefore we should seek to speak and write clearly. They will comprehend and become able to compose basic sentence and paragraph structures, consistently spell assigned words, and demonstrate a correct use of spelling words. They should demonstrate a consistently neat use of cursive writing. They will demonstrate a working knowledge and use of all the parts of speech while using correct capitalization and punctuation in a written sentence. They will write short stories, book reports, letters, and two page essays. They will regularly present oral recitations of literature, poetry, scripture, or famous speeches.
Fifth graders at ECCS will review how the events of the Middle Ages led to the spread of the Gospel, increased general knowledge and understanding of the Bible, and created a natural curiosity of the extended world, thus opening up navigation and exploration. Fifth graders will study the early explorers, the founding of America from pre-history / Native Americans (including South American through the sixteenth century), and continue through the Missouri Compromise of 1820. History will be taught using the Veritas Press American History cards, as well as the History of US texts series as well as many primary documents from America’s rich founding history. Fifth graders will memorize major dates, events, and timeline through the Veritas History Song. ECCS seeks to instill within the students a love and respect for our nation’s history, as well as an appreciation for the sacrifices that were made by our forefathers to establish this remarkable nation in which we live.
Throughout the year, fifth graders will celebrate history with creative activities and presentations. As the students study The Revolution, they will celebrate by having a special Colonial Day. Fifth graders attend several field trips that are related to our study of history: the Birmingham Museum of Art, where they will see Native American art, and American Village, where they will be ushered into an authentic reenactment of The Stamp Act Congress, learn how to prepare a musket, and evade the spying Red Coats.
The year culminates with a trip Jamestown, Old Williamsburg, Mount Vernon and to Washington, D.C. to tour our nation’s capital. Fifth graders will be able to state in their own words how God’s hand has been in our nation’s history from its inception.
Fifth graders at ECCS study Schola Latina, Book 2. Lingua Latina is also used for supplemental Latin reading. The students learn Latin through a combination of chants, recitations, drills, exercises, and readings. Games are utilized throughout the grammar school Latin curriculum. Fifth graders also look forward to forming a Roman Senate and to having Roman Market Day in the spring, where their Latin vocabulary and counting skills are put to the test.
ECCS seeks to inspire in students a love of literature and an appreciation for the role played by the literature in reflecting and in shaping cultures. The literature studied in 5th grade is taught in the appropriate historical context of early explorers and Colonial America. The grammar of literary forms, devices, and techniques is presented and/or reviewed to provide a foundation for further and more in-depth literary study. Emphasis is placed upon reading and responding critically, examining not only the work itself, but the historical context in which it was written and the many relative biblical references found in each unique piece of literature. Titles include Swiss Family Robinson. Pedro’s Journal, Robinson Crusoe, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, A Christmas Carol, Shakespeare Stories, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Sign of the Beaver, The Silver Chair, Johnny Tremain, and Treasure Island. Fifth grade objectives include integrating literature with history, strengthening overall reading abilities, and providing a continued increase in the students’ love of great books. We will accomplish this by providing vocabulary rich reading materials taught in tandem with enriched historical projects. Through our eleven book selections, we give students the opportunity to practice and thus improve their oral and silent reading skills. Classroom discussion will also increase reading comprehension abilities. As the students enjoy and interact with the colorful and enchanting characters in the books, it will be our desire that their love for and enjoyment of reading will continue to grow. Ultimately, it is our desire that their love for and understanding of great works of literature will pique their appetites for further reading and lead to an appreciation for and love of God’s Word. Students will be expected to make the connections between historical events and literary elements, and to make personal applications to their lives. The literary selections will also serve to enhance and enrich the students’ understanding and appreciation of Colonial American historical events and prepare them for a year-end culminating class trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, D.C.
ECCS seeks to inspire in students a love of mathematics while learning to apply problem solving skills to every day situations. The fifth grade math course at ECCS using Saxon Math, Course 1, an incremental development program. Our goal is for students to learn and remember the foundational skills of mathematics. Under the instruction of the teacher, the students will learn that there is one correct answer for each problem, showing how mathematics points us to Christ as the one and only true way to eternal life.
Through the ECCS Science for Classical Learners 5 curriculum, fifth grade students will learn the foundational facts of science as they explore the scientific method in their studies of the Earth, its climatology, biomes and ecosystems. Fifth graders will also study the basics of physical science by studying atoms, matter, and the properties of matter. Students will investigate means of being good stewards of the planet Earth God has given. It will be of the utmost importance that students acknowledge that God is the Creator of the world and everything in it. They will continue to recognize that God is the source of all life, truth, and scientific knowledge. God’s wisdom, omnipotence, and sovereignty will be woven into each lesson. Fifth graders will be able to understand that science is the study of God’s creation as they study lessons based on the scientific method. Students will chant, write and sing jingles to help memorize the concepts taught about the Earth, its rotation and revolution, as well as the latitudinal and longitudinal lines. In studying the various climates around the world, students will learn about the torrid, temperate and frigid zones while reviewing their map skills of the continents from 2nd-4th grade memory time. Students will also learn about the properties of matter and be able to distinguish the difference between matter and mass. Then students will learn the importance of all these elements of creation and their relationship to God’s plan and provision for man on Earth. The students will conclude that man, made in God’s image, was and is the crowning achievement of Creation. Many of the science skills that are learned from this course also match math objectives for fifth grade, so the two will be taught in tandem when possible.
Spelling / Vocabulary
ECCS seeks to teach fifth grade students to incorporate the phonics, vocabulary, and spelling skills learned in K-4th grade into correct use across the curriculum. Fifth grade continues to review and learn the Spaulding grammar list of spelling words. Fifth graders will also study a series of vocabulary words from Vocabulary from Classical Roots. In a desire to integrate subjects, the spelling words are matched to the vocabulary units where roots, prefixes and suffixes match the listed text. Students are encouraged to use American Sign Language to finger-spell words, and will be expected to integrate previously and newly learned vocabulary and spelling words correctly when writing and speaking. Fifth graders will become able to state in their own words that God has given us a written message (the Bible) and to explain, therefore, why they should seek to speak and write clearly. Through this process, students will learn the importance of using correct and enhanced vocabulary. Students will complete written, as well as oral activities, in order to practice and demonstrate their increasing vocabulary skills and their knowledge of the proper use of word roots. Students will continue to organize words using prefixes, suffixes, roots and phonics marking to match words with their definitions. Students will be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge of new vocabulary while writing across the curriculum. Students will also be held accountable for neat cursive handwriting across the curriculum. They will write sentences, short stories, and paragraphs with the spelling words and will be held accountable for spelling correctly on worksheets, drills, and tests.