Fifth Grade Humanities Curriculum
2012-2013
“What are the Humanities? The humanities are stories of human struggle and success, conflict
and community, rooted in history, literature, and other fields of knowledge. They are ways to think
critically about our most meaningful journeys: the search through experience for wisdom, and the
search through personal life for connections to the lives of others around us, to those who have
gone before us, and to those who will come after us. Besides history and literature, humanities
fields include philosophy, the history and criticism of the arts, comparative religion, the study of
languages and linguistics, cultural anthropology and archaeology, jurisprudence, and studies
within the social sciences concerned with humankind's search for meaning and value.”
~ From the Pennsylvania Humanities Council
think. read. write. talk. understand
Ideas and Overview
Language Arts
Proposed Literary Texts : coming of age
(selection based on age-appropriate use and quality of language, genre, and deep
exploration of the human condition, struggle, and growth):
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
EL Konigsburg
My Side of the Mountain
Bud, Not Buddy
Jacob Have I Loved
The Red Pony
John Steinbeck
Multicultural Historical Fiction
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L’Engle
Fantasy/Science Fiction
The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster
Fiction
The Children’s Homer
The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy
Padraic Colum
or
The Golden Goblet
Historical Fiction
Eloise McGraw
Letters from Rifka
Karen Hesse
Historical Fiction/Memoir
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Or
Old Yeller
Or
Where the Red Fern Grows
Read-Alouds or Literature Club picks:
Rules
Maniac Magee
Wednesday Wars
The Egypt Game
by Jerry Spinelli
by Gary Schmidt
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Short Stories :
“Thank you, Ma’am”
Tales of Ancient Egypt
Greek Myths
Poetry
Langston Hughes
Roger Lancelyn Green
Literary Analysis Skills (taught through literary text):







character analysis
theme identification
setting and plot
point of view
recall and interpret
evaluate and connect
understanding of literary technique and figurative language
(simile, imagery, metaphor)/dev. of abstract thinking skills
 vocabulary in context
 author’s purpose
Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension:
 Wordly Wise 3000- Book 5
 Systematic Academic Vocabulary Development
Grammar/ Punctuation:
 Grammar Text: Language Network McDougal Littell (????)- in use
in middle school….
 Punctuation mastery (end punctuation, commas, capitalization)DOL
 Sentence Diagramming
 Subject/predicate
 Complete sentences, fragments, run-ons
 Parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, prepositional
phrase, conjunction)
Writing (use of 6 + 1 Traits of Good Writing):
 Reading Response Journals
 Paragraph Writing- literary response, expository writing,
informative, descriptive
 Introduction of 5-paragraph Essay (writing introductions, body
paragraphs, conclusion)
1. Compare and Contrast (comparing characters in literature
and historical societies in Social Studies)
2. Opinion
3. Social Studies Research Paper
4. Descriptive
5. Historical problem and solution
6. Personal narrative
 Poems, myths, fictional narrative
Speaking, Presenting, Listening:
 Discussion-based class
 Reader’s Theater
 Oral reading, poetry recitation, class presentation
 Writer’s Workshop, Author Sharing
 Use of technology for researching, presenting and sharing
Fifth Grade Social Studies
Study of Ancient Civilizations:




Mesopotamia and Fertile Crescent
Ancient Egypt and Kush
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Textbook : Ancient Civilizations Holt, Rinehart, Winston
Technology:
http://www.stratalogica.com/NystromDigital/home/features.html
Social Studies/ Expository Reading Skills:
 connecting historical knowledge to current society and events
 chronological ordering
 identifying main ideas
 drawing conclusions
 cause and effect
 notetaking




study skills
interpreting maps, charts, tables, timelines
historical cause and effect
describe, analyze, evaluate
Literature in Social Studies:






“The Epic of Gilgamesh”
“The Shiji”
Selections from “The Epic Poetry of Homer” and “The Aeneid”
Select historical biographies
Greek myths
Possible literature extensions: The Golden Goblet, The Golden
Fleece, The Children’s Homer
Expository Writing:





note-taking instruction and outlining of key information
short answer
paragraph writing
5-paragraph essay writing
focus on editing and revision process