The fifth grade class has a daily schedule that includes Math, Social Studies, Religion, and Language Arts.  Fifth grade students also receive two hours per week of instruction in Science by a separate Science teacher.  Included in this weekly two hours is a hands on lab. Foreign Language is taught in 30 minute lessons twice a week.  Students also receive one hour of music, one hour of art instruction, one hour of P.E., and 80 minutes of computer instruction each week.  For ten weeks of the school year, fifth grade students are involved in one hour D.A.R.E. classes which are taught by a Burbank Police Officer.  These classes teach the students the dangers of drug abuse and violence.  Students also learn about peer pressure and how to cope with making difficult decisions. 

Our Math curriculum coincides with the California State standards.  It is based upon the students' knowledge and mastery of basic math facts--- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division--with a heavy emphasis on the mastery of multiplication facts.  The curriculum expands into division by 2 digits into larger divisors.  We then learn about fractions (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing), mixed numerals, and decimals.  There is also a major focus on finding different ways to solve a variety of word problems.

Our Social Studies curriculum revolves around the study of U.S. History--the birth of our nation.  It also includes the study of early exploration of other areas, the study of the regions of our country, and the memorization of the 50 states and capitals.  To go along with the Presidents’  Theme and Black History Month in February, the students create a mobile about one of the U.S. presidents, and create a poster about a famous Black American from the past or present.  These projects are then presented orally to the class.

The Language Arts curriculum includes instruction in Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar, Writing and Reading.  Grammar is an area of focus in class as students learn about the parts of speech and correct usage of our English language.  The Reading text includes stories of different types of literary genres which are discussed and analyzed in class.  Students are encouraged to build listening comprehension along with reading comprehension.

One of the major projects in the fifth grade is done on the book “Charlotte’s Web”  by E.B. White.  Students must complete a booklet which includes definitions of vocabulary used in the book, questions which require recalling information from the story, analyzing the story, and making character evaluations.  Upon completion of the booklet, students are then free to design their own project.  They choose activities to complete to show their understanding of the story.  These activities include creating a newspaper, composing a word search or other word puzzle, designing a model of the barn, making puppets and presenting a puppet show to the class, or other various activities.  This project allows students to express their creativity in a manner in which they feel comfortable.

Another major project in the fifth grade is our biography project.  In this project, students are required to read a biography of a famous person and then present a project about that person.  Information must come from the book that has been read--not from any other source.  The project culminates at a “social” where the students dress as their famous person and “become” the person for an hour.  Students also have the option of being a guest on a “talk show” as they are interviewed and tell the audience about themselves.  This project has proven to be very effective in teaching students about famous people from the past.

Finally, the fifth grade takes two field trips that are related to our Social Studies curriculum.  We go to Forest Lawn to see a presentation by the Presidents.  Usually,  Abraham Lincoln and/or George Washington is represented  along with other presidents.  However, the selection of the 3 Presidents does vary from year to year.  Fifth graders also go to Knott’s Berry Farm to experience a tour through Independence Hall, a visit with Ben Franklin, a reenactment of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and a visit with Abigail Adams.  This 4 hour trip correlates perfectly with our curriculum and standards in Social Studies.