Typical 5^th Grade Schedule:

• 8:00-8:55:Math
• 9:00-9:50:Language Arts
• 9:55-10:45:Language Arts
• 10:50-11:40:Social Studies
• 11:40-12:20:Lunch
• 12:20-1:10:Spanish ¹
• 1:15-2:05:Art ²
• 2:05-3:00:Science

1: three times a week
2: twice a week
Music: three times a week
Drama: once a week
P.E.: three times a week

5th Grade Subject Overview

Language Arts

The literature-based 5th grade Language Arts program emphasizes listening, speaking, reading, and writing, while addressing a variety of topics in diverse genres. Literature circles provide girls with opportunities to lead discussions, share their ideas, and expand their understanding by listening to and considering different points of view. The unit on A Midsummer Night's Dream is a high point of the year, culminating in a classroom performance event complete with costumes, props, and heraldry banners based on the students' personal characteristics.

5th grade writing activities focus on writing for a variety of purposes: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. Grammar skills, spelling rules, and vocabulary development are integrated throughout the year so that the students may incorporate a rich background into their writing. Two activities illustrate this range of work particularly well: the Create-A-Sleuth project in which each girl creates fictional characters and writes a mystery story, and a research paper in which she presents a topic that she has explored in detail through the research process.

Math

5th grade math is a continuation of the curriculum used by the lower school—Everyday Mathematics (McGraw Hill). This curriculum was developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) with the intent of empowering students to learn more content in math as well as to increase thinking skills. With this spiraling program of study students work to master new concepts as well as to strengthen previous skills in areas such as number theory, estimation and computation, geometry, division, fractions, decimals, percents, exponents, negative number, ratios and proportions, coordinates, area, and volume, as well as measurement, data analysis and probability.

Although Everyday Mathematics sufficiently prepares the girls for taking algebra by 8th grade, teachers make significant use of supplementary materials such as problems from the Singapore Math Program and Math Forum: Problem of the Week to advance problem solving skills. Text: University of Chicago School Mathematics Project: Everyday Math Grade 5 (McGraw Hill)

Science

5th grade Science explores topics in Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. Students begin by examining the structures and diversity of plant and animal life, then proceed smoothly to a second unit that focuses on the various interactions of living things. Physical Science units focus on sound and light energy, properties of matter and energy, and Newton's laws of motion. 5th grade girls then turn their attention to a study of the Earth and its resources, with particular emphasis on rocks, minerals, air, water, and energy. They finish the year with a unit on weather phenomena/patterns and climate. In addition to the unit work represented above, each 5th grade girl submits a science fair project (created mostly at school and consisting of student-only work) to the annual school-wide GSA Science Fair, held in December.

Social Studies

In 5th grade, students tour the medieval world and beyond. Beginning and ending the year in Europe gives the girls important bookends to a journey that will allow them to trace changes across the globe. Students recognize the role of the church and the legacy of the Roman Empire as they study the rise and fall of feudal societies in Europe. They also explore the rise and expansion of Islam across the Arabian Peninsula, building an understanding of the tenets of the religion and various contributions of Muslims to world civilizations. In a unit about China, students will learn about important inventions and discoveries that have impacted China and the West. Experiential exercises in the Japan unit teach the girls about the rise of the warrior class and the role of the samurai. While studying the Americas, students investigate the achievements of the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations. The year then culminates with a return to Europe where students consider the impact of the events and transformations involved in the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Exploration, and the Scientific Revolution.

Spanish

The Middle School Spanish Language program is designed to help students develop a solid foundation and self-confidence with the language, as well as to gain an understanding and an appreciation for the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Each grade level continues to strengthen the skills acquired in the Lower School courses, while focusing more deeply on the details of grammar and communication. 5th grade students explore the conjugation of verbs and practice answering questions about a variety of authentic situations.

Art

The GSA Art Curriculum is designed to develop each girl's individual creativity and self-expression through a well-rounded study of art, which includes history/context, mechanics, and hands-on application. Students are exposed to a wide variety of particular art forms and mediums, which are introduced in an historical context and exemplified in the work of notable artists such as Modigliani, Botticelli, Matisse, Vermeer, Elizabeth Vigee LeBrun, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andy Warhol. Discussion and demonstration then focuses on mechanics, and each unit culminates in a technique-oriented project in which students create original work in that medium or art form.

Artistic mediums/processes covered during the year include pastels, drawing, acrylic painting on canvas, printmaking, pen/ink, and clay. Technical instruction includes classical lessons in drawing the head and body, uses of shadow and light, landscapes, and still life. Guest artists/lecturers provide real-world perspective by sharing their work and experiences.

Throughout the course of the year, girls of all levels enjoy plenty of opportunities to experience a sense of personal accomplishment and recognition through their art by participating in international artwork exchange programs, formal gallery exhibits and informal school displays of their work, charitable events, and multi-cultural collaborative art-centered occasions such as The White Buffalo Project. Middle School students are also encouraged to enter their work in various local/regional/national competitions.

Every year, each K-8 student creates her own self-portrait, and the annual Self-Portrait Show is a highlight for the GSA community. By exploring and creating art, students not only engage in creative self-expression, but also develop another perspective from which to appreciate their own culture and that of others.

Music

Piano
The GSA K-8 Piano program is designed to promote a life-long love of music. A student's course of study is tailored to her individual development/skill/experience level and consists of a unique combination of one-on-one and group lessons in both application and music theory, practice and experimentation time, performance opportunities, and a variety of activities involving listening, discussion, and written response. The Faber and Faber Piano Adventures series lesson book materials are supplemented with repertoire from numerous sources and disparate styles. The girls learn how to decode and respond physically to traditional western music notation and interact with multiple number systems simultaneously. Reinforcement through in-class and at-home practice is an essential component of progress, and students are taught both healthy physiological approaches and strategic practice methods such as identifying patterns and layers, counting whole and subdivided beats, setting and meeting reasonable/strategic goals, hands-separate work, and small-section drilling. As a student advances, more abstract and/or nuanced issues of musicianship such as structure analysis, compositional technique, tactile relationship with the keyboard, constructive critique, personal interpretation, and expressive choices are incorporated into discussions and lessons.

The girls participate in two school-wide concerts per year, as well as other performances as they arise. These events provide performance experience as well as opportunities to learn and practice appropriate performer and audience etiquette. Throughout the course of the year, piano students at all levels are exposed to and encouraged to share their responses to a wide variety of musics representing disparate traditions, time periods, and levels of formality. Music is explored in a synaesthetic and interdisciplinary context.

Strings
In Middle School, the focus of Strings class is on developing a more autonomous approach to the instrument while reaching a more refined level of musicianship. The students choose some of the songs themselves and become more critical in their playing and practicing. They tackle a wider variety of musical styles, including rock songs and unedited classical pieces, and work on making their playing more expressive, using vibrato and a wider bowing palette. This experience often becomes a springboard for more in-depth discussions of music's emotions, as well as its correlation with other fields.

The most dedicated students are encouraged to take private lessons, audition for All-Region Orchestra, and play in Honors Orchestra. The less experienced players learn simpler parts and benefit from the help and modeling of their peers. As always, teamwork is emphasized both in orchestral and chamber music settings, and the approach is always goal-oriented: the students see their efforts rewarded during special performances held in conjunction with the Art program, school assemblies, and biannual school-wide concerts.

Health and Wellness

5th grade students address issues such as stress management, communication skills like conflict resolution and resistance, responsible social behavior, and consumer awareness in conjunction with their study of body systems, weight management, life stages, basic hygiene/skin care/dental care, as well as communicable and chronic diseases. A special three-unit lesson adapted from the McGraw-Hill text The Body Book teaches the structure of both the male and female reproductive systems, discusses body changes including menstruation, and compares feminine hygiene products. Other topics include first aid, safety, and a nutrition component that reviews and builds upon the extensive Lower School curriculum.

Community Service

The Girls' School encourages active participation in our community—on campus, in Austin, and around the world. Each grade participates in at least one volunteer project per year, and most participate in many more. Whenever possible, projects are linked to the classroom curriculum; for example, for the annual UNICEF collections, the 3rd and 4th graders calculate grade-level and school-wide statistics and then present them at a community meeting. Some of our recent community service projects are listed here.