Fifth Grade
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| "Orphan Train" Connections |
A favorite literature selection is Joan Lowery Nixon’s A Family Apart, the story of a family of Irish immigrant children in New York City in the mid 19th century who are given up as orphans by their loving mother when she can no longer provide for them following her husband’s untimely death. The children are subsequently sent west on the “Orphan Train” through the efforts of Reverend Loring Brace and the Children’s Aid Society. This Primary Source lesson is designed to provide a connection with this literature story, our social studies curriculum and primary source photos, letters, posters or newspapers of the time to help students better understand and to bring to life “real” children’s stories. This lesson should take two one- hour sessions to locate and reflect on the material. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3, and 5. |
| Art and the World |
Students will choose their best artwork from three different pieces they created. If the chosen work is 2D, the student will scan their work. If the chosen work is 3D, the student will take a digital picture of the work. Students will create a page for the Painted Sky 2 and 3D Photo Album. All student pages will then be uploaded to the Painted Sky Art Photo Album. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Can You Haiku? |
In this lesson, students will learn about the traditional Japanese poetry form Haiku and write their own poems using digital photos they have taken as inspiration. Students will learn to import digital photos into a word processing document. They will then write a haiku to go with the digital photo and use the formatting capabilities of the word processor to format their poems. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1 and 3. |
| CATSTATS |
Welcome to the world of “real time” data and a lesson that involves numerous math skills and concepts required in state standards, applied through a fun and interesting activity using basketball results from the University of Arizona. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 2 and 3. |
| Children of Yesteryear |
Primary Sources are an amazing way to help you bring history alive for your students. The website used in this lesson has intriguing photographs, music, sounds and documents that your students will find especially appealing! Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| Coming to the New World |
Students will write a short story with well-developed characters, setting, and plot describing the settlement of North America by English colonists during the early 17th century. The story will describe reasons for settlement, environmental conditions, social conditions, and economic factors related to colonial life. Students will strive for historical and geographical accuracy and meet the standards of writing conventions. The papers will be submitted to The Write Source for publication. Meets Arizona Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Creative Story |
Students have been exposed to a variety of authors and writing styles throughout the semester. Additionally, we have examined the components needed to write creative stories and now they have the opportunity to create a story on their own. Students may have their stories published on the Internet if they have permission to do so. This lesson will vary in length depending on the individual writing styles, abilities, prompts used, and access to computers when it is time to submit stories. Six to ten one- hour lessons should provide adequate time. Lessons include time to web and plan ideas, draft(s), edit and revise, and typing the final copy for either the class or for submission to the Internet. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3, and 4. |
| Down the Drain |
Students will join collaborative project Down the Drain to perform a water use survey and compare personal household water use to others locally and around the world. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 3. |
| Feeling Groovy? |
It does not come as a surprise to any one who has studied music that music is a very powerful tool for teaching. This lesson focuses on the music and times of the 1960’s. Although it is in an abbreviated form, it is a beginning to help students understand that most music is directly influenced by what is happening in the world around the composer. The 1960’s are a very complicated time in American history if not in World history. There were many changing attitudes including the end of McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, and the War in Vietnam. The music of this time era is a revealing barometer of society, reflecting the diverse moods and views of the American public, especially the young people. During this time not only did music reflect upon the social changes, but folk music and later on rock music, and the people who performed it were very influential in bringing about social change. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| From Poetry to PowerPoint Launch Page |
Students will have an amusing time with the Poetry4Fun website. Their task is to complete a few “warm-up” activities as they browse the site. Next, they are asked to get their brains rockin’ for some great poetry writin’. The culminating activity is to turn their poetry into a PowerPoint presentation. Students need to be familiar with both Word and PowerPoint to complete the criteria of this lesson. This lesson meets the Arizona Technology Standards 3 and 5. |
| George Washington's Primary Documents |
Students will examine information about George Washington on the Internet and identify two primary source documents displayed there. One site will illustrate, with a primary source document, the rules Washington created for himself as a young man. Students will translate these rules into modern-day English and then evaluate them to decide whether the rules are appropriate for young people today. They will also analyze the information they find about George Washington and write a brief description of his character. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 2, 3 and 5. |
| Good Measure |
The process of measurement is how we quantify and make sense of our world. Measurement serves as the means by which students explore and understand the physical world around them. Measurement is an integral part of everyday life. This unit will take 2-3 weeks to complete and incorporates the following measurement concepts: linear, weight, volume, area, and perimeter. This lesson meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3. |
| Graphing the Stock Market |
The study of economics is a crucial part of the fifth grade social studies curriculum. Students are introduced to the concepts of stock and profit as early as Henry Hudson’s Dutch East India Company. This continues on through the study of early colonial economies and the free enterprise system. Using real time data, students will track the progress of stocks of their choice to see if they can make a profit or will they lose their investment. Students will learn the concept of positive and negative numbers as they follow their stocks. They will also construct line graphs to predict trends in the stock market. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3, 5, and 6. |
| Here's the Buzz on Africanized Honey Bees |
This lesson is part of an environmental unit, in which aspects of the rainforest will be studied. This particular lesson explores the subject of Africanized Honey Bees (AHB), which will be divided into several sub-topics that include: Identification, Habitat, Location and Migration, Stings, Economics, Precautions, and Frequently Asked Questions. First, as a whole class, via the Internet displayed on the TV converter, the students will be introduced to the topic, get a brief overview, as well as how to locate the Real Time Data web site that they will be using on the Internet. In addition, they will learn how to access the different sub-topics that they will be exploring in greater depth, as small research-type groups. Each small group will choose a different sub-topic to research using the classroom computer, as well as the computer lab. As a culminating activity, each group will create a brief PowerPoint presentation, which will cover the main ideas from their research. From introduction to conclusion, this lesson should take approximately, two to three weeks, depending on the availability of computers. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3 and 4. |
| Historical Treasure Chest |
Maps are an integral as well as fascinating part of the social studies curriculum. In the days of the early explorers maps were a work of art as well as a useful tool. By studying a map from this time period students will gain an understanding of the culture of that time as well as an insight into the minds of those who sailed off into the unknown seeking fame and fortune. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 5. |
| How Does Government Affect Me Launch Page |
In this lesson, students will explore the website called The Democracy Project. The students will follow the path a bill takes as it travels through the United States Government. Students will learn about the three branches of government including the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches. They will be able to learn how government affects them personally today, and in the future. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 5 and 6. |
| How Long is That? |
This lesson introduces students to the world of reading music. Students will use interactive websites that use games to learn the name of notes and rests symbols. Some of the sites have the capability that allows students to hear and learn about note and rest duration. After they have learned the names of the notes and rests, students can download worksheets and apply the knowledge that they have gained. After ample practice, students will be asked to create their own rhythm patterns and perform them for their classmates. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 1. |
| Interview with the Stars |
Students will explore the lives of various jazz musicians. They will become familiar with the social and historical events that were present during the lives of these individuals. They will listen to the music of the artists and become knowledgeable about their styles. This activity will culminate in the production of a news/talk show created and performed by the students highlighting the lives of these musical figures. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Inventors and Inventions Launch Page |
Where do many of the items we use everyday come from? Who invented them? If you wonder about questions like these, this launch page can give students information to answer them. They will research inventors and inventions, investigate timelines, and construct a Venn Diagram that compares similarities and differences of their choices. It meets Arizona State Standards for Technology 1, 2, 3, and 5. |
| Letters Using Different Points of View |
Students will write four letters, from four different points-of-view and for different audiences. The letters will conclude a Social Studies unit on Christopher Columbus and early exploration. The contents of the letters should include information that they’ve learned, and should be factually accurate. Copies of the letters will be sent to The Write Source, an online site for publishing student work. Meets Arizona Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| My Book Adventure Launch Page |
This is a perfect lesson for students who are independent readers. Student can test themselves on books they have read and have prizes sent to them after they accumulate points. Teachers receive the scores from the tests taken. This site can also be used to offer suggestions of books tying into student levels and interests. This lesson is most appropriate for grades 3 and above. Meets Arizona Sate Technology Standards 1 and 5. |
| Natural Disasters: Where and When? |
Earthquakes and volcanoes are often related events and both are related to movement of the Earth’s crustal plates. Students will look at Real Time web sites to see where earthquakes and volcanoes are currently active in the world. They will also research historical data on earthquakes and volcanoes. Both current and historical data will be plotted on blank maps. Students will compare historical and current occurrences determine causal factors and to predict future occurrences of both phenomena. Since future occurrences may not fall within the school year, accuracy will have to be determined on the basis of logical thought rather than the actual happening. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 3. |
| Pilgrim Life Launch Page |
This launch page is designed for use with fourth/fifth grade students during a Colonization or Pilgrim unit. You may print out a copy of the launch page for students to use to take notes as they conduct the guided research. The launch page guides students through many related topics on the Scholastic web page for the First Thanksgiving. The students use the notes they collect as background information (along with classroom studies) to write a journal entry from the point of view of a child during Colonial Times. This journal may then be submitted to Scholastic.com for publication online. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 4 and 5. |
| Pour Quoi Tales |
Children are naturally curious about the world around them. This curiosity can be used to stimulate great creative writing by using Pour Quoi Tales. These stories attempt to explain the way the world works as seen by primitive, unscientific eyes. They often concern animals and are highly sequential. Students will read and compare the Pour Quoi Tales, sequence one of their choice, and ultimately write their own and publish it online. Resources for the teacher can be found at: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/pourquoitales.htm. This lesson meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Powers of 10 |
Exponential notation is a convenient way for scientists to write very large or very small numbers. In this lesson, students will examine things that are extremely large and extremely small. Then they will find images that fit these sizes and insert them into a PowerPoint demonstration. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3, 5, and 6 |
| Publishing Poetry |
Knowing that many students often see poetry as “boring”, a unique way to “hook” students is to give them the opportunity to be a published author on the Internet. Seeing other students’ work, and having the opportunity to share theirs with such a large audience, students feel “famous” which can be highly motivating. After reading and analyzing several poetry formats, students will write poems in these different styles. They will then choose the poem they want to work on for submission to an Internet Publishing site. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3, and 4. |
| Rainforest Exploration |
This lesson is designed to accompany a study of rainforests and was created for use with fourth and fifth grade students. The activity is based on information located on the Rainforest Connection website. Students navigate the site to collect factual information about the rainforest located on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. They then use this information to complete an activity sheet. Students conclude the activity by posting their own message to the Rainforest Connection Guest Book. Students are evaluated based on the activity sheet and successful posting to the website. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| School Uniforms? Yes or No? |
This Webquest asks the students to research why some schools and school personnel are leaning toward having the students wear uniforms. The students also produce a questionnaire that they use to interview members of the community to determine feelings and opinions on this issue. As a team, the students then debate the issue for the school administrators and/or governing board. Finally, the students are asked to produce either a persuasive letter, a brochure or a Power Point to present the results of their study. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 2, 3, 5 and 6. |
| Space Firsts |
We are in an amazing decade of space exploration. Even from the beginning of time, man was fascinated by the moon, stars and planets. Poems and songs have been written, moon cycles worshipped with ceremonies and sacrifices, but where did it all begin? Let’s find out about some of “Space’s Firsts”. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 2, 3, 4 and 5. |
| Space Rocks! Launch Page |
The Space Rocks! launch page is designed to incorporate bloom’s taxonomy with writing skills using high interest space science. Students participate in five missions that include technology, reading, writing, and art. Each mission encourages students to use varying levels of thinking. The final mission is a debriefing, or evaluation, of their work. The entire Space Rocks! launch lesson takes approximately 3-4 weeks (40-50 minutes per week). This lesson is designed for 5th grade students but could easily be adapted to other grade levels in which space is part of the science curriculum. Arizona State Technology Standards met in this lesson include 1, 3, and 4. |
| Spies All Around Us! |
Many students are highly interested in the Revolutionary War. This Primary Source/Web Quest Lesson allows students to delve deeper into the topic by learning more about the spies that actually worked during this time in history. Students will have the opportunity to analyze authentic maps, spy letters, and images that have been archived from these true spies! Student will work in groups of three to study these primary source documents. Later, each student takes on their own role of cartographer, cryptologist, or military strategist. Their job will be to create their own fictitious primary sources which will include letters, codes, and maps. This lesson encourages group as well as individual participation, and is highly motivating for all students. This lesson meets the Arizona Technology Standards 3 and 5. |
| Square of Life |
Square of Life: Studies in Local and Global Environments is an Internet-based Collaborative project in which students investigate their local environment and share that information with other students from around the country and the world. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1 and 4. |
| Square of Life |
Square of Life is an Internet-based collaborative project in which students will investigate their local environment and share that information with other students from around the country and the world. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Square of Life |
Telecollaborative projects are an excellent way for your students to share information with other students around the globe. In this collaborative project, classes around the world share environmental information collected from a specified area around their schools. Students participate in collecting and analyzing data gathered from their own school’s “backyard.” This project is run by CIESE, and has starting and ending dates. Be sure to look for these so you don’t miss the window. The entire project takes approximately 5-7 hours over several days. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3, and 4. |
| Stinky Cheese? Launch Page |
This launch page is inspired by The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Sciexzka and is designed for fourth/fifth grade students during a fairy tale unit of study. After reading the book to students, the objective is for them to conduct research in order to learn about different types of cheeses. It is suggested that you print a copy of the launch page for students to use to take notes as they conduct the guided research. Based on research and notes, students will decide what type of cheese they think the little old woman in the story used to make her stinky cheese man. Students will be evaluated based on a paper defending their choice of cheese. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 5. |
| Stock Market Challenge |
The demanding Arizona State Standards require students to begin investigating applying the use of positive and negative numbers in math, and economics in Social Studies. What better way to meet these goals than using the Real-Time Data from the Stock Market? After all, students love to talk about making money! Timing is very flexible! You may have your students track their stocks for five or more days. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3, 5 and 6. |
| Student Publishing on the Web |
The Internet can be a useful tool for motivating reluctant writers. Even students who find it difficult to get their thoughts down on paper are compelled to write when they know their audience is all of cyberspace. Using the Kids-Space website, students will publish original rebus style stories on the Internet. When completed and published, they then will be able to email the URL for those stories to friends and relatives around the country. The computer can also be a powerful tool for revising original work. The painful processes of erasing and rewriting can be eliminated. Students will learn how to use the computer to edit their stories using criteria based on the Six Traits of writing. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 2, 3, and 4. |
| Tell Me More About Veteran's Day Launch Page |
This lesson launches students off to a play that involves kids trying to define Veterans Day for themselves. Students will answer questions about this play, then visit another site, containing the lyrics to The National Anthem. This page will require students to embark on a syntax hunt. This web page was specifically designed for limited English speakers. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| Thanks for the Memories-A Visit to America's Past |
American history is the main focus of the 5th grade Social Studies curriculum. This lesson is a way to engage students in an exploration of our history’s past in an independent, interactive way. The students will focus on two links from this website – “Meet Amazing Americans” and “Jump Back In Time.” Both links provide a wide variety of choices that the students can explore independently or collaboratively with another student. After exploring their person or time in history, the students will share what they’ve learned by doing a brief oral presentation. The students will also be asked to produce a word document that summarizes the important ideas from their exploration, accompanied by a picture that they have copied from their primary source link. The students’ work will be put on display in a scrapbook type format for the classroom library. From introduction to conclusion, this lesson should take approximately, two to three weeks, depending on the availability of computers. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3, 4 and 5. |
| Tic-Tac-Toe Dodecahedron |
This project is an assessment that concluded a two week investigation into the periodic table. After the class had learned the basic composition of the periodic table including the following items: atomic number, atomic mass, where the symbols of the elements originated (scientist name, Latin name, planets, English name, first letter, first and second letter etc…) element atomic configuration, periods, and families, the students choose an element to further investigate. The student’s then use the Tic-Tac-Toe board as an inquiry guideline. The students place their information obtained onto a dodecahedron. This lesson meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Today in History |
This is a daily activity that will be taught and established as a routine part of the day. The purpose of the lesson is to have students interact with technology on a daily basis and to make connections between historical events and to daily life. Students will be scheduled (one or two per day) to access the Today in History site, use links and related searches, then, make a short class presentation relating their findings and connections. Depending on the event(s) depicted, connections may be to other subject areas such as Science, Art, etc. A classroom computer is necessary for this lesson. A projection system or TV converter will also be helpful. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| Water Usage |
Students study Land Forms in the 5th grade curriculum. Part of this study is not only rainfall and how it affects the land, but also how the land affects the storage of the water. This study will bring the water usage of Pima County into the classroom using real time data from wells close to the homes of the students. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 3. |
| Water Use/Water Waste |
This collaborative, Internet-based project is part of an environmental unit, in which water use and water conservation will be examined. In this lesson students will learn about their own water usage, as well as other household members. In addition, they will compare their information to that of others locally and around the world. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 3. |
| Westward Expansion Journal Entry |
Prior to this lesson, students will have been involved in a four-week simulation dealing with American Pioneer life. They will have studied and experienced the life of an early American traveling west on the Hacker Trail in the Interact simulation Pioneers. Students will have knowledge of supplies, foods, transportation, weather conditions, and the general lifestyle of a pioneer traveling west in America during the 1800s. Students will use their background knowledge of American pioneer life to compose a journal entry written by a pioneer child. This entry will be published online. The lesson will take 5-7 hours depending on writing and typing ability. This time will consist of webbing ideas, writing a rough draft, peer editing, revising and writing a second draft, typing and publishing online. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3 and 4. |
| What's that Shape? |
Prior to this lesson students will have studied the properties of geometric shapes, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional. After reviewing geometric shapes with students through the use of websites and models, students will pick one geometric shape for this project. Using the draw tools in Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint, students will draw the geometric shape they have picked. This lesson should take three to four hours in the computer lab depending on the student’s grade level. Students will then use the digital camera to take a picture(s) of an object(s) on our campus that has the same geometric shape as their drawing. Finally, students will import this image into a Word or PowerPoint document and write a description of both the geometric shape that they drew and the digital picture of an object that represents this shape. This description will justify their choice of objects in their digital pictures by identifying the characteristics that they have in common. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1 and 3. |
| Where Do Languages Come From? Launch Page |
We take language for granted, but many of our English words have the same Latin derivatives as some Spanish, French, and Italian words. Students will find it interesting to see some examples of this. It will help them have respect for other languages and build their vocabulary. This lesson meets Arizona State Standards: 1, 3, and 5. |
| Writing a Poem for Publication |
Students will have several lessons on three different types of poetry and be exposed to various web sites containing and teaching poetry. They will receive instruction regarding limericks, haiku, and couplets from computer sites and/or books given and read at least 10 poems. They will write a review of one poem. The lesson will cumulate with a poem from each child submitted to Fern’s Poetry Club. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. |
| Writing Poetry with Jack Prelutsky Launch Page |
Jack Prelutsky inspires this launch page. Students will have the opportunity to read and listen to the poem "Louder Than a Clap of Thunder" by Jack Prelutsky. Then they will be taken step by step through the writing process to create their own poem. Student poems can also be submitted for publishing possibilities. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3, 4, and 5. |
