2010-2011 Curriculum (5th grade)

  

Well, here is our 5th grade curriculum for this year!

This is a very eclectic curriculum! These materials were chosen based on Unicorn's learning style, her ability level, affordability and the ability to reuse and adapt material for the younger children when they reach this level!

History, English and Science lesson plans are adapted from "The Four Year Plan - An Education Plan for LDS Families" by Kindred Learning.

History (US): A History of US: 11-Volume Set by Hakim Too much for Unicorn, we will be notebooking US History!
     -Movie List (most via Netflix): The Vikings (NOVA, 2000); The Sea Hawk (1940), Squanto, AWarrior's Tale; Drums along the Mohawk (1939); The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968); Ben and Me; Johnny Tremain; The Howards of Virginia; 1776; A More Perfect Union; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; The Buccaneer (1958); Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (PBS); Daniel Boone; Davy Crockett; Legacy; The Alamo; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; American Legends; Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995); The Mask of Zorro (1998); Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Civil War; Gone With the Wind; The Red Badge of Courage; An American Tail, Fieval Goes West; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; and Oklahoma.

English (Analysis and Opinion): Writers Express by Kemper, Nathan, Sebranek
     -Reading List:  The Sign of the Beaver (Speare); Ben and Me (Lawson); The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare); Johnny Tremain (Forbes); Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? (Fritz); Guns for General Washington (Reit); Shh! We're Writing the Constitution (Fritz); Rip Van Winkle (Irving); Caddie Woodlawn (Brink); Little House on the Prairie (Wilder); Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan); Across Five Aprils (Hunt); The Red Badge of Courage (Crane); and Shades of Gray (Reeder)

Science (Physics): Concepts and Challenges in Physical Science by Bernstein, Schachter, Winkler, and Wolfe; Physics for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments in Motion, Heat, Light, Machines, and Sound by Van Cleave; and How Science Works by Hann  Also, too much for Unicorn, we will be notebooking topics that are of interest to her!

Math: Math Mammoth by Maria Miller. Since this is where Unicorn struggles we have gone back to the beginning (she is currently in the 2nd semester of 1st grade) and she is going through the entire 1-8 curriculum at HER pace. The goal is to have her finish the entire curriculum before starting High School. Additionally, she is working through Dreambox.com which is a computer-based K-3 Math website. This is great because it adjust the level of difficulty based on her responses!

Spelling: Unicorn has been in charter schools using the Spalding Method of Phonics and Spelling. She is almost finished with the word lists. Once these lists are complete she will move on to BYU Independent Study Spelling and English courses.

Grammar: Grammarlogues

Typing: Sue Patrick (the author of the Workbox System) has a typing curriculum that is available if you purchase her ebook. This typing curriculum focuses on teaching finger placement. Unicorn will start with this curriculum and then move on to Type To Learn (TTL4) once finger placement is mastered.

Art: Unicorn will start by Discovering Great Artists and then she will move onto Artistic Pursuits.

Music: Unicorn will begin by learning about famous composers in Ah, Music!

Foreign Language: Daddy, Unicorn and I will all be learning Latin using Rosetta Stone!

PE: Various Activities including the WiiFit Plus, walking and playing!

Religion: Discover the Scriptures: Hands-on Church History vol. 1 - Restoration and Growth

Life Skills: We will also be learning how to cook, garden, sew, etc. These topics will be taught by mom, dad, and grandma (based on our talents and skills). We will also be using BYU Independent Study courses to assist in some of these areas.

As a Family: Each morning we will read scriptures, pray, work on memorizing a scripture, poem, or quote and have a read-aloud. We will continue reading The Magic Treehouse series. We will also try to have 1-2 Field Trips a month (click here for more info. on Field Trips).

Preschool: Ladybug and Monkey (and my other preschoolers) will be using Mother Goose Time and Signing Time as the main curriculum. I also supplement with the Spalding Method of Phonics and Spelling.

I realize this seems like a lot of stuff but, not all subjects will be taught each day!

We will be using Sue Patrick's Workbox System as a way of organizing daily lessons and as a means to help Unicorn become more self-sufficient. More on this to come!  :)