Advisory
The purpose of Advisory at St. Elizabeth’s School is to:
- Build community, fostering a sense of belonging for every student.
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Explicitly teach social and emotional skills through a culturally sustaining lens.
Advisory consists of small groups of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Community-building activities, including contests and games, help students form connections beyond their grade level. When students feel a strong sense of belonging, they are better able to focus on academic learning.
Social and emotional learning is drawn from the Wayfinder curriculum and covers self-awareness, goal-setting, healthy relationships, conflict resolution, digital citizenship, and stress management.
Advisory also partners with Girls Inc. to provide age-appropriate sexual education for all middle school students through a scientifically accurate, values-based lens.
Math
In fifth grade, students build a strong foundation in mathematical concepts and problem-solving skills using the Bridges in Mathmatics curriculum. This curriculum is designed to promote understanding, reasoning, and fluency through engaging lessons and hands-on learning experiences.
Key Skills and Focus Areas:
Fifth-grade students explore a range of math topics that help develop their skills in both conceptual understanding and practical application:
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Place Value and Operations: Students deepen their understanding of place value to work with larger numbers, including performing multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
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Fractions and Decimals: Students focus on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions, while also learning how to convert between fractions and decimals and solve real-world problems.
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Geometry: Students explore 2D and 3D shapes, learning about angles, symmetry, perimeter, area, and volume. They also work on understanding how shapes and measurements relate to one another.
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Measurement and Data: Students apply measurement concepts to solve problems, using both standard and metric units, and learn how to interpret and display data in various formats such as tables and graphs.
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Problem Solving and Reasoning: Throughout the year, students apply their math skills to solve real-world problems, develop strategies, and explain their reasoning.
Through the Bridges curriculum, fifth-grade students are well-prepared to tackle more complex math challenges in the years ahead while building confidence in their abilities.
Language Arts
At St. Elizabeth’s, fifth-grade students deepen their literacy skills through the Expeditionary Learning (EL) Curriculum, which emphasizes exploration, inquiry, and critical thinking, while connecting reading and writing to real-world topics.
EL Modules – Learning Through Exploration:
In fifth grade, students engage in thoughtful, inquiry-based modules that combine language arts with social studies, science, and history. All modules are taught, except for Module 3.
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Module 1: The Power of Words
How can writing create change? Students learn how authors use words to persuade and inspire, developing their own persuasive writing skills while analyzing texts that promote social change. -
Module 2: Exploration and Discovery
What happens when people explore new lands? Students examine the history of exploration, read related nonfiction texts, and create imaginative stories while developing skills in reading comprehension and creative writing. -
Module 3: Not Taught
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Module 4: The Energy of Change
How do innovation and change affect societies? In this module, students learn about the impact of technological and cultural advancements on communities, writing persuasive essays and researching influential figures who sparked these changes. -
Module 5: Personal Narratives and Social Justice
How can individual stories contribute to broader social change? Students explore narratives of historical figures, write their own personal stories, and examine how individual action can drive societal transformation.
Throughout the year, students strengthen their ability to think critically, collaborate with others, and engage deeply with texts. The EL curriculum fosters a love of learning while helping students develop essential skills in writing, research, and analysis.
