Our Fifth Grade Homeschool Curriculum

I have been homeschooling my children since the fall of 2014. I started homeschool preschool with my oldest when she was 2.5 years old. After two years of preschool work, she started kindergarten when she was 4.5 years old. She completed all her kindergarten level work by the following May, so I graduated her to first grade in June. She finished all her first-grade level work the following March, so she began second grade in April. She started third grade the following February and then started fourth grade last December. When she is ready for fifth grade later this year, I have all of my educational materials ready. If you are interested in any of the materials, easily find copies on Amazon via my affiliate links.

Originally published on July 30, 2020. Updated on July 24, 2021.

General

In addition to specific subjects, I included one general fifth grade workbook in my fifth grade curriculum to provide my children with additional practice in language, math, and reading: Evan-Moor Daily Fundamentals, Grade 5.

Reading

I continued using the Treasures series for fifth grade reading. The accompanying Practice Book, Grammar, and Spelling are also available online as free downloads, but we did not use any of the three workbooks.

Treasures: A Reading/Language Arts Program (Grade 5)

Writing

For writing, I chose The Grammar & Writing Book: Grade 5, which is a 266-page grammar and writing book that expands on the information learned in the fourth grade edition through grammar instruction and practice, writing craft and models, and writing and grammar test preparation. The 30 lessons cover a variety of grammar and writing topics appropriate for fourth grade students including sentences, word order, parts of speech, punctuation, and paragraphs.

I also included Grammar and Punctuation, Grade 5 in our writing lessons as supplement practice on important grammar and punctuation rules. The black-and-white workbook covers 25 grammatical and punctuation topics including sentences, punctuation, word classes, and usage that build on the topics learned in the fourth grade edition. Each section includes four pages of instruction and activities for a total of 25 instructional pages and 75 practice pages. I use the workbook as extra practice for concepts covered in The Grammar & Writing Book.

I additionally added the Spectrum Writing Grade 5 workbook and The Writing Prompts Workbook, Grades 5-6 to our curriculum. The Spectrum series is available for kindergarten through eighth grade. The Writing Prompts series is available for first grade through twelfth grade.

My children also continue working on their printing and cursive through various handwriting activities.

Spelling

My children and I continued doing word study using Structured Word Inquiry. Each week she and I chose a base word or two to study. I am also using the InSight Words (Volume 1, Volume 2, Supplement, and Inflections) from Linguist-Educator Exchange. We also studied other words that arose in day-to-day life.

I also created the Teach a Student to Spell: Level 5 workbook for spelling lessons. Level 5 consists of 36 lists of one to four bases each. The number of bases in each list depends on the size of the word family. The activities focus on the four questions of Structured Word Inquiry: (1) What does a word mean? (2) How is the word built? (3) What are morphological and etymological relatives of the word? and (5) What are the sounds that matter? What are the letters doing? The goal of Level 5 is to study the spelling of English words using the Structured Word Inquiry framework. Level 5 builds on the spelling rules introduced in Level 3 and Level 4. Level 5 also reinforces the prefixes, suffixes, and connecting vowels from Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 while introducing additional prefixes and suffixes.

Vocabulary

My children began using Vocabulary Words in Context: Grade 6-8 to expand their vocabulary in fifth grade.

Math

For fifth grade math lessons, I selected Singapore Math Level 5 (US Edition). The two textbooks in Level 5 teach mathematical concepts, and the workbooks provide additional independent practice. The US Edition has been minimally modified from the original Singapore edition to teach American money and include American English spellings. The textbooks follow a unique pattern of moving from hands-on demonstrations to picture drawings (concrete examples with pictures) and finally to the abstract (numbers and symbols) in a natural, easy-to-understand progression. The program aims to teach children to learn to think mathematically rather than just being able to solve math problems.

My children also continued using Khan Academy for extra math lessons.

Science

For science lessons, I selected the textbook Scott Foresman Science and the accompanying workbook. Each lesson includes questions at the end, and the workbook includes further questions for study.

I also continued using the Giant Science Resource Book, which is recommended for students between first and sixth grade, from Evan-Moor to use as an on-going science and health supplement. I also check out many books from the library to supplement our science lessons.

Social Studies

After finishing the grade 4 social studies textbook and workbook, my daughter moved on to the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Our Nation Grade 5 textbook and the accompanying workbook. The 635-page hardback book covers various social studies topics such as community, geography, history, and culture. The accompanying workbook is essential for reinforcing the lessons in the textbook and covers vocabulary, writing, and other activities.

In addition to the textbook and workbook, I added the workbooks DK Workbooks: Geography, Fifth Grade and Evan-Moor The World Reference Maps & Forms Book to supplement our social studies lessons. The workbooks include topics such as map reading, compass directions, continents, countries and states, borders, landforms, and more.

After completing the History Pockets: Colonial America and History Pockets: The American Revolution, my daughter and I moved on to History Pockets: Explorers of North America Grades 4-6 and History Pockets: Moving West Grades 4-6. The reproducible activity books teach information about each time period complete with illustrations, arts and crafts projects, and writing activities. My children complete each section over one or two days with a culminating portfolio to show their study of time period in history.

Health/Life Skills

For health lessons, I opted to continue using the same textbook series, the 448-page Harcourt Health & Fitness: Grade 5 and the accompanying workbook. The accompanying workbook provides practice that reinforces the information from each lesson. Most of the worksheet pages cover two or three lessons per page.

After completing the textbook and workbook, my children will complete ScienceWorks for Kids: The Human Body. The workbook presents information and investigations on nine anatomy concepts.

Art

For art lessons, I continued using the 13 Children Should Know series of books. For fifth grade, I used 13 Art Mysteries Children Should Know, 13 Art Illusions Children Should Know, 13 Photos Children Should Know, and 13 Fashion Styles Children Should Know. We also used YouTube and Facebook Live to learn more about various artists, artworks, and art styles.

Music

For fifth grade music, I used Help Your Kids with Music: A Unique Step-by-Step Visual Guide. All three of my children listened in on the lessons, so the book spans multiple grades and ages.

Spanish

My children continued using Rosetta Stone to learn Spanish.

Image Credits

All images via Amazon