SURVIVE IN
FIVE
YOUR NAVIGATION GUIDE FOR 5TH GRADE
TRAILGUIDE
LITERACY
WRITING/ GRAMMAR
SOCIAL STUDIES
Literacy
Most of the first month of 5th grade is spent reviewing and learning the procedures of the literacy framework used across the district. Aspects of this framework provide students with the oppurtunity to practice, refine and learn new literacy skills through emmersion to literature across the curriculum. Read more about this framework by checking out the district website,
Genre Studies specific to 5th grade
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Poetry Genre Review
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Historic/ Realistic Fiction Genre Review
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Memoir Genre Study
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Myth/ Legend Genre Study
Writing, Grammar & Word Study
During their 5th grade year, students will receive concentrated instruction on the following writing modes:
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Memoir
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Narrative Fiction/ Non Fiction
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Research based writing
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Persuasive Writing
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Essay Writing (response to literature)
Students will be utilizing these writing mediums to practice various grammar and word study requirements such as the following:
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Capitalization
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Punctuation
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Parts of Speech (such as conjunctions, adverbs, pronouns)
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Figurative language
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Verb Tense
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Greek and Latin roots
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Antonyms/ Synonyms
For a more detailed listing of fifth grade expectations, visit our district website or Common Core website.
Social Studies
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5 Themes of Geography
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Native Peoples of South and Central America
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Native Peoples of North America
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Exploration of the Western Hemisphere
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Colonization
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Economics
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FIND US
Although I do have a class phone, it is best to contact me through email or through the school office main phone number. Any contact submitted through this page will be sent directly to my email.
ABOUT YOUR GUIDE
“Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done.”
― Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Hello! My name is Cary Ballard. This is my 16th year teaching at New Albany Elementary and my 3rd teaching 5th grade.
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​I received both my Masters and Bachelors degrees in education from The Ohio State University. My passion has always been language arts. I started my college career as a journalism major. After tutoring other college students within one of my college writing classes, I discovered my love of teaching and soon after switched majors. I was lucky enough to be hired by New Albany Schools during my last year of my Masters program. During the course of my time here, I have learned a lot about education and have made some lifelong friends.
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​When I am not wearing my "teacher hat" I am a mom and wife. My husband and I have been married for 12 years and have two wonderful and creative children. We recently moved to Johnstown.
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​As a teacher, I love coming up with fun and innovative ways to introduce material. In my classroom, expect to use all modes of learning! I incorporate music, visual and artistic components within many of my daily lessons.
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Some fun and interesting facts about me:
I love learning how to fix and do things! I will watch Youtube videos for hours to learn how to do EVERYTHING from styling my daughter’s hair to fixing a door bell. I believe I inherited my mechanical abilities from my dad. He loves to work on cars and even had a car on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine in the seventies!
I am obsessed with Target and Homegoods. If I am not at home, you can find me at either of these places. Sometimes I tell my husband I need something just so I can wander around for a couple of hours(;
I LOVE music of all kinds. Music has always been a part of my life. When I was a kid, there was never a day that the stereo in my family’s living room wasn’t on. On Saturday mornings we would listen to America’s Top Forty. On Sunday nights, my dad would entertain us for hours by playing records from his vast collection. The first cassette tape I ever bought was The Beach Boys. When I got twenty dollars from my grandpa when I was 8, I couldn’t wait to run out and buy a purple “ghetto blaster”. After that, it was all over. I spent hours in my room listening to the radio, calling the radio station and making requests and then rushing to record my favorite songs on a newly unwrapped blank tape.
I LOVE writing but I am so thankful for modern technology and spell check! My family had a dictionary named Big Blue that got a lot of use. When I started teaching, Big Blue found a new home on my desk. Writing is my passion, spelling is my nemesis (and yes, I used spell check on that last word).
HOMEWORK and HELPFUL LINKS
Homework will be assigned on a daily basis and should be recorded in each student's agenda. In general, students shoud be reading 20 minutes per night at a minimum. These minutes should be recorded at biblionasium.com. Please check this page often for helpful links to pages or information relative to assignments.
Quizlet
Use this site to study vocabulary terms. I will be providing lists throughouut the year and you can also make your own. Use the quizlet app to compete with your classmates and track your progress,
You can join my class by entering this url https://quizlet.com/join/R8fbQK6W6