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Fifth graders

Fifth graders may be experiencing bodily changes and rapid growth spurts, which cause periods of frustration and anger. They generally are interested in and enthusiastic about places and problems in the news and want to know what caused these problems, where they occurred, and the reasons for them.

The way we enrich them is by realizing that:

• Fifth-graders appear to grow before your eyes, mentally as well as physically. Many are on the verge of abstract thought.
• Mental leaps and shifts in humour change their classroom behaviour.
• School is considerably more demanding, and students will have homework in several subjects.
• The two key areas of the curriculum are fractions and writing. Both call for more memory and concentration, which the students find engaging.
• Their hammy natures make playacting and poetry recitations delightful.
• Honour and fair play are high this year. This stems from their budding social conscience, so teachers who play favourites are in for trouble.
• They are pulling away from parents and teachers, so friends are more important. Friendships are almost always with the same sex, but boy-girl flirtation has begun.