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Grade-by-Grade Learning: 5th Grade
Learn the Lingo
What Are Social-Emotional Learning Programs?
Social-emotional learning programs are structured programs that schools use to help children learn the social-emotional skills needed to resolve conflicts, deal with bullying, handle intense emotions, and live in a world that is often intimidating. "Social-emotional learning can change the climate of a school," says Linda Lendman, M.S.W., family coordinator at the Rand Family School in Montclair, New Jersey. "Issues like fighting and bullying are typical. The schools that have handled them the most successfully have integrated social-emotional instruction into their curriculum. It’s just as important as reading and math instruction."
The Big Distractions
Fifth graders are flip-floppers. They think of themselves as mature and independent but can revert to immature behavior when they want the comfort they are often afraid to ask for. They spend much of their day learning the complex and ever-changing social rules for interacting with their peers. This can make it tough for teachers, who have to steer them back to the academic tasks of the classroom. It can also make it tough for some fifth graders, who may need to switch their focus from classroom social dramas to good study skills and time management.
Fortunately, by this stage, fifth graders have developed the ability to think logically about concrete problems. This means that when they look at a problem, they can pull out the necessary facts and strategies needed to solve it, and then move those thoughts around in different ways until they are able to figure it out.
Hitting Puberty
Puberty can create a classroom that contains a broad mix of maturity levels, both physical and emotional. Some girls are interested in boys while others haven’t noticed their charms yet. Some girls have begun to develop physically, while others may still have a few years to go. And boys often still have a year or two before they even begin to mature.
Both girls and boys pay more attention to their appearance and to the ways their bodies are changing. The hormones of puberty can create mood swings that range from open conflict to giggling playfulness all in a few minutes. This can distract some from schoolwork and the complicated tasks of fifth grade.
The Pressures of the Group
Being part of a group, what their friends think of them, and what they think of their friends are very important issues for fifth graders, particularly (but not exclusively) girls. Both sexes become more self-conscious and somewhat insecure about how they appear and whether they "fit in." Struggles with schoolwork can often cause children to feel isolated from their peers, and embarrassed. Occasionally, students who excel in certain subjects try to downplay their intelligence in order fit in. "It’s important for parents to build upon children’s strengths to help them with their weaker areas," says Susan Becker, M. Ed., teacher at the Rand Family School. "It’s also a good time to look at children’s passions to find extracurricular activities in areas in which they can excel. This can give them a sense of pride of accomplishment, and can broaden their peer group to include friends who have common interests."