Carlthorp students say that fifth grade is a year to remember. Aside from the basic core curriculum, fifth grade traditions feature a course of study designed to interest everyone. Everything that happens in the fifth grade is experienced first-hand and in the extreme; when the class is learning about Salem, they will re-enact the Salem Witch Trials complete with a magistrate who will deliver a verdict of guilty or innocent to each of the alleged "witches." When learning about the history of space exploration, students will design a NASA patch and wear it on a shirt to a special "Space Day". Even book reports come to life in the fifth grade; your child may be writing about what would be found in the protagonist's trashcan or creating an invention that would help the main character out of predicament.

The social studies curriculum features American history, from the Pilgrims and early patriots through the Revolutionary War and Westward Expansion. Your child will be dipping candles and making tin lanterns on Colonial Crafts Day, sampling George Washington's favorite gingerbread, and creating corn husk dolls. Whether spending the night on the Brig Pilgrim in Dana Point, or embracing a weeklong trip to Boston and Philadelphia, the fifth grade at Carlthorp School bring American history to life - and love every minute of it!

Our current events program uses a DVD slideshow, where students learn to take notes on presented material and articulate understanding of current issues. In computer, the "Word Wizards" program helps deepen vocabulary skills that will be necessary when testing for secondary schools, and continued small-group English, math, and reading groups strengthen fundamental academic skills. Art, science, and wonderful writing opportunities such as writing for the Carlthorp school newspaper, the Clarion, or participating in the Writing Partners Program, are now available to the busy fifth grader!