What your child learns in Grade 5 in Alberta
In Grade 5, students deepen their number sense with numbers to 10 000 000, decimals to thousandths and divisibility, and take on longer reading and writing tasks. Social studies explores ancient civilizations.
Grade 5 subjects in the Alberta Curriculum
Math
Big Ideas
- Number: analyzing patterns in place value, including decimals to thousandths and numbers to 10 000 000
- Number: adding and subtracting numbers to 1 000 000 and decimals to thousandths; multiplying 3-digit by 2-digit numbers and dividing 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers
- Number: using divisibility tests, interpreting improper fractions and mixed numbers, and adding and subtracting fractions with a common denominator
14 units, including numbers to a million, decimals, add & subtract, multiply.
English Language Arts
Big Ideas
- Engage in collaborative dialogue to share ideas, solve problems, and make decisions
- Apply knowledge of vocabulary to reading and writing
- Evaluate ideas and information to comprehend texts
12 units, including talking together, context clues, greek and latin roots, reading detectives.
Science
Big Ideas
- Matter: the particle model of matter explains the physical properties of solids, liquids and gases, such as state, mass, volume, density and compressibility
- Energy and forces: forces such as thrust, drag, lift and weight affect living things and objects in flight
- Energy and forces: the buoyant force of a fluid and an object's weight help explain floating and sinking in water and air
6 units, including solid, liquid, gas, measuring matter, changes of state, forces in flight.
Social Studies
Big Ideas
- The rise and fall of ancient civilizations: what helped them grow and what led to change
- The influence of the environment on ancient civilizations: rivers, mountains, deserts and seas
- Economic practices, including trade networks and taxes
7 units, including where and when?, rise and fall, land and water, trade and taxes.
French Immersion
Big Ideas
- Listening and speaking in French grow every day when French is the language of learning.
- Reading French texts of many kinds builds comprehension and the habit of reading for meaning.
- Writing in French for a purpose and an audience uses the conventions of the language.
7 units, including qui, que, où, dont, ne… plus, jamais, rien, les adverbes, la ponctuation.
Core French
Big Ideas
- Applications: using French to communicate in everyday situations, to explore and to have fun.
- Language competence: understanding and using the sounds, words, sentences and texts of French.
- Global citizenship: learning about Francophone communities in Alberta, Canada and the world, and about other cultures.
8 units, including salutations, sounds and accents, numbers 0 to 30, masculine, feminine, plural.
What to look for on the report card
Look for comments on problem solving, supporting ideas with evidence, and independent work.
Alberta report cards describe learning with Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Exceeding. See what each level means.
Competencies grow alongside subject learning in every grade. Read about competencies.
Ready for Grade 5?
Grade 5 builds on what your child practised in Grade 4. If a skill feels shaky, a few short practice sessions before or early in the year can help:
- Math: numbers to 10 000, add & subtract, prime & composite, times tables, multiply & divide
- English Language Arts: listen, speak & read aloud, reading detectives, text features, clues in texts, figurative language
- Science: waste & dangerous materials, gravity & magnets, earth's systems, resources & conservation, sense & respond
- Social Studies: who held power?, jacques cartier, champlain & new france, the fur trade & natural resources, the treaty of paris
- French Immersion: tu ou vous?, poser des questions, synonymes et contraires, les adverbes en -ment, comparer
- Core French: greetings, my classroom, colours, numbers 0 to 20, days, months and seasons
Common questions
What do kids learn in Grade 5 in Alberta?
Grade 5 covers math, english language arts, science, social studies, french immersion, core french in the Alberta Curriculum. In Grade 5, students deepen their number sense with numbers to 10 000 000, decimals to thousandths and divisibility, and take on longer reading and writing tasks. Social studies explores ancient civilizations.
How is Grade 5 reported in Alberta?
Alberta report cards describe learning with Beginning, Approaching, Meeting, Exceeding.
How can I help my Grade 5 child at home?
Short, regular practice works better than long sessions: 10 to 15 minutes a few times a week, on the skills your child's teacher flags. Read together, use math in real life, and praise effort.
Practise Grade 5 skills with Gradelings
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