Welcome to the Logic Stage
Year one of the Logic Stage, your student now:
"Somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, children begin to think more analytically, Middle-school students are less interested in finding out facts than in asking, 'Why?' The second phase of the classical education, the 'logic stage,' is a time when the child begins to pay attention to cause and effect, to the relationships among different fields of knowledge, to the way facts fit together into a logical framework. A student is ready for the logic stage when the capacity for abstract thought begins to mature. During these years, the student begins the study of algebra and applies mathematical reasoning to real-life situations. She studies the rules of logic, and begins to apply logic to all academic subjects. The logic of writing, for example, includes paragraph construction and support of a thesis; the logic of reading involves the criticism and analysis of texts, not simple absorption of information; the logic of history demands that the student find out why the War of 1812 was fought, rather than simply reading its story; the logic of science requires the child to learn and apply the scientific method."1
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1 Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical
"Somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, children begin to think more analytically, Middle-school students are less interested in finding out facts than in asking, 'Why?' The second phase of the classical education, the 'logic stage,' is a time when the child begins to pay attention to cause and effect, to the relationships among different fields of knowledge, to the way facts fit together into a logical framework. A student is ready for the logic stage when the capacity for abstract thought begins to mature. During these years, the student begins the study of algebra and applies mathematical reasoning to real-life situations. She studies the rules of logic, and begins to apply logic to all academic subjects. The logic of writing, for example, includes paragraph construction and support of a thesis; the logic of reading involves the criticism and analysis of texts, not simple absorption of information; the logic of history demands that the student find out why the War of 1812 was fought, rather than simply reading its story; the logic of science requires the child to learn and apply the scientific method."1
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1 Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical
Fifth Grade
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SCIENCE: The World of Flying Creatures
In this study of birds, your child learns about the design and characteristics of flying creatures, including physical characteristics, nesting habits, flight patterns, and more! Your student will learn how to attract various bird species to your yard and identify them by looking at their special physical characteristics, diverse nests, and interesting domestic practices. Some Topics Include: Unit 1: Zoology Classification, binomial nomenclature, flight, airfoil, drag, habitats, instinct, extinction, and extinction errors Unit 2: What Makes a Bird a Bird? Bird Watching, Benefits, Identification, Field Guides, Field Marks, Wings, Crests, Passerines, Large to Small, Behavior, Habitats, Bird Banter, Songs andCalls, Claims to Territory, Purpose of Calls and Communication, and Banding. Unit 3: Birds of a Feather Feather Facts, Molting, Feather Features, Contours, Down, Semi-plume, Filo-plume, Bristles, Preening, Cormorants, Feather Color, Bird Baths, and Sunbathing. Unit 4: Flying Facts Mighty Muscles, Takeoff, steering, Flapping and gliding, Soaring, Seabirds, Migration, Knowing Where to Go, Using Landmarks, Sun and Stars, Magnetic Fields, Migrator, perils not eh Path, Flocks or Loners, and Left Alone. Unit 5: Nesting HomeBuilders, Types of Nests, Unusual Nests, Weavers, No Nests, Ground and Mound Nesters, Earth-Hole Nesters, Cavity Nesters, Platform Nesters, Cup Nesters, Adherent Nests, and Egg Color. Unit 6: Matching and Hatching Showcase, Helpful Mates, Single Parents, Exceptional Eggs, Clutch, Incubation, Development int he Egg, Egg Tooth, Baby Birds, and Precocial Birds. Unit 7: Bats Keystone Bats, Bat Anatomy, Echolocation, Creation Confirmation, Micro-bats, What Big Ears You Have, Mega Bats, Bat Habitats, Guano, Winter Homes, Breeding, and TheNursery. Unit 8: Flying Reptiles Pterosaurs, Pterosaurs in History, Types of Pterosaurs, Pterosaur Lifestyle, Powered Flight, and Other Pterosaur Lifestyle Issues. Unit 9: A First Look at Insects Identifying Insects, Cold Blooded, Exoskeleton, Molting, Insect Heads, Insect Eyes, Antennae, Mouths, Thorax, and the Abdomen. Unit 10: Insect Life Cycles and Life Styles Finding a Mate, Metamorphosis, Complete Metamorphosis, Incomplete Metamorphosis, More Incomplete Metamorphosis, Crypsis, Mimicry, Trickery, Chemical Defense, Creation Confirmation, and Bites and Stings. Unit 11:Social Insects Hymenoptera, Worker Ant Jobs, Ant Talk, Ant Food, The Ant Shepherds and Farmers, The Honeybee, Royal Food, The Queen Bee, Worker Bees, Dancing Bees, Flower Power, Making Honey, Bumblebees, Wasps, Termites, and Ants vs Termites. Unit 12: Beetles, Flies, and True Bugs Beetle Behavior, Both Beneficial and Pesky, Scarab Beetles, Fireflies/Lightning Bugs, Ladybugs, Flies, Mosquitoes, and True Bugs. Unit 13: Interesting Insects Praying Mantises, Dragonflies and Damselflies, Winging It, Seeing More than Double, Feeding on the Fly, Water Babies, Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids, Dangers and Defense, Orthoptera, Aphids, and Cicadas. Unit 14: Order Lepidoptera Lep Anatomy, Antenne, Drinking Straws, Thorax, Migration,Cocoon, Chrysalis, Home sweet Home, and Butterfly Pets. |
Social Studies/History: The Ancients
Making use of The Story of the World, Volume 1 along with The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia and numerous instructor-assigned supplemental materials, this class studies ancient times at a logic-stage level. Students will make use of primary sources, time lines, and outlines to learn about the ancient world, from the earliest records to the last Roman emperor. Topics covered include: What is History? What is Archaeology?, The Earliest People, Ancient Egypt, Early Writing, Mesopotamia, Hammurabi, Assyria, Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Africa, Middle & New Kingdoms of Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria vs. Babylon, Crete, Early Greece, The Greece of Homer, The Medes & Persians, Sparta & Athens, The Greek Wars, Alexander the Great, The Ancient Americas, Early Rome, Aryan & Mauryan India, Confucian China, Rome and the Caesars, The Decline and Fall of Rome Grammar and Writing
Moving from basic definitions through advanced sentence structure and analysis—your student will learn the three essential elements of language education: understanding and memorizing rules (prescriptive teaching), repeated exposure to examples of how those rules are used (descriptive instruction), and practice using those rules in exercises and in writing (practical experience). Students will move through the most basic concepts through advanced grammatical concepts such as modal and hortative verbs and multiple functions of noun clauses.Extensive diagramming exercises reinforce the rules and help technical and visual learners to understand and use the English language effectively. Text for examples and exercises are drawn from great works of literature, as well as from well-written nonfiction texts in science, mathematics, and the social sciences. Books We May Read In Class**Book lists are subject to change
1.) Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
2.) Lemons by Melissa Savage 3.) The Wish Tree by Catherine Applegate 4.) Pax by Sara Pennypacker 5.) Fish in a Tree Lynda Mullaly Hunt 6.) Escape from Mr. Lemonchelos Library by Chris Grabenstein 7.) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis Writing skills, Penmanship:
(for information on why we teach cursive, please visit our "about us" or "curriculum" page) Building upon each grade, the consistent step-by-step approach to good penmanship presented each year emphasizes neatness and correct letter formation in daily practice. Writing habits which are polished during second grade will greatly influence students’ penmanship skills throughout life. Beginning in lesson 81, penmanship class will focus primarily on creative writing skills and some penmanship review. Creative writing skills will be taught in a sequence that will prepare students to write their own stories incorporating higher level thinking skills into imaginative writing. |
Fifth Grade Math
The Lab school of Oklahoma uses Saxon math for it's core math instruction. We believe each student is unique and teach to the individual. Therefore, we supplement with Math-U-See to integrate a more hands on approach with those who would benefit. For more information on Saxon math, please visit our "About Us" page.
Below is a list of new topics covered this year in math. For a great resource and explanation on why we use Saxon Math, please refer to our "About Us" page.
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Adding and subtracting integers/signed numbers
Multiplying and dividing integers/signed numbers Transforming equations (using the addition rule and the multiplication rule) Linear functions Analyzing functional relationships Rates Graphing lines Selecting the best measure of central tendency for a given situation Tree diagrams Combinations Odds Angle bisectors Congruent angles Pyramids Cylinders Complex Figures Parallelograms Trapezoids Circles Platonic solids |
Surface area
Concentric circles Arcs Area Pi Interior and exterior angles Sum of angle measures Complementary and supplementary Angles formed by transversals Calculate to find unknown angle measures Using similar triangles Angle bisectors Unit multipliers Irrational numbers Prime Factorization Percents greater than 100% Power of decimals and fractions Dividing with signed numbers Multiplying signed numbers Adding and Subtracting signed numbers |
