Grade 5

Classroom Teachers for 2026
5SF – Stacy Fiske
5JS – Jamie Stagg
5ST – Simon Turnbull

What’s on in our week
Monday – Library
Tuesday –
Wednesday – Art, Library
Thursday – Phys Ed, Environmental Science, Performing Arts
Friday – Assembly, Art, Bike Ed

Grade 5 Curriculum

Literacy

Reading

Grade 5 students extend their knowledge of various comprehension strategies as they Read to Learn. Reading strategies interconnect. Students at this level are consciously making decisions on which strategies to use and when, and how to go deeper to get the most out of a text.
Students consider the author’s word choice and expand their vocabulary. They gain and use additional information from the text features, such as maps, tables, diagrams, graphs, and so forth. They ask and respond to questions and drawing inferences about events, characters, setting, and the main idea. Students explore the author’s purpose and how this influences the reader. They begin to identify broader themes, morals and issues, and how they personally connect to the text.

Spelling

Spelling focusses on the learning of morphology – how the prefixes, suffixes and root words come together to change and create words and different meanings. We also explore etymology – the history of where words come from, eg Latin, Ancient Greek, French, and so on. We use daily practice and revision through games and activities. Students then apply their learning to their writing.

Writing

Writing in Grade 5 covers a broad range of text types, including response, recount, narrative, persuasive, information, biography, procedure and poetry. Students consider their purpose and audience when they write. They review how texts are structured and the specific text features required. Students use this knowledge to create a cohesive text with strong ideas that engages the reader by:

creating imagery and emotion using deliberate word choice and figurative language
creating arguments, justifying reasons and providing evidence to back up each idea
adding descriptive details and dialogue
developing complex sentences
structuring strong paragraphs with a clear idea and topic sentence
varying the length of sentences
directing the reader on how to read writing through the use of punctuation

Numeracy

Mathematics

Students in Grade 5 bring not just their prior learning and real world experiences with them into the classroom, but also a toolkit of strategies that they have learnt along the way. Throughout Grade 5, they add to their toolkit and, with guidance, engage in a range of approaches as they make reasoned decisions to employ mathematical strategies to solve problems efficiently. Students in Grade 5:

apply their understanding of relationships to convert between forms of numbers, units and spatial representations
use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems, using natural numbers and operations, and explain any conclusions they reach
use common percentages to make proportional comparisons of quantities
use instruments to construct and measure angles in degrees
use appropriate metric units to directly measure the area and perimeter of regular and irregular spaces
locate and move positions within a grid coordinate system
recognise what stays the same and what changes when shapes undergo transformations
experiment with factors and multiples using algorithms and digital technology
plan, conduct and report findings from statistical investigations that involve an increasing range of types of data and means for representing data
develop their reasoning skills when they consider relationships between events and connect long-term frequency over many trials to the likelihood of an event occurring.

Integrated Studies

Grade 5 is a year where students begin to see themselves as part of a wider school community with an important role to play as citizens who have rights and responsibilities. We connect this to time spent learning about My Country and Its Rules. Students learn about Australia’s government structures and decision making and compare this to how our First Peoples govern their communities.
After a close look at our own society, we extend this to exploring Our Place in Space. We will focus on the concept that Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun) and that we are, in fact, in space.
The Science Spectacular is one of the highlights of Grade 5. It is showy, messy, chaotic and whole lot of learning and fun! Students select a science concept that interests them and then plan, research, conduct, test and evaluate their own science experiments by changing one variable. They then present and demonstrate their findings to a broader school audience.

Extra-Curricular Highlights

As the year progresses Grade 5 students transition into taking on greater leadership roles in the school and the opportunity to showcase our value of responsibility as they represent the student body. This first begins with greater opportunity to represent the school in sport and performances, to taking on the roles such as Peer Mediating and Sports Shed later in the year. Along with the opportunity to continue choir, guitar and/or keyboard lessons, they have the opportunity to audition for larger roles in the Senior School Concert.
Students continue to represent the school and their age group in Athletics and the Cross Country and are invited to apply for our Interschool Sporting Teams, such as Soccer, AFL, Cricket, Basketball and Netball. An urban adventure to Melbourne for Grade 5 camp is a highlight. It would be remiss of us not to mention everyone’s favourite, the Easter Hat Parade.

Wellbeing

At Maiden Gully Primary School, we believe that Wellbeing begins with relationships and one another individually and as members of a group, with a focus on inclusion, respect, tolerance and kindness both in our day to day relationships and our connections online. Throughout Grade 5, students explore their strengths, strategies to deal with emotions and how to resolve problems with others and when to seek help. They work on the choices they make and how it affects them and others.
Students participate in three wellbeing programs, the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program, Smiling Minds, and Play is the Way.
The RRRR learning materials are designed to develop students’ social, emotional and positive relationship skills.
Play is the Way is a practical methodology for teaching social and emotional skills using guided play, cooperative games and empowering language. It is a process that gives students a way to develop, improve and entrench the personal and social capabilities. Smiling Minds is a life-long, evidence-based tool to deliver the essential mental fitness skills needed to underpin good mental health and resilience from an early age.

Home Partnership

Daily Home Reading

Students are expected to read 20 minutes per night for at least 5 nights each week and fill in the yellow diary for each night they read. The yellow diary must be kept in the reader bag and brought to school each day. Focus on accuracy and fluency when reading and then ask your child questions about important facts in their book, this will assist your child to develop their Non Fiction comprehension.

Communication

The Compass Parent Portal is one of our major communication methods between Teachers and parent/carers. Upon meeting your child’s classroom teacher on the commencement of school year, you will be given an email or printed invitation to connect. If you are new or unfamiliar to Compass, your child’s teacher will be able to assist you in signing up. Please check your child’s profile regularly for any updates.
Please directly contact the office for any immediate changes to your child’s day, eg change to the end of school pick up. Our primary concern is teaching and we may not pick up Compass email until after 3:30pm. The office is a safer bet for everyone.
Parent / Teacher Partnership
We encourage parents to contact us at any stage to share knowledge about your child that may affect their learning, or if you have any questions or concerns – the earlier, the better!

Numeracy at Home

The parents role in helping to explore maths in everyday life is crucial to learners seeing themselves as capable mathematicians. How can you help?

Play board, card and strategy games together, particularly games that involve addition and subtraction.
Involve your child in measuring activities e.g. pouring drinks, ordering objects according to their length, when cooking, comparing size/weight.
Encourage them to tell the time and use calendars.

Estimating, then counting (and checking) objects and identifying number patterns eg how many grapes will fill your cup?
Reading numbers in the environment, eg road signs, catalogues…

If you are shopping talking about money. Use spending money and determine cost and change.

Playing addition games like car cricket when travelling.