What New York 5th graders
learn this year

Fifth grade is decimals to the thousandths and fractions that are multiplied and divided, not only added. It is the last year of elementary math, and the one middle school builds on.

Fall: September to November

• Math: Decimal place-value relationships; Powers of ten and decimal scaling; Read, write and compare decimals to thousandths; Round decimals and 1 more
• Science: Conservation of matter during changes; Use particle models to explain matter too small to see; Investigate whether mixing forms new substances; Identify materials from observable properties
• Social studies: Evaluate evidence about the first peoples of the Americas; Environmental adaptation and modification in the Americas; Compare complex societies, achievements and political organization

Winter: December to February

• Math: Divide by two-digit whole numbers; Compute with decimals to hundredths; Evaluate numerical expressions; Write and interpret numerical expressions and 2 more
• Science: Trace energy in animal food back to sunlight; Evidence for plant growth materials from air and water; Interactions among pairs of Earth systems; Model matter movement among organisms and environments
• Social studies: Culture, identity and Western Hemisphere comparisons; Effects of the Columbian Exchange; European exploration, colonization and Indigenous encounters; Transatlantic slavery and the Middle Passage

Early spring: March and April

• Math: Fractions as division and fair shares; Fraction multiplication and rectangular area; Interpret multiplication as scaling; Apply fraction and mixed-number multiplication and 1 more
• Science: Compare community methods for protecting resources; Compare Earth’s salt water and freshwater reservoirs; Earth’s gravitational pull toward its center
• Social studies: Western Hemisphere maps, regions and physical features; Principles of constitutional democracy; Compare government structures and founding documents

Late spring: May and June

• Math: Convert units in multistep problems; Use fraction operations with measurement plots; Unit cubes, prism volume and additive volume; First-quadrant coordinates and context and 2 more
• Science: Use relative distance to explain apparent star brightness; Specify and compare engineering criteria and constraints; Represent daily shadows and seasonal sky observations; Plan controlled tests and improve prototypes
• Social studies: International and nongovernmental cooperation; Struggles for equality, civil rights and sovereignty; Economic systems, activities and production choices; Trade and economic interdependence

The four subjects in 5th grade

Math. Decimal place value and powers of ten first, then long division and decimal arithmetic, then fractions as division and fraction multiplication, and volume and the coordinate plane last.

English. Texts with two sides to them, where a reader has to weigh evidence and explain how ideas connect.

Science. Matter made of particles too small to see, energy traced from sunlight to food, Earth's systems and water, and the Sun and stars.

Social studies. The Western Hemisphere: the first peoples of the Americas, European exploration and the Columbian Exchange, and the governments of North and South America.

Where 5th graders slip

Watch decimals. A fifth grader who lines up 3.5 + 1.25 by the last digit instead of the decimal point has a place-value gap, and it spreads quickly.

Common questions

My child is good at fractions. Why practice them again?

Fifth grade asks for something new: multiplying and dividing fractions and seeing a fraction as a division. The quick check shows whether that step has landed or only the adding has.

Is this ready for middle school?

It practices the fifth grade New York standards that sixth grade math assumes. Ratios and negative numbers come next year.