Grade 5 Semester Outline 1

Grade 5 Semester Outline

English Conversation (生活美語)

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June 14, 2011/6/14

In grade 5 the vocabulary words become longer and more complex, and the sentence patterns are longer and more involved than anything presented in grade 4.  The phonics covered during this grade is long vowels.  Spelling grows in importance, especially since many of the vocabulary words do not follow the phonics rules presented during the previous year.

The vocabulary for grade 5 consists of school subjects, time, daily routines, jobs, fruits, and money/numbers.  Countries are also introduced at the end of the book, but there is usually little time to explore this topic deeply.  I have found that students in our school are usually more interested in the jobs and school vocabulary, and not so interested in the daily routines or the fruit.  I think the problem with daily routines is that it carries unpleasant associations, and by the time they get to the fruit and money units it’s the end of the semester and they are already getting tired.  Many students are unprepared for the level of memorization that the grade 5 textbook requires, and it is usually only after the first test that they begin to realize how critical this is.

The sentence patterns used in grade 5 are more variable, and require a greater understanding of each word used in a given sentence.  In a sentence such as “I eat breakfast at 7:30” for example, students are expected to understand not only the pronoun “I” but also the verb “eat,” the noun “breakfast,” and the object/noun “7:30.”  These words will change from situation to situation, and students who fail to understand the difference between “I eat breakfast at 7:30” and “You eat dinner at 8:40” are going to have a lot of trouble.

Students in grade 5 don’t seem to have much trouble with long vowels, especially since the English teachers go out of their way to teach things like the silent “E” and vowel combinations.  I have noticed that many students have difficulty with the “ow” and “ew” sounds, and the lack of any standard pronunciation for these sounds is certainly a factor.  The “ow” in “now” for example, is not the same as the “ow” in “show.”

Week	Topics Covered
1	Introductions and phonics review
2	School subjects, time, long vowel “A”, art project
3	School subjects, time, long vowel “A”, ball game
4	School subjects, time, long vowel “A”, review
5	Written Test #1/DVD
6	Daily routines, time, long vowel “E”
7	Daily routines, time, long vowel “E”, art project
8	Daily routines, time, long vowel “E”, ball game
9	Jobs, hopes and aspirations, long vowel “I”, review
10	Written Test #2/DVD
11	Jobs, hopes and aspirations, long vowel “I”
12	Jobs, hopes and aspirations, long vowel “I”, art project
13	Fruits, quantity, long vowel “O”, ball game
14	Fruits, quantity, long vowel “O”
15	Fruits, quantity, long vowel “O”
16	Shopping, money, numbers up to 100, long vowel “U”
17	Special Topic #1
18	Special Topic #2
19	Special Topic #3/DVD
20	Oral (Speaking) Test #1

Notes

l   This class follows a month-by-month schedule, with an art project, a ball game, a test, and a DVD presentation presented with a four-week timeframe.  Not every class will have their lessons on the same week.

l   Written tests are tests of written English and reading comprehension.  The oral test is a test of listening comprehension and speaking ability.  All of the material tested is to be found within the book.

l   Every class will be made as interactive as possible, with a variety of learning styles accommodated.  I use songs, movement, and other methods throughout the semester.

l   Each semester we have a “special topic,” which is an extension of something in the textbook.  The subjects/vocabulary covered during these “special topic” sessions will not be the subject of any test.

Overview of Longman English Book 5

Unit	Vocabulary Introduced	Sentence Patterns
Get Ready	Hello, ah, I’m, Nett, what’s, your, name, nice, to, meet, you, too, they’re, and, how, are, great, thanks, have, some, juice, thank, a, sandwich, please, here, what, time, is, it, it’s, five, o’clock, oops, time, to, go, home, see, goodbye, king, ring, sing, hank, tank, pink, mouth, thick, thin, that, father, brother, chicken, chocolate, bench, short, shop, fish	Hello! What’s your name? I’m __________. Nice to meet you, _________. Nice to meet you too, __________. They’re __________ and _________. How are you? I’m great. Thanks./Thank you. Have some _________. A __________ please. Here you are. What time is it? It’s ________ o’clock. Time to go home. See you. Goodbye!
Unit 1: I Like School	My, English, class, at, today, Chinese, math, PE, science, music, art, computer, what, do, like, love, what, about, look, that’s, my, school, wow, cool, late, bye, cake, snake, rain, tail, hay, tray, with	My _________ class is at ________ today. What time is your ________ today?/ What time’s your _________ class? It’s at _________. Do you like your _________ class? Yes, I love it. What about you? Wow! Cool! I like your _________. That’s __________. Oops!  I’m late!
Unit 2: Time to Get Up	Hurry, up, I, get, bed, homework, take, bath, watch, TV, eat, breakfast, help, me, can, really, good, morning, these, read, bee, tree	I _________ at _________. What time do you __________? Help me, _________. I don’t like __________. I can help you. OK. __________ time to _________. _________, come here!
Unit 3: What Do You Want to Be?	Want, be, teacher, doctor, police officer, singer, businessman, reporter, engineer, housewife, an, boy, girl, short, thin, and, hair, have, big, eyes, ride, bike, swim, tall, fat, long, small, nose, sing, rollerblade, each, wish, sounds, away, turn, Superman, now, he’s, super, baby, ha, kite, pie, tie, fly, spy	I want to be a _________. What do you want to be? My name is _________. I’m a _________. I’m __________. I’m __________, and I’m __________. I have ___________ and I have __________. I can ___________ and I can __________. Are you OK? Yes, I am. What’s your wish? Sounds great. Look!  He’s/she’s a ________. Wow! I can _________ well. Cool! Go away! Oh, no! Help!
Unit 4: Let’s Make a Fruit Salad	We, need, apples, oranges, bananas, pears, papayas, guavas, mangoes, tomatoes, many, fruit, salad, anything, else, ready, monkey, bone, nose, coat, goat, bow, snow	We need _________ _________. We need _________ _________, too. How many __________ do we need? I need _________ _________. Anything else? That’s all for my salad! Are you ready? Yes, I am. What’s this? It’s a ________. Cool!
Unit 5: Let’s Go Shopping	pen, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred, dollars, much, markers, store, meow, expensive, new, cube, mule, chew, dew, flute, June	The _________ is _________ dollars. How much is the _________? How much are the ________? They’re _________ dollars. I can buy _________. What can you buy? I’m sorry. Now I need a _________. It’s __________. Great!
Culture Unit: Where Are You From?	U.S.A., Mexico, Italy, Taiwan, Egypt, Thailand, Japan, Australia, world, laughter, tears, hopes, fears, share, aware, after