Grade 5 Semester Outline 2

Grade 5 Semester Outline

English Conversation (生活美語)

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January 5, 2012

The second semester of Grade 5 allows for a more open exploration of previously covered topics, primarily because the subject covered in the textbook are so diverse.  I’m hoping this gets more of our grade 5 students involved in English class, since their attention seems to have been slipping since last year.  Due to the increased volume of homework in Grade 5, many students begin to view English as a subject of secondary importance.  Class 5-4 has improved by leaps and bounds, but the other classes haven’t done much.

The Longman English 6 textbook is much more interesting than Longman 5.  Topics covered are houses and rooms, home appliances, animals and numbers, daily routines, and interests and hobbies.  There is a lot of room in this curriculum to explore student interests, so long as students have come to class prepared.  The animals unit particular leaves a lot of room to explore topics in natural science.

The sentence patterns in the textbooks are variations on patterns previously introduced.  Location questions involving “where’s” are covered extensively.  The phonics in Longman 7 center around long and short vowels.  I find quizzing them on this material very useful, especially as many students never really get the hang of distinguishing long vs. short.

I am hoping to leave some time at the end of this semester to introduce more material from the Side by Side Level One textbook.  Many of the fifth grade students are weak when it comes to grammar, and this textbook ought to help them get a feel for sentence structure and verb tenses.

Week	Topics Covered
1	Introductions and phonics review
2	Houses and rooms, short and long vowel A, art project
3	Houses and rooms, short and long vowel A, ball game
4	Houses and rooms, short and long vowel A, review
5	Written Test #1/DVD
6	Locations, home appliances, short and long vowel E
7	Locations, home appliances, short and long vowel E, art project
8	Locations, home appliances, short and long vowel E, ball game
9	Locations, home appliances, short and long vowel E, review
10	Written Test #2/DVD
11	Animals, numbers, short and long vowel I
12	Animals, numbers, short and long vowel I, art project
13	Animals, numbers, short and long vowel I, ball game
14	Animals, numbers, short and long vowel I
15	Daily routines, short and long vowel O
16	Daily routines, short and long vowel O
17	Daily routines, short and long vowel O
18	Interests and hobbies, short and long vowel U
19	Interests and hobbies, short and long vowel U
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.