Provide a variety of tools and materials for your child to use, such as colored pencils, yarn, crayons, water-based markers, water colors, fabric scraps, tissue paper, weaving and stitchery supplies, blunt-tipped scissors, paper, and glue. Encourage your child to experiment with new approaches to his or her art work.
Praise and display your child’s work in special places.
Consider encouraging your child to give their artwork as gifts to friends, neighbors, relatives, or a service agency.
Work with your child to make drawings from observation, imagination, and memory.
Encourage your child to make artwork often, possibly seeking opportunities for outside classes or independent instruction.
Visit galleries and museums; look at the ways artists show faces and figures.
Visit the library and take a look at books that explain ways to use a variety of tools and techniques.
Instructional Technology
Help your child identify the use of technology in everyday life, such as bar code readers at the grocery store, automatic teller machines, smart phones, tablets, and computerized gas pumps.
Help your child use software programs and apps that are appropriate for Grade 5, such as Microsoft Office, Pixie, Type to Learn, Kidspiration, and Google Apps for Education (GAFE).
Practice computer skills with your child at home or at the library.
Visit appropriate websites to help support the classroom instruction.
Health
Discuss sources and symptoms of stress in children and strategies to manage stress.
Emphasize the importance of using household products according to label instructions (under adult supervision).
Discuss the harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs on the body.
Role-play situations in which your child can practice refusing to become involved in negative situations.
Discuss puberty issues with your child.
Monitor your child’s use of the Internet.
Language arts
Read as often as possible with your child. Help your child use
different ways to read unfamiliar words. When your child comes to
an unfamiliar word say:
What would make sense in the sentence?
What parts of the word do you recognize?
Read to the end of the sentence and come back.
Think about what word would fit.
Talk about books before, during, and after reading. Predict what might happen. Think about the characters and events. Have your child discuss what the author did to make the book interesting to read.
Have spelling resources for your child to use at home (personal spelling journal, children’s dictionary).
Encourage your child to apply spelling strategies and patterns he or she has learned.
Provide an area for writing with materials and resources (pencils, pens, different kinds of paper, eraser).
Assist your child in planning and organizing ideas before beginning to write. Then help your child refer to the plan when writing. Offer suggestions about the ideas, details, and organization of the writing before correcting punctuation, spelling, and capitalization.
Assist your child when writing to include relevant information, details, and descriptive words.
Encourage your child to independently read at least 25 books annually.
Establish a routine at home for reading.
Read an action story or tale of adventure to replace an evening TV program.
Be a role model. Let your child see you read for pleasure.
Practice using the Big6 model for problem solving everyday life situations.
Obtain a library card for your child, and schedule regular family visits to the library.
Encourage your child to participate in age-appropriate activities sponsored by the public library.
Encourage your child to utilize online homework help provided by Howard County Library.
Look for computer programs that encourage reading.
The school system provides online resources to assist students (SIRS Discoverer, Culture Grams, and World Book Online). Check with the library media specialist at your school for access information.
Library Media
Establish a routine at home for reading.
Read an action story or tale of adventure to replace an evening TV program.
Be a role model. Let your child see you read for pleasure.
Practice using the Big6 model for problem solving everyday life situations.
Obtain a library card for your child and schedule regular family visits to the library.
Encourage your child to participate in age-appropriate activities sponsored by the public library.
Encourage your child to utilize online homework help provided by Howard County Library.
Look for computer programs that encourage reading.
The school system provides online resources to assist students (SIRS Discoverer, Culture Grams, and World Book Online). Check with the library media specialist at your school for access information.
Mathematics
Listen to your child explain how he or she solves math problems.
Help your child read and write numbers up to 1,000,000,000.
Help your child write and say decimals in the thousandths (.462 = four hundred sixty-two thousandths).
Contact your child’s teacher for a list of current computation skills and problem-solving strategies being taught. Review and practice with your child.
Find opportunities to do math every day.
Work on puzzles.
Explore mathematics in books that you read together.
Discuss the math that can be found in the media (new reports, newspaper articles, magazines).
Make mistakes a part of learning.
Use computers and calculators to solve problems.
Explain ways to know if an answer to a math problem is reasonable.
Help your child review memorized facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Music
Encourage your child to follow up on special interests by researching composers, periods of music, and related topics by using the Internet, encyclopedias, and library books.
Encourage your child to participate in school chorus.
If your child expresses particular interest, allow him or her to take private lessons on an instrument and to elect instrumental music at school.
If your child expresses particular interest, provide opportunities for him or her to participate in outside musical groups, orchestras, community theater, and summer camps.
Provide opportunities to attend local concert events (Merriweather Post Pavilion, Centennial Park, Howard Community College Smith Theatre, Saturday Summer Series at the Meyerhoff, Oregon Ridge Summer Concerts, Columbia Festival of the Arts, child-appropriate shows at area dinner theatres). Discuss the performances, evaluate the selection of music, and the effectiveness of the performance.
Physical education
Ask your child to perform a successful dribble by using his or her hands and feet with a ball of choice.
Have your child practice control by using a tennis racquet and ball to continuously bounce the ball straight up and down.
Encourage your child to throw a frisbee or ball, demonstrating accuracy and force.
Have your child participate regularly in a physical activity to develop a healthy lifestyle.
Discuss safety with your child in play and sports activities.
Science
Use telescopes and binoculars to observe the night sky.
Work with your child to determine ways to conserve water in the home and community.
Share articles and news reports with your child that discuss the impact people can have on the quality of water in local and global waterways.
Discuss various forms of energy that move objects or cause something to happen.
Social Studies
Read books about America in colonial and revolutionary times.
Discuss with your child principles of American government such as the voting process and majority rule.
Discuss ways each person can take responsibility for protecting the environment.
Emphasize the importance of recognizing the dignity and worth of all people.
Visit some historic sites, such as Philadelphia, Colonial Williamsburg, and Washington D.C., to learn more about the founding of the United States of America.
Discuss financial decisions daily (budgeting, spending, saving, and investing).