What Your 5th Grader Should Know
Preparing for 5th grade
Ah, 5th grade! It may feel tempting to sit back and enjoy the calmer pace of this last year of elementary school. But remember, you've got middle school on the horizon and big changes ahead. It's time to be proactive.
In this article, you're going to find out:
- What your fifth grader should know in terms of habits, behaviors and academic skills
- How you can proactively help your child prepare for the big transition to come
The habits and behaviors your fifth grader should know
When it comes to language arts and math, the biggest thing your 5th grader should be doing is getting ready for the jump to middle school.
Middle school is such a big change.
Some school districts do a really nice job of helping kids take baby steps towards middle school, so it doesn't seem as overwhelming and stressful. For example, your 5th grader may be changing classes already and learning from multiple teachers.
And other school districts? Well, let’s just say you may need to be more proactive in preparing your 5th grader and building new habits and expectations.
Here are 5 of the best ways you can help your 5th grader prepare
1. Point things out to your 5th grader that may seem really obvious to you.
For example, point out that some teachers have completely different rules than others—down to small things like where kids write their name and the date on an assignment.
Now is the time to help your fifth grader understand that expectations can be different.
Your child is going to need to be adaptable.
2. Help your 5th grader build more serious habits around homework.
Homework is going to count in middle school. Those grades will matter.
If you haven't pushed your child to do his or her homework in the past, 5th grade is the time to start expecting homework completion, so your child is prepared for middle school.
For some parents, the nightly argument at the dinner table over homework is the worst.
Parents often tell us, "I help my child with homework, so I have peace at home."
Just keep in mind, if you're getting a lot of pushback over schoolwork, there may be a deeper reason for it. If your 5th grader is struggling, he or she is going to be even more resistant to doing homework in the future when it gets harder.
Now is the time to address the skills that are creating friction.
3. Build up your 5th grader's "academic stamina."
Emily Levitt, Vice President of Education at Sylvan, suggests looking at your 5th grader's daily reading and writing habits for clues about stamina.
Ask yourself:
- Can your 5th grader sit down and write for a while with a pen and paper or by typing?
- Can your 5th grader sit down and read for 30 minutes at a time?
If not, you can change that. Academic stamina comes through practice.
Emily shares, "If you have a student who maxes out at 10 minutes, set a goal for your family that you’re going to shoot for 12 minutes this week and then, 13 minutes next week.
"Small increases create a lot less fuss. It's no fun for anyone to jump from 10 minutes to 30 minutes!"
4. Start working on organizational skills and planning ahead.
As parents of elementary school kids, many of us are used to following up on everything. It's in our DNA as parents to ask:
"Do you need your lunch money?"
"Is your homework in your backpack?"
"What do you need for school tomorrow?"
But in middle school, it's time to start taking the training wheels off. Better yet, start that transition in 5th grade.
At the beginning of the week, sit down with your 5th grader and discuss all the things that are on his or her plate for the week.
Ask: “"What do you think is the best way to get this all done without saving it all to the end?"
If your 5th grader has good ideas, incorporate them into your weekly planning.
If your 5th grader is stumped, model good behavior. You could say: "Okay, let's look at this list. This particular assignment is pretty involved. You need to break this into smaller chunks and start on Monday ..."
As months go by, start giving your child more independence. Stop checking up as much.
If your 5th grader needs to suffer a few consequences from time to time, that's okay. Fifth grade is a great time to learn consequences because the stakes are much lower.
Your child needs to learn and develop personal ownership.
If you wait until middle school to teach these skills, the stakes and consequences are much higher. Your child's grades can affect which path your child will be on heading into high school/secondary school.
Not to mention, middle school is a stressful transition. Anything you can do to remove some of the shock of the change will help.
5. Proactively think through smartphone boundaries.
Middle school is often the time that many families start giving their kids smartphones.
As your 5th grader approaches middle school, give yourself a chance to think through this, so you can set boundaries for the future:
- Get clear on why you're giving your son or daughter a phone. Is it for pick-up and drop-off arrangements? Is it to facilitate communication between parents in different houses? Is it because your child is nagging you to death?
- Talk to other parents who have gone through it already. Learn from the trial and error of those who've come before you! What worked for their family? What would they do differently?
- Involve your child in the discussion. Find out why your son or daughter wants a phone. What does he or she plan to do with it?
- Set clear expectations with your child upfront. What rules do you want to have when you hand a phone over to your child? For example, "You will always give me the password. If I can't log in, you lose the phone." Share how you're going to monitor your child's phone use. It's important to stay aware of what's happening.
This is the next step in your child's technology independence and social activities.
But as the saying goes, it's hard to put the toothpaste back into the tube after it's squeezed out!
Come up with a game plan for your family in advance. A little planning in 5th grade can go a looooong way.