The Waldorf School of St. Louis
Fifth Grade

In fifth grade, children are enthusiastic about learning, eager for new challenges, capable of hard work, and confident in academics, art, and movement.  Fifth graders exhibit a growing interest in complex questions related to life. They stand perfectly balanced: at ease in the world because they have found harmony within themselves, their environment, and their relationships. The fifth grade curriculum meets this “golden age” through a fine-tuned balance of academic, artistic, and movement work.  

Children study botany, a subject that invites them to find the balance between scientific observation and an appreciation for the beauty in nature. Language arts lessons, which include writing compositions, are based on the history of ancient civilizations such as India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece.  By studying civilizations in chronological order, children experience through story an evolution of human consciousness that meets their growing interest in the complex questions about life.  At the end of the year, the study of Greece represents a balance between physical skill and beauty, art and science, and Earthly life and spirituality. Children participate in a Greek Pentathlon with students from other Waldorf schools.  Math includes decimals, fractions, prime and composite numbers, and the metric system. The study of French and German continues and children are able to dive into more complex vocabulary and simple conversations. New mediums in art (oil pastels and pencils) and new handwork skills (woodworking and knitting in the round) allow children to take on new challenges.  In addition to singing and playing the recorder, children also have the option of transitioning to viola or cello.

Main Lesson Topics:  writing composition, ancient mythology, drama, decimals, fractions, prime and composite numbers, metric system, fundamentals of geometry, ancient civilizations, Greek mythology and history, North American geography, botany, insects

Special Subject Lessons:  French, German, singing, orchestra, recorder, watercolor painting, clay modeling, colored and graphite pencils, oil pastels, knitting in the round, woodworking, physical education, nature exploration