Dear Parents,

We are so pleased that you have chosen Colegio Maya as your child's school. We realize that this was a significant decision on your part and we will honor your trust by providing a quality, broad based, multiply intelligent education for your child. One means by which we can demonstrate our accountability is in providing you with these grade level curriculum books.

Each grade level booklet was produced through the efforts of our elementary teachers and is intended to give you an outline of what your child will learn this year. In addition we want you to understand our philosophy, so we have also included a belief and mission statement for each subject area. You will find a profile of the intellectual, physical and emotional make-up of a child at each grade level. Because we believe as Howard Gardner that all individuals have the capacity to demonstrate intelligence in a variety of ways, we have also provided you with a listing of Gardner's 8 Intelligences. You will find that your child will have the opportunity throughout the school year to experience learning and demonstrate knowledge through these intelligences.

We believe curriculum is a process as well as a product and as such is always changing. Each year as we revise curriculum, we post our most current information on our web site www.cm.edu.gt. Please check the website to see in greater detail what your child will learn in Social Studies. Spanish will be added soon and this year we will add Language Arts.

Colegio Maya Elementary is proud to be partners with you in the education of your child. We welcome your comments and questions regarding this booklet and hope that you will find it useful.

Sincerely,

Donna K. Lyne
Elementary Principal

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Linguistic intelligence	Musical intelligence
Linguistic intelligence consists of the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Authors' poets, journalists, speakers, and newscasters exhibit high degrees of linguistic intelligence.	Musical intelligence is evident in individuals who possess a sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone. Those demonstrating this intelligence include composers, conductors, musicians, critics, instrument makers, as well as sensitive listeners.
Logical-mathematical intelligence	Interpersonal intelligence
Logical-mathematical intelligence makes it possible to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complex mathematical operations. Scientists, accountants, engineers, and computer programmers all demonstrate this intelligence.	Interpersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand and interact effectively with others. It is evident in successful teachers, social workers, actors, or politicians. Just as Western culture has recently begun to recognize the connection between mind and body, so too has it to come to value the importance of proficiency in inter- personal behavior.
Spatial intelligence	Intrapersonal intelligence
Spatial intelligence instills the capacity to think in three-dimensional ways as do sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters, and architects. It enables one to perceive external and internal imagery, to recreate, transform, or modify images, to navigate oneself and objects through space, and to produce or decode graphic information.	Intrapersonal intelligence refers to the ability to construct an accurate perception of oneself and to use such knowledge in planning and directing lif one se. Some individuals with strong intra- personal intelligence specialize as theologians, psychologists, and philosophers.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence	Naturalist intelligence
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence enables one to manipulate objects and fine-tune physical skills. It is evident in athletes, dancers, surgeons, and craftspeople. In Western societies, physical skills are not as highly valued as cognitive ones, and yet elsewhere the ability to use one's body is a necessity for survival as well as an important feature of many prestigious roles.	Naturalist intelligence consists of observing patterns in nature, indentifying and classifying objects, and understanding natural and human-made systems. Skilled naturalists include farmers, botanists, hunters, ecologists, and landscapers.

The Mayan School of Guatemala intends to provide an excellent educational opportunity, based on a U.S. curriculum, primarily for the international community in Guatemala, regardless of race, nationality or creed. The Mayan School shall offer a program of studies to prepare for success in the U.S. university system. Recognizing the transient nature of the student body, the curriculum should enable students to transfer between the Mayan School and other U.S. international and Guatemalan schools, insofar as equivalency requirements do not conflict with U.S. curriculum standards. The Mayan School shall endeavor to provide a program that maintains, and benefits from the international diversity of the community. The Mayan School is committed to the development of the whole individual and is dedicated to fostering students' intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth to prepare them to become good citizens and productive members of society.

We at Colegio Maya believe in educating lifelong learners by:

Fostering a safe, caring, and joyful environment;
Celebrating the diversity of our Colegio Maya family;
Creating responsible world citizens;
Encouraging a social and environmentally aware conscience;
Preparing for a changing technological world;
Stimulating curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking;
Affirming the students' right and responsibility to explore their potential.

The Colegio May Community Will:

1. Integrate and celebrate diversity within and beyond the campus.
2. Enhance information management skills and resources.
3. Create opportunities to improve communication and participation within the school community.

For most children this is a relatively calm period of development. Life at this age is approached in a somewhat casual manner. Most fifth graders have a wide range of interest and are described by adults as obedient, good natured, and fun to work with both in class and at home.

The self-image of most fifth graders in likely to be stronger and more positive than it was a year ago. Because of their easy nature, they are likely to experience greater acceptance by adults. Of even more importance is the increase in acceptance of others as well as self-acceptance. These children enjoy, like, and are generally positive toward home, school, and peers.

Most fifth graders are sensitive to what takes place in-groups. Most can make individual judgments, although peer pressures are starting to make this more difficult. At times they can get into fights and tussles with classmates and can be cruel to less fortunate peers.

This is a vary social age, and these students want very much to be with others. This sociability does not prevent them from becoming competitive, however, even in social situations. Some will strive to see how many friend they can make and others will attempt to excel at sport or work hard for good grades.

Philosophy:

The Language Arts program enhances student literacy and fluency through experiences and instruction in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students receive a balanced program which emphasizes meaning, teaches skills such as phonics in context, exposes children to good literature, and leads children toward writing early and often with growing spelling and vocabulary mastery. As students study and understand quality literature, they learn to appreciate language and gain the ability to use language in a meaningful context. Writing is taught as a process: students pre-write, compose, and then edit for correctness of grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and usage. The teachers of language arts assist students in unlocking the doors of language and discovering the best that human beings have thought, written, and spoken.

The focus areas of the Fifth Grade Language Arts program are:

Reading

· Selecting reading as an activity of choice.
· Making inferences, summarizing, and employing reading strategies for comprehension.
· Reading a variety of literature including short stories, poems, drama, and non-fiction.
· Analyzing literature for the elements of fiction including plot, characters, and setting.
· Talking and writing about what is read.
· Learning and using skimming and scanning techniques.
· Comparing and contrasting various authors and their works.

Writing

· Writing for a variety of purposes including stories, letters, reports, descriptions, and comparisons.
· Editing and revising writing for grammar, spelling, usage, and punctuation.
· Incorporating the grammar learned into the writing process.
· Organizing writing with a beginning, middle, and end.
· Continuing to improve cursive writing skills.
· Learning to spell frequently used words.
· Learned writing as a process of composing, editing, revising, and publishing.
· Learning to vary sentence structure.

Speaking

· Participating in groups discussion.
· Participating in oral presentations, reports, poems, etc.
· Debating and discussing issues formally and informally.
· Learning and applying speaking skills.

Listening

· Demonstrating courteous listening skills when others are speaking.
· Learning to be an active listener in a variety of settings.
· Learning to respond appropriately to verbal instructions.

The ways in which you can help your child are:

· Encouraging your child to read.
· Providing lots of print material for your child to read.
· Letting your child see you read.
· Asking your child to read to you.
· Visiting the school library regularly.
· Limiting the use of television and video games.
· Reading and talking about books.
· Having conversations about trips, current events, and family activities.
· Attending theater and musical productions in the community.
· Encouraging and supporting your child's participation in school sponsored reading programs, such as Everyone a Reader, Book-It, Read Across America, or school read-a-thons.

Philosophy:

The Mathematics program is designed to equip all students with mathematical expertise that enables them to succeed in the twenty-first century and to help them develop a positive attitude towards mathematics. The program is balanced, integrated, and activity-oriented with an emphasis on the basics. Students are engaged in investigations problem-solving, and critical thinking. Using a variety of tools and techniques, students are challenged to find solutions to real-life problems and situations using computation, written and oral communication, mathematical thinking. Mathematics instruction weaves several strands of mathematics together to support the understanding of unifying ideas.

In the following areas of focus your fifth grade child should learn to:

Statistics

· Collect, analyze, organize, and report data in a variety of ways.
· Recognize reasonable and unreasonable results.
· Understand the concepts and application of mean, mode, median, and range.

Patterns

· Analyze patterns and use predictions to solve problems.
· Explore relationships within number systems.

Number Relations

· Demonstrate mastery of basic facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division through 12s.
· Use whole number operations to solve problems.
· Recognize the reasonableness of an answer.
· Choose appropriate strategies and tools (paper/pencil, mental processes, calculator, or manipulatives) to solve problems.
· Understand the relationships between fractions, decimal, and percents.
· Reduce fractions and decimals to their lowest terms when appropriate.
· Use a number line to locate fractions, decimals, and extremely large numbers.

Logic and Algebra

· Use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to solve for unknown information.
· Use the terms: "and", "or", and "not" to sort.

Measurement

· Find the volume of rectangular solid.
· Study capacity and liquid measurements.
· Use linear measurement (metric and customary) to solve problems.
· Draw to scale.

Geometry and Visual Thinking

· Measure and classify angles.
· Classify triangles by side length and angle measurement.
· Explore tessellations (recurring patterns).
· Use the number of sides to find the total angle measurement of any polygon.

Probability

· Identify and estimate the likelihood of events.
· Use sampling to make generalizations about larger populations.

Mathematical Communications and Tools

· Clearly and logically explain solutions to problems and support solutions with evidence, in both oral and written form.
· Use appropriate mathematical terms, vocabulary, and language.
· Show ideas in a variety of ways including words, numbers, pictures, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, and models.

Contents:

· Data, Graphs
· Whole numbers and Decimals: Place value, adding, and subtracting
· Multiplying whole numbers and decimals.
· Dividing whole numbers and decimals
· Digit Divisor: Whole numbers and decimals.
· Fractions and Mixed numbers
· Fraction Operations and Customary Linear Measurement
· Fractions and Multiplication
· Geometry
· Measurement

Parents can help by:

· Playing math games with your child such as: Cribbage, Solitaire, Challenge 24, Bridge, Concentration, Checkers, Chess, Battleship, and Dominoes.
· Playing computer games designed to use strategy or numbers.
· Having your child use the newspaper to calculate the stock market, sales, and averaging for sporting events.
· Playing license plate games using the numbers with basic operations.
· Budgeting money for allowance, clothing, amusement parks, or fairs.
· Taking children shopping with you and allowing them to use calculators for sales and percents.
· Discussing with your child how you use mathematics in your work place and daily life.
· Doing mental math with your child and continuing to review basic math facts.

Philosophy:

Science gives children opportunities to explore how things work through activities and experiences. Science activities simulate them to wonder, predict, and offer explanations. Grade three through six students learns to use the scientific process skills of observing, communicating, comparing, ordering, and categorizing. This helps them construct their own knowledge of scientific principles and concepts, making these a part of the way they see the world and influencing the decisions they make about their lives.

Your child should investigate these concepts in the Fifth Grade:

Physical Science

· Matter changes based upon its properties.
· Matter has structure, which determinates its properties.
· Matter can be physically and chemically changed.
· Atoms are basic bits of matter.

Earth Science

· A glacier deposits ton of rock and soil when it melts.
· Ice, moving water, and wind are the main cause of erosion.
· Chemical weathering changes the minerals that make up rocks.
· Physical weathering changes the size and shapes of rocks.
· Rock cycle.
· Water pollution affects the environment, but much air pollution can be cleaned up or avoided.
· Climate is the kind of weather a place has over a period of many years.
· Astronomers use telescopes, satellites, and spacecraft to study and explore the universe.
· Scientists measure distances in spaces in space in astronomical units and light years, and scientists can determine distance of nearby stars by looking at the stars from two different angles.
· Astronomers map the stars through constellations.

Life Science

· Animals of the desert.
· Classification of organisms into kingdoms.
· Classification of vertebrates and invertebrates
· Plants of the desert.
· Structure of plant cells.
· Respiration and transportation of plants.
· Reproduction and photosynthesis of plants.
· The different systems of the human body.
· Health, nutrition and life issues.

Parents can help by:

· Reading literature related to the science taught in the classroom.
· Sharing science related careers.
· Donating materials for hands-on science.
· Observing stars and phases of the moon.
· Assisting with experiments in the classroom.
· Visiting the school library to check out books on animals, health, nutrition and etc.
· Encouraging children to watch science specials on the Discovery Channel.
· Subscribing children's science magazines like Ranger Rick.
· Reading stories about celestial events, meteor showers, comets and eclipses.
· Visiting the zoo or wild animal parks.

Philosophy:

The Social Studies program is designed to present students with a growing view of the world. At the initial level students become aware of the self and families and then move to an integrated multicultural approach for different countries of the world and ancient and medieval civilization with a period of discovery and explorations. By learning about history, geography, culture, and current events, students begin to understand the vital connections between the past, present and the future. The Social Studies program is integrated with the Science program through the study of plant and animal life of determined habitats in assigned countries. It is also integrated with the Language Arts program through development of communication skills and the reading of literature, which explores selected themes.

The focus areas of the Fifth Grade Social Studies program are:

· Egypt
· Greece
· Rome
· Middle Ages
· Ancient Egypt
· Ancient Greece
· Ancient Rome

Outcomes

1. Students will identify the basic components of a culture (values, ethics, symbols, technology, labor, trade, transportation, food, clothing, shelter, government, family, religious beliefs, language, number systems, esthetic values and recreation) and use these components to create their own civilization.
2. Students will be able to explain why the study of Ancient Civilization is important and how it affects our life today.
3. Students will construct a timeline, labeling important dates from Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages.
4. Students will locate designated countries on a world map and indicate the latitude and longitude.
5. Students will master cardinal points, including intermediate directions, the use of a map key and scale.
6. Having previously mastered identification of various types of maps and related vocabulary, students will implement this knowledge in their study of Ancient Civilizations.
7. Students will identify the form of government used in each civilization and will compare and contrast it with our government used today.
8. Students will examine the class system of each civilization and the role each member played in daily life.
9. Students will research important forms of art of this time period and the information it provides us with today.
10. Students will investigate what education was like during each time period and will examine writing and number systems.
11. Students will examine important rituals and ceremonies of each time period and compare/contrast with rituals/ceremonies practiced today.
12. Students will compare/contrast the roles of men and women during each time period and identify how these gender roles influenced the family, society, etc.
13. Students will identify important achievements of each time period.
14. Students will relate how these civilizations affected the development of our civilization. Students will investigate the affects their way of life will have on future civilizations.
15. Students will be able to apply social studies knowledge and skills to a variety or purposes:

· Conducting and presenting research (including mastery of a basic PowerPoint presentation, an introduction to the use of a bibliography in research projects, making and using outlines, and note-taking strategies)
· Relating social studies and current events to their lives
· View life from other perspectives and other points of view
· Writing historical fiction (plays, stories) and persuasive paragraphs citing points of view on various historical events.

The ways in which you can help your child are:

· Taking your child to museums.
· Discussing current events at home.
· Joining and supporting your school's parent teacher organizations.
· Playing games, which focus on history.
· Encouraging your child to do the best work possible and praising your child's best efforts.
· Volunteering and participating in the World's Fair at school.
· Reading stories to your children on Egypt, Greece and Rome.
· Volunteering to make food and bring to the International Food Day and the annual Friendship Fair at school.