5th Grade Skills for School Success

Social Skills

Fifth grade is a year of transition, the navigation of which requires some savvy, 5th-grade-worthy social skills. Not only are students preparing to move from elementary school to middle school, but some of them are starting to show signs of puberty as well.

In order to earn that trust, your fifth grader will have to step up and be able to accept responsibility for his mistakes, become a little more dependable and start understanding that that “fair” doesn’t always mean equal.

Cognitive Skills

Fifth grade is not always an easy year for students, requiring some pretty fifth grade-specific cognitive skills. The social and academic realms may overlap a little more than they did previously, as your child’s social circle starts to narrow to children who have more common interests. Kids who enjoy school are more likely to have friends who enjoy school, too, which can add a new element of academic competition.

There are a number of cognitive skills that will help your child stay in the game, including the ability to argue more logically and with more poise. This is a great skill for more expansive writing. Your child may also be beginning to see multiple sides to an issue, giving her a better opportunity to come up with multiple hypotheses for science projects. Their abstract thinking skills are also improving just as they need to be able to at more complicated types of math like algebraic concepts and long division.

Physical Skills

In fifth grade, the physical demands of your child’s life require him to have some important physical skills to help him navigate the change in the way extracurricular activities are organized. 

This year, your child should be able to begin the more complicated task of completing an activity that requires both physical and cognitive concentration. (For instance, reading music and playing an instrument or remembering and performing a specific play in football.) He will also begin to incorporate feedback, both internal and external, into his movement patterns in smaller ways than before.

Signs of Trouble With Learning in 5th Grade

There are many signs of trouble with learning in fifth grade, some of them having to do with peer relationships, some having to do with concentration and some having to do with the able to set and complete goals. If you have any concerns about how your child is handling the work in his 5th-grade year, it’s time to speak with his teacher for further advice.