Kaleidos 5
Kaleidos 5 is a full year language arts program for fifth grade. Centered around classical literature and writing, it promotes communication skills through reading, writing, spelling, grammar, speaking, and computer skills.
The Year At A Glance
You can print The Year At A Glance chart that gives a concise overview of the program.
There are 15 three-week modules which include:
- 10 Full Modules = 3 weeks each (Literature, Writing, Spelling, Grammar, Phonics Reader, Computer)
- 2 Research Writing Modules - 6 consecutive weeks
- 3 Literature Only Modules - weeks
This is a total of 45 weeks which can be a year round 12 month curriculum. For those who prefer a nine-month, thirty-six week curriculum, instructions are provided on how to combine the research and literature modules.
Download Overview and 1st Week Lesson
Literature in Kaleidos 5
Your fifth grade students will encounter great characters in a variety of great books:
- Blue Willow by Doris Gates
- Call It Courage by Armstrong Perry
- Bambi: Life in the Woods by Felix Salten
- The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty
- Winterbound by Margery Bianco
- Miracle on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
- McHiggins the Great by Virginia Hamilton
- The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
- Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert O'Brien
- Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold by Jean Fritz
- King Arthur: Tales from the Round Table by Andrew Lang
- Aladdin and Other Favorite Arabian Nights Stories by Philip Smith
Descriptions of the books in
Kaleidos 5 reading list can be read at this page.
Writing in Kaleidos 5
Fifth graders master paragraph development as they continue essay construction and creative writing in Kaleidos 5.
They continue with their skills of writing descriptive and persuasive essays, and advance to character sketches (see the Write On pictured above.)
In between essays, students have a variety of fun, creative writing activities that stretch their word usage and sentence structure.
In one year our Kaleidos 5 writers will write:
- 8 essays with central theme and strong paragraph development
- Similes, metaphors, advertisements, poems, epitaphs and other word plays
- Dialogues
- A safari adventure
- Chronological essays
- One larger five-page report
Experienced Kaleidos users (who used Write On last year) will focus on Write On 45 to 62. Students new to Kaleidos will do lessons from Write On 1 to 62. Both sets of lesson plans are listed in the schedule and both at end at the same place.
Special Presentations
Three formal presentations are scheduled in Kaleidos 5:
- Descriptive Speech with Powerpoint Presentation
- How-To Demonstration
- Chronological Essay with Interactive Presentation
Syllable Savvy 5
Syllable Savvy Spelling 5 is used in Kaleidos 5.
Whether your students have used the 3 column method of spelling in previous years, or begin it this year, you will immediately see the advantage of this syllable-by-syllable method of spelling.
In fifth grade, each weekly spelling list begins with two books of the Bible. (The theme in fourth grade is US states and capitals; the theme in sixth grade is nations and capitals.)
The other thirteen words in each list cover a variety of spelling rules and uses appropriate for fifth grade. You can see a sample of the
5th grade spelling words.
The diagram above (from Syllable Savvy 5) shows how it works. The student studies from the middle column. The left column shows the pronunciation (and can be used by independent learners to self-study. Not all third graders are ready for this step, however.)
It's in the right column that the focus for student success occurs. They see the word broken down by syllables, and note the number of letters in each syllable. As they write the word on their own, they focus on the correct letters in each syllable. Even the largest, most fearsome looking word is made out of syllables that usually are only 1 to 4 letters each. Whose afraid of four letters?
Grammar
The Big Bad Grammar Slammer
Get ready for some serious fun with
The Big, Bad Grammar Slammer.
With one short lesson a day, Kaleidos 5 students are exposed to a quick, painless grammar principle. Divided into seven modules, these easy-to-use lessons take about two months to complete. In those two months, they will learn simple sentence diagramming. After that, each Weekly Schedule has them play
The Big Bad Grammar Slammer game once a week to review all those grammar concepts.
Essential English Grammar
After completing
The Big Bad Grammar Slammer, fifth grade students will be exposed to
Essential English Grammar. This classic text lists all the grammar and composition rules needed for students through high school and college.
That's right, we don't have thick workbooks year after year. In fifth grade the students will make a precursor journey through half the book, reinforcing the parts of sentences and parts of speech learned in
The Big Bad Grammar Slammer.
In addition, all punctuation rules can be found in the Kaleidos 5 Appendix. Everything a student needs to know is at their fingertips.
Computer
In Kaleidos 5, the students work on mastering word processing and keyboarding skills. On-line lessons are listed three times a week.
Order Kaleidos 55>
Just the Kaleidos 5 Manual
$12.99 Includes full-year schedule, Instructor's Guide and appendix
Note: The Instructor's Manual is part of the curriculum packages below, so does not need to be purchased separately if you buy the package.
The softcover manual will be shipped to your home.
Download the pdf from your own printer.
Buy The Curriculum Package
The Kaleidos 5 curriculum package contains these five books: Kaleidos Guide, Write On, Syllable Savvy Spelling 5, The Big Bad Grammar Slammer, and Essential English
$69.33
Note: The Curriculum package above includes only the four curriculum products pictured. It does not include the literature books. These classics are likely available at your library. You may find them locally, including at used book stores. For your convenience, we also have them available below in economical paperback editions.
Buy The Literature Package
$87.88
The literature package includes all thirteen books pictured above. It does not include the curriculum guide, writing, spelling, and grammar books which are sold as a package above.
Learn More About Kaleidos
Get more information about
Kaleidos Language Arts and the other grade levels.