As students conclude their time in LS, they take with them many skills and responsibilities. We believe that students grow and mature when they are given responsibility. Therefore, in 5^th grade, students are given increasing responsibility for their learning and particular assigned tasks. In 5^th grade, students keep their materials organized, keep a daily planner, learn to annotate texts, practice note-taking across all disciplines, and utilize study strategies.

Annotating is the process of improving understanding and engaging with new material. Students circle unfamiliar words and use context clues and word roots to identify meanings. Engaging with the text involves making comments in the margins and writing good questions.

Learning note-taking skills is an important part of 5^th grade. Students imitate good notes by copy work, dictation, slot notes (filling in missing information), and organizing notes into graphic organizers such as webs, Venn diagrams, and charts.

Practicing study habits is an essential part of the 5^th and 6th-grade curricula. Students learn that there is a difference between passive studying and active studying. Annotation and note-taking help bolster students’ abilities to apply appropriate study strategies and memorization techniques to new material. Examples of active study strategies include making flash cards, explaining concepts to a partner, narrating information, and creating acronyms to help with memorizing information. Students also begin to learn time management skills to understand short-term vs. long-term assignments and assessments.

These habits are fostered because our desire is that no skills learned are lost in the transition from LS to MS. In addition, students are held accountable for standards of care and continuing the use of cursive handwriting.