education

Good for someone who wishes to have information in one place, but not a reasonable expectation of what every stereotypical fifth grader would learn in a given year.

Not intended for use by itself, this book is a valuable addition to any 5th grade curriculum. It is best when used with the other books in the series, as certain portions of it - especially history - are intended to follow the earlier books in the series, and be followed by the 6th grade book.

Language arts include stories and speeches (including exceprts from "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", Lincoln's Gettysburg Acddress and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"), poetry (including "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "Ballad of John Henry"), some basic grammar, discussion of literature (such as alliteration, use of imagery and symbols) and the meanings of various common sayings.

Geography and World Civilization cover latitude and longitude, and the formation of lakes, with emphasis on the Great Lakes. World Civilization covers the Incas, Aztecs and Mayas, the European exploration of the Americas, the colonies, the Renaissance in Europe, Feudal Japan, Russia from Ivan the Great through Catherine the Great, The Enlightenment and the French Revolution. There is a good look at the philosophical influence of Descartes and other Enlightenment thinkers on the founding of the United States.

American Civilization covers the period of time from the Missouri Compromise through the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Impeachment of President Johnson (with a discussion of the government's form that permits this sort of thing), the "Wild West" and Transcontinental Railroad, Treatment of Native Americans, the Cuban War and Yellow Journalism, culminating in how the U.S. became a world power.

This section is full of pictures, and I really like the scope of topics discussed here.

Fine arts mostly discusses art of the Renaissance, including paintings, sculpture and music.

Math is comprehensive, from reviewing such basics as simple addition to decimals, division, fractions, measurement, ratios and graphs, finding volume, rates and speed, and functions and equations. The math is definitely not intended to be a student's only textbook, but rather an overview and explanation of what should be covered by the end of 5th grade.

Life sciences covers classification, cells, the "other three kingdoms" (fungi, protists and monerans), reproduction in plants and animals, and the human growth cycle. Reproduction in humans is briefly explained, in a very matter-of-fact manner without a bunch of "psychology" added in.

Physical sciences covers mechanical concepts, electricity, transferring heat energy, and engines, as well as some little biographies of scientists.

Although all these subjects are crammed into this one little book, it seems that no space is really wasted. There is a lot of info in here, and it is broad enough that a child can find something that interests him, for further research.

Highly recommended!

I used this book to help study for the MSAT (Calif. teacher's test). This book, along with "What Your 6th Grader Needs To Know" taught me, in bare-bones terms, the necessary points of each subject. The Literature/Language Arts section is worth the price of the book in itself, because it gave a synopsis of some of the greats of literature (most of which I was never required to read as a youngster). That said, I passed the MSAT and am now going on to be an elementary teacher. I would recommend this book, not only for parents, but for teachers as well.