Fourth and fifth grade mark an important transition at Princeton Friends—where growing minds meet growing independence, deepening academics and opportunities to co-create community with older peers. |
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| Learning is both hands-on and minds-on, with students grouped across fourth and fifth grade, providing opportunities to collaborate, challenge one another, and develop the flexibility and perspective that come from mixed-age learning. | Schedule Your Campus Tour |
| The fourth and fifth grade years are also a time of broadening community involvement. Students join advisories with their 5th grade peers, helping them feel connected to the wider school community. Each morning, they attend Morning Gathering, facilitated by eighth graders, where they participate in team-building activities, receive schoolwide information and announcements, and begin to see themselves as contributors to the collective life of the school. | In all aspects of school life, fourth and fifth grade students are encouraged to think critically, collaborate meaningfully, and act with intention. They are no longer just exploring what it means to be part of a community—they are actively shaping it. With growing academic skills, self-awareness, and confidence, these students are well on their way to the responsibilities and opportunities of middle school. |
At PFS, I learned the art of speaking up in your own voice and standing up for yourself respectfully. Public speaking happened all the time at PFS and I cherish that. In my work, I regularly use the skills I built through programs like storytelling night. Not a lot of schools do that.
Dr. Zonia Rueda, Class of 2011
Academics in Action
Fourth and Fifth Grade English
In 4th and 5th grades, students continue to build strong literacy foundations while deepening their understanding of how reading, writing, and speaking are connected. They study a range of texts including folktales, poetry, and short stories, and are introduced to open-ended written responses that encourage critical thinking and perspective-taking. Students begin using Writer’s Notebooks for daily free-writing and are introduced to thesis-based writing and basic essay structure. Vocabulary, grammar, and morphology are taught through engaging, developmentally appropriate lessons. Cross-curricular book studies, in partnership with social studies, enrich their understanding of theme and context.
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Up next: Middle School |
