How to read this page
British Columbia publishes its curriculum as long official documents written for teachers. This page is the same content, translated for the fridge door: each subject below shows this year's units and the skills inside them. If a skill sounds unfamiliar, that's the point — now you know what to ask about at dinner.
Mathematics this year
Math builds in layers, and this year's layer matters — each unit below leans on the ones before it. In British Columbia, that's Mathematics 5 — 6 units, 19 skills.
Number
- Understanding numbers to 1 000 000
- Reading and comparing decimals to thousandths
- Finding equivalent fractions
Patterns and Algebra
- Describing pattern rules in different ways
- Solving one-step equations
Measurement
- Measuring area of squares and rectangles
- How area and perimeter relate
- Figuring out how much time has passed
Geometry
- Classifying prisms and pyramids
- Applying one transformation to a shape
Data and Likelihood
- Reading graphs where one symbol stands for many
- Testing the chance of a single event
Financial Literacy
- Making change and planning simple savings
See the full Mathematics 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
English Language Arts this year
Reading, writing, and speaking skills deepen this year — less "can they read it," more "what do they make of it." In British Columbia, that's English Language Arts 5 — 3 units, 45 skills.
Story and Text
- Forms of text
- Using text features
- Narrative structures
Strategies and Processes
- Using contextual clues
- Focusing on the speaker
- Reflecting
Language Features, Structure, and Conventions
- Tone
- Topic sentence
- Sentence structure
See the full English Language Arts 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Science this year
Science gets more structured this year — real investigations, real explanations, real vocabulary. In British Columbia, that's Science 5 — 5 units, 21 skills.
Simple Machines and Power
- The lever
- Constructed machines
- Power as a rate of energy transfer
Rocks and Earth Materials
- How rocks change over time
- Identifying local earth materials
First Peoples Knowledge and Sustainability
- First Peoples concepts of interconnectedness
See the full Science 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
French this year
French builds through listening, speaking, and simple reading — confidence first, grammar second. In British Columbia, that's Core French 5 — 6 units, 15 skills.
Listening and Understanding French
- The French alphabet and its accents
- French sounds: consonants, vowels, diphthongs, and nasal vowels
Reading the Clues: Sounds, Gestures, and Meaning
- Hearing the difference between similar French sounds (u vs ou, e vs eu, s vs z)
Describing Myself and My Interests
- Masculine and feminine words: le/la and un/une
- One or many: singular and plural words with des and les
- Introducing yourself: name, age, and simple facts about you and others
Talking Back and Forth in French
- Asking simple questions with the six French question words
- Greetings and goodbyes: saying hello and hello back
Learning Through Stories
- Respecting whose culture a story or song belongs to (and not copying others' work)
Celebrations and Francophone Communities
- Festival words: activities, food, music, and clothing at celebrations
- Where French is spoken across Canada
- Exploring one Francophone Canadian festival
See the full Core French 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Three ways parents use this list
Common questions
What does my child learn in Grade 5 in British Columbia?
British Columbia's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, French for Grade 5 — 111 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and patterns and algebra; English Language Arts covers story and text and strategies and processes; Science covers body systems and solutions and solubility. The full list is on this page.
Is this the official British Columbia curriculum?
It's built from British Columbia's official program of studies, reorganized into plain language — and each subject links to a course page that quotes the ministry's own wording and links to the government source, so you can check our work. One honest caveat: we're not the ministry, curricula do change, and we can't guarantee this reflects the very latest revision, so confirm anything important against the live provincial curriculum data.
My child is finding one of these skills hard. What can I do?
That's normal — every skill on this page is one most kids wobble on at first. MapleMind teaches any of them one-on-one: a short lesson in plain words, a worked example, then solving together. It's free to start, on any device, in 14 languages.
Keep exploring
Knowing the list is half the job
The other half is the teaching — and that's what MapleMind does. Pick any skill on this page and see it taught properly, free, in under a minute.
MapleMind isn't affiliated with any ministry of education. We build these guides from each province's official program of studies and refresh them from time to time — but curricula change, and we can't guarantee this page reflects the very latest revision. Always confirm against the live provincial curriculum data. Last updated 2026-08-15.
Social Studies this year
Social studies widens the lens this year — history, geography, and how communities and governments work. In British Columbia, that's Social Studies 5 — 4 units, 11 skills.
Canadian Identity
Discrimination and Human Rights
- The Chinese Head Tax
- Human rights and responses to discrimination
+ 3 more skills in this unit →Government in Canada
Resources and Land
See the full Social Studies 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →