How to read this page
Nova Scotia 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 Nova Scotia, that's Mathematics, Grade 5 — 5 units, 34 skills.
Number
- Showing and reading numbers to a million
- Recalling multiplication and division facts
- Dividing a three-digit number by a one-digit number
Measurement
- Rectangles for a given perimeter or area
- Volume: referents and estimating
Geometry
- Parallel, perpendicular, and other lines
- Translations (slides)
Statistics and Probability
- First-hand and second-hand data
- Impossible, possible, and certain
See the full Mathematics, Grade 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 Nova Scotia, that's English Language Arts, Grade 5 — 4 units, 33 skills.
Language
- Using listening strategies (Grade 5)
- Phonics: blending and segmenting to read and spell (Grade 5)
- Composing sentences (Grade 5)
Comprehension
- Narrative and informational text forms (Grade 5)
- Purpose for reading / background knowledge (Grade 5)
- Literary devices and rhetorical techniques (Grade 5)
Composition
- Writing strengths, growth areas and goals (Grade 5)
- Writing fluently by hand and building word-processing skills (Grade 5)
Literacy in the Content Areas
- Subject vocabulary in the content areas (Grade 5)
See the full English Language Arts, Grade 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
Science this year
Science gets more structured this year — real investigations, real explanations, real vocabulary. In Nova Scotia, that's Science, Grade 5 — 4 units, 19 skills.
Earth and Space Science: Weather
- The water cycle
- How weather affects living and non-living things
Physical Science: Forces and Simple Machines
- Common simple and compound machines
Physical Science: Chemical and Physical Properties
- Physical and chemical properties of matter
See the full Science, Grade 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →
French this year
French builds through listening, speaking, and simple reading — confidence first, grammar second. In Nova Scotia, that's Core French, Grade 5 — 3 units, 13 skills.
Oral Communication
- Speaking in connected sentences
- Selecting useful information
Reading, Listening & Viewing
- Making meaning from a longer text
- Reading aloud with expression
See the full Core French, Grade 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 Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia's official curriculum sets out Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, French for Grade 5 — 112 specific skills in total. The big themes: Mathematics covers number and patterns and relations; English Language Arts covers language and comprehension; Science covers earth and space science: weather and physical science: forces and simple machines. The full list is on this page.
Is this the official Nova Scotia curriculum?
It's built from Nova Scotia'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 Nova Scotia, that's Social Studies, Grade 5 — 5 units, 13 skills.
How We Learn About the Past
- Why we learn about the past
+ 1 more skill in this unit →Environment and an Ancient Society
- How geography shaped an ancient society
+ 1 more skill in this unit →Diverse Societies of First Nations and Inuit
- Learning diversity through artifacts
+ 2 more skills in this unit →Decision-Making in First Nations and Inuit Societies
- Social structures in First Nations and Inuit societies
+ 1 more skill in this unit →Interactions Between British, French, and First Nations and Inuit
- Why the British and French settled
+ 3 more skills in this unit →See the full Social Studies, Grade 5 curriculum, with the ministry's own wording →