Suriname's primary education system, known as Gewoon Lager Onderwijs (GLO), covers grades 3 through 8. While over 90% of Surinamese children attend primary school, the system faces challenges such as high dropout and repetition rates, and low transition rates to secondary education. The official language of instruction is Dutch.

Although information on the specific writing curriculum for fifth grade GLO is limited, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MinOWC) oversees the centralized education system and has undertaken curriculum reform efforts. One such effort, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank, focused on redesigning and implementing the curriculum for grades 3 through 6 and included teacher training. Gender issues are also being addressed in the curriculum development for primary and junior secondary education.