In The Classroom : Fifth Grade – English / Language Arts
The fifth grade English/Language Arts (ELA) curriculum emphasizes a balanced literacy program. For more information on balanced literacy, click on the link to the right titled "OVERVIEW OF BALANCED LITERACY".
In fifth grade, reading workshop consists of mini-lessons that focus on developing independent and fluent readers who read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.
Writing workshop consists of mini-lessons that focus on writing that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes. Students also engage in revision and editing strategies to improve their work. Each genre study ends with a published document that reflects what students have practiced.
Following is a list of the genres covered throughout the school year; descriptions follow each.
READING WORKSHOP UNITS
Launching Reading Workshop
- Understanding goals, expectations, and routine of community
- Building independence in choosing books from a variety of genres and planning the timeline of reading a book
Article Study
- Reading for main idea
- Understanding how sections/parts support the main idea
- Asking questions to gain further insight
Character Study (Literature Circles)
- Understanding how characters develop and change throughout the text
- Using a variety of information to learn about the character: description, internal thinking, attitude, emotions, dialogue, actions and reactions
Historical Fiction (Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom by Doreen Rappaport)
- Understanding the elements of historical fiction: how setting affects characters
- Note-taking (summarizing and chunking information)
- Synthesizing information from multiple sources about the topic (biography, informational text, historical nonfiction)
Poetry
- Developing understanding of poetry: topics, style, form
- Making connections with poetry (personal and inter-textual)
- Developing inference and interpretation skills
Tall Tales
- Understanding elements of tall tales: exaggeration, larger than life personalities, key setting (important setting that affects the character), humor
WRITING WORKSHOP UNITS
Launching Writing Workshop
- Understanding that writers have a clear idea (BIG idea) and use a structure to support/build towards that idea (beginning, middle, end, and details build towards a main idea)
- Publishing a short narrative with evidence of beginning, middle, end, and cohesive idea
Article Study
- Creating a controlling idea
- Having evidence to support idea: summarizing and paraphrasing
Character Sketch
- Developing a character starting with physical description and moving to internal traits
- Understanding character as a unique person with experiences, interests, likes/dislikes
Literary Essay
- Developing an idea/thesis about a character
- Using textual evidence to support that thesis
- Creating a literary essay with a thesis and supporting ideas/examples to illustrate
Multi-Genre Study (Underground Railroad study)
- Journaling/diary-writing to document a personal story and daily account
- Creating summaries and descriptions with accuracy and clarity
- Developing a multi-media presentation (including the use of PowerPoint) consisting of "key notes" to hold main idea, to incorporate research and to aid presentation
Persuasive Essay
- Understanding the essay structure
- Developing an argument by using at least two crafting techniques: anecdote, personal example, fact, "expert" quote
Open-Ended Test Questions
- Planning before responding
- Understanding all parts of a question
- Using textual evidence (details and examples) to support an answer
Poetry
- Creating an anthology of at least 20 poems
- Crafting poems with attention to personal interpretation of subject (looking beyond the literal to the interpretive level)
- Crafting with language: strong verbs, strong adjectives, focus on details and description, using senses
Realistic Fiction (Short Story)
- Developing a short story based on a character sketch
- Creating a well-developed (but realistic) story based on true story using detail, description, and dialogue
- Creating a well-balanced story structure (problem and solution)
- Defining a clear setting
Suggested reading:
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Blubber by Judy Blume
Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom by Doreen Rappaport
