Grade 5 English Language Arts
14 units matched to the New Brunswick Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Learning focus
- Interactions: Expression. Express and discuss thoughts, feelings, experiences, ideas, and opinions, and consider those of their peers.
- Interactions: Exchanges. Ask and respond to questions to clarify information, explore possibilities, and identify solutions to a problem.
- Interactions: Reception. Receive and critically reflect on the ideas and opinions of others.
- Reading: Word Study. Apply letter-sound knowledge and decoding strategies when reading unfamiliar connected text.
- Reading: Fluency. Read with accuracy and expression.
- Reading: Vocabulary. Use a range of vocabulary when communicating.
- Reading: Reading Comprehension. Construct meaning from printed text when reading independently.
- Reading: Text Analysis. Select and engage with a variety of text forms for specific uses.
- Representations: Spelling. Apply appropriate spelling conventions when creating written works.
- Representations: Sentence Structure. Compose sentences and paragraphs.
- Representations: Composition. Organize ideas and create written and media texts collaboratively and independently.
- Representations: Text Analysis. Select and organize information from multiple sources to support ideas and construct meaning.
Units
Unit 1
Talking Together
Speaking and listening in a group: taking turns, building on ideas, asking questions, disagreeing respectfully and reaching decisions together.
Skill descriptor: Interactions: Expression · talking and listening in a group
Unit 2
Spelling Smarts
Spelling rules (plurals, dropping the silent e, doubling a final consonant), homophones such as its and it's, commonly misspelled words and Canadian spellings like colour and centre.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Spelling · spelling strategies
Unit 3
Context Clues
Using the words around an unfamiliar word to figure out what it means, naming the type of clue, and choosing the right meaning of words like “bat” or “bank.”
Skill descriptor: Reading: Vocabulary · using context to work out word meaning
Unit 4
Greek and Latin Roots
Learning common Greek and Latin roots (like tele = far, port = carry, rupt = break) and using them to figure out long words such as “spectator” or “interrupt.”
Skill descriptor: Reading: Word Study · Greek and Latin roots and word parts
Unit 5
Verb Tenses
Choosing irregular past-tense verbs (brought, swam, froze), making verbs agree with their subjects, naming tenses and keeping tense consistent within a sentence.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Sentence Structure · verb tenses in writing
Unit 6
Complex Sentences
Choosing conjunctions like although, because and unless, finding dependent and independent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and combining sentences.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Sentence Structure · simple, compound and complex sentences
Unit 7
Punctuation Power
Placing commas after introductory words, using colons before lists, writing possessives and contractions, choosing its/it's and their/there/they're, and punctuating dialogue.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Sentence Structure · capitals, commas, colons and apostrophes
Unit 8
Purpose and Structure
Deciding whether a text informs, persuades or entertains, recognizing five common text structures and their signal words, and using text features like the glossary and index.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis · text forms, purposes and organization patterns
Unit 9
Reading Detectives
Reading original stories, a poem and nonfiction passages, then finding the theme and main idea, making inferences, describing characters, summarizing and working out word meanings.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Reading Comprehension · predicting, monitoring understanding and summarizing
Unit 10
Plot and Conflict
The five parts of a plot, types of conflict (person vs. person, nature or self), and telling first-, second- and third-person point of view apart.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis · the structure of stories
Unit 11
Figurative Language
Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Composition · descriptive and figurative language
Unit 12
Style & Perspective
Noticing imagery, humour, voice and sentence length, using book parts like the preface and glossary, and spotting one-sided opinions in persuasive writing.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis · style and perspective in texts
Unit 13
Media Smarts
Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis · bias, point of view and persuasive techniques in media
Unit 14
Write for Your Reader
Writing to inform, persuade or entertain; formal and informal voice; and picking details, openings and word choices that suit the reader.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Composition · writing for a reader
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