5th grade English Language Arts
17 units matched to the New York State Learning Standards. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Focus areas
- Reading: plot and structure, how visuals and media add meaning
- Writing: research questions, taking notes and avoiding plagiarism
- Language: context clues, Greek and Latin roots, complex sentences and punctuation
Units
Unit 1
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.
Learning standard: 5R5 · plot structure and conflict
Unit 2
Figurative Language
Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.
Learning standard: 5L5; 5R4 · similes, metaphors, idioms and more
Unit 3
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.
Learning standard: 5R5 · an author's purpose and text structure
Unit 4
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.”
Learning standard: 5L4; 5R4 · using context to work out word meanings
Unit 5
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.”
Learning standard: 5RF3; 5L4 · Greek and Latin roots
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.
Learning standard: 5L1 · clauses and subordinating conjunctions
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.
Learning standard: 5L2 · commas, colons and apostrophes
Unit 8
Media Smarts
Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.
Learning standard: 5R7; 5R8 · the purposes of ads and the techniques they use to persuade
Unit 9
Create With Words, Pictures and Sound
Planning and polishing texts that combine words, images, sound and video, and choosing fonts, layout and tools to suit an audience and purpose.
Learning standard: 5SL5; 5L3 · choosing words, images, sound and design for an audience
Unit 10
Research Ready
Children practice narrowing a research question, searching with keywords, judging sources, telling sponsored content from information, taking notes, paraphrasing and citing sources instead of copying.
Learning standard: 5W6; 5W7 · research questions, judging sources, taking notes and listing sources
Unit 11
Spelling Smarts
Children practice US spelling of words with suffixes (-ful, -ly, -ous, -ment, -able, -ible), doubling rules, i before e and commonly misspelled words.
Learning standard: 5L2 · spelling words correctly using suffix rules and spelling patterns
Unit 12
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.
Learning standard: 5W1; 5W2 · writing for a purpose and reader: persuasive openings and closings, informative details and formal or informal words
Unit 13
Talking Together
Speaking and listening in a group: taking turns, building on ideas, asking questions, disagreeing respectfully and reaching decisions together.
Learning standard: 5SL1 · sharing ideas, building on others and disagreeing respectfully in a group
Unit 14
Read With a Purpose
Using prior knowledge, choosing varied texts, adjusting reading rate for purpose and checking understanding while reading.
Learning standard: 5RF4 · reading at the right pace, checking understanding and using context while reading
Unit 15
Talk, Listen and Ask Why
Listening to summarize, joining a discussion respectfully, asking open-ended questions and using complex sentences with transition words to share ideas.
Learning standard: 5SL1; 5SL2; 5L6 · open-ended questions, retelling what you hear and words that connect ideas
Unit 16
Read Closely
Your child makes inferences from evidence, finds themes and central ideas, picks good summaries, compares characters, settings and events, and explains how a narrator's point of view or different accounts of the same event shape what we learn.
Learning standard: 5R1; 5R2; 5R3; 5R6 · evidence and inferences, theme and summary, comparing characters and events, and point of view across accounts
Unit 17
Stories, Responses and Evidence
Your child chooses narrative techniques (openings, dialogue, pacing, sensory details, transitions, endings), creative responses to texts, evidence that supports an analysis, and criteria for judging and connecting texts.
Learning standard: 5W3; 5W4; 5W5; 5R9 · narrative technique, creative responses, drawing evidence from texts, and judging and connecting texts
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