Grade 5 English Language Arts
16 units matched to the Nunavut Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Learning focus
- Uqausiliriniq: communication and language, creative and artistic expression, and reflective and critical thinking.
- Comprehension: listen, view and read to understand a range of texts.
- Production: speak, write and represent ideas clearly for different audiences and purposes.
Units
Unit 1
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · predicting, monitoring understanding and summarizing key ideas
Unit 2
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · the structure of stories, and connecting to texts
Unit 3
Read With a Purpose
Using prior knowledge, choosing varied texts, adjusting reading rate for purpose and checking understanding while reading.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · reading fluency and rate, prior knowledge, choosing multimodal texts and self-monitoring
Unit 4
Figurative Language
Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · descriptive and figurative language
Unit 5
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · text forms, purposes and organization patterns
Unit 6
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.”
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · using context to work out word meaning
Unit 7
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.”
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · word parts and morphology
Unit 8
Long Words: Chunk and Spell
Reading and spelling longer words by finding syllables, prefixes, suffixes and roots, and noticing common spelling patterns.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · decoding and spelling multisyllabic words
Unit 9
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · verb tenses in writing
Unit 10
Complex Sentences
Choosing conjunctions like although, because and unless, finding dependent and independent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and combining sentences.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · simple, compound and complex sentences
Unit 11
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · capitals, commas, colons and apostrophes
Unit 12
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · creating multimodal texts, legible and word-processed writing, and combining modes for an audience
Unit 13
Revise and Spell It Right
Using checklists and feedback to revise for order and focus, and using spelling patterns, strategies and dictionaries (with Canadian spelling) to check words.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Production · revising with criteria and feedback, and spelling strategies and patterns
Unit 14
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.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · listening for key ideas, discussion habits, open-ended questions and complex sentences with transitions
Unit 15
Media Smarts
Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · bias, point of view and persuasive techniques in media
Unit 16
Set a Goal and Track Your Growth
Setting specific learning goals, using class criteria and descriptive feedback, and collecting evidence to see progress in reading, writing, speaking, listening and representing.
Approved guide: NWT English Language Arts (2011), Comprehension · self-assessment, class criteria, feedback, learning goals and tracking progress
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