Grade 5 English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 5 english language arts in the Manitoba Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- A1 Oral Language Communication: Learners will apply listening and speaking skills to receive, exchange and develop ideas for various purposes and audiences.
- A2 Language as the Foundation for Reading and Writing: Learners will develop and apply the understanding of the system of language (knowledge and skills) and language comprehension for reading and writing.
- B1 Acquire New Information: Learners will activate, acquire and build background knowledge through inquiry of diverse topics and engagement with multimodal forms of text (e.g., visual, oral, print, digital, experts, Elders).
- B2 Construct Meaning: Learners will understand and apply a variety of comprehension strategies to construct the meaning of text and consolidate new information.
- B3 Think Critically about Multimodal Text and Respond: Learners will recognize, analyze, and respond critically to inequities, bias and viewpoints in texts and ideas.
- C1 Generate Ideas, Create Plan and Draft/Prototype: Learners will generate ideas, conduct research, evaluate sources, and design a plan to compose multimodal texts (visual, multimedia, oral, written) for a range of purposes and audiences.
- C2 Enhance the Clarity and Artistry of Multimodal Texts: Learners will apply knowledge and understanding of the variables of writing to enhance the clarity, precision and effectiveness of their creations and reflect critically on created text.
- C3 Edit and Publish: Learners will apply knowledge of editing to communicate the text clearly and coherently to an audience, using a variety of media, tools and strategies to publish text.
- D1 Share Ideas and Information: Learners will use a range of multimodal forms of communication (e.g., visual, multimedia, oral and written texts) to share, clarify, and extend ideas/ information for different purposes and audiences.
- D2 Assess and Set Goals: Learners will use metacognition (the ability to think about one’s own thinking) to assess their language skills as listeners, speakers, readers, writers, viewers and representers, supporting their grow as independent learners. Learners will set goals and monitor progress.
Easy ways to practise english language arts at home
- Read what they are interested in: graphic novels, sports pages, series. Then talk about it.
- Ask for the main idea and one piece of evidence from the text.
- Have them write real messages: a thank-you note, a short review, a note to a relative.
- Read their writing aloud to them; they often spot their own mistakes by ear.
What each unit covers
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.
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.
Figurative Language
Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
Complex Sentences
Choosing conjunctions like although, because and unless, finding dependent and independent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and combining sentences.
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.
Media Smarts
Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Level 1
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Level 2
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Level 3
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Level 4
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Manitoba report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 5 child with english language arts?
Read what they are interested in: graphic novels, sports pages, series. Then talk about it. Ask for the main idea and one piece of evidence from the text. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 5 english language arts in Manitoba?
The Manitoba Curriculum Grade 5 english language arts units include reading detectives, plot and conflict, figurative language, purpose and structure, context clues, greek and latin roots.
Free printable Grade 5 english language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.