This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 5th grade ELA content.

In this lesson, students analyze the ways in which Draper creates the first-person narrator of Melody and the effects these choices have on the story and the reader. Melody has cerebral palsy; instead of asking students to research about the condition before reading, this lesson invites students to learn about it through the narrator herself in the context of her story. Students meet to discuss the narrator at several pre-determined discussion points and eventually write a brief analysis of the narration.

Tradition in the Lakota Sioux involves giving a name to a child based on his actions, so a young child who moves slowly in all he does earns the name ‘Slow’ from his family. After demonstrating bravery and determination during battle he then earns a new name, Sitting Bull, and this same man later becomes the respected chief of the Lakota Sioux. In this CCSS lesson students will explore Sitting Bull's life through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

Students will focus on the characters in stories; choose precise words and reasoning to describe characters and how their actions contribute to the story.

In the essay “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan explains that she “began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with.” How these “different Englishes” or even a language other than English contribute to identity is a crucial issue for adolescents.
In this lesson, students explore this issue by brainstorming the different languages they use in speaking and writing, and when and where these languages are appropriate. They write in their journals about a time when someone made an assumption about them based on their use of language, and share their writing with the class. Students then read and discuss Amy Tan's essay “Mother Tongue.” Finally, they write a literacy narrative describing two different languages they use and when and where they use these languages.

Our ‘Local Read Aloud’ is a spin-off of The Global Read Aloud, created by Pernille Ripp.  The idea is that we select one book to read aloud to our students over a span of six weeks.  During our six weeks of reading we connect with other classrooms across the district and discuss, create, and connect with the book and our peers.  We can use a variety of tools to connect, and take as much, or as little time as we’d like.  The project is intended to be enjoyable and not stressful, and in my experience the students enjoy the read aloud component as much as the connections.

In this lesson, students write a persuasive letter home defending their decision either to settle in Utah and farm the land, or to go on to California to seek gold.

Students will learn about homonyms by correctly using frequently confused words and be able to spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.

This unit is designed for students to learn to make judgments and decisions based on facts, and to use informational and imaginative speech to present their personal viewpoint and opinion to others. Students experience, first hand, taxation without representation, and will develop a very real sense for the need to preserve the inherent freedoms of man. Using the American flag as a graphic organizer, students will develop a clear understanding of the actions and reactions of the American colonists to British rule and to our most important national holiday, the 4th of July. Historically significant events will be studied and organized through exploration of facts and opinions and interaction with informational text and class discussion.

Students will learn how point of view can change and in what way point of view can be used in text to influence events.

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 5th Grade ELA. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 5th Grade English Language Arts. 

This resource accompanies our Rethink 5th Grade ELA course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

This lesson encourages students to use common Greek and Latin affixes and roots to deconstruct and construct words. If they learn, for example, that micro means small and scope means see, they can deduce that a microscope is a device that enables an individual to see small objects. The students use the Morpheme Match-Ups handout and the Word Central website to engage in morphemic analysis of familiar and unfamiliar words. This lesson allows teachers to easily substitute their own affixes and roots for each activity.

Students will learn the difference between theme and main idea; when to use them and with which genre. Students will be able to determine the central message by refering to the text as a basis for the answers. By understanding themes, students will be able to compare and contrast themes within and between stories.

In this lesson, students are engaged in discussions and complete an activity page about learned vs instinctive behaviors. Extensive suggestions for extending this lesson to special needs students, content integration, assessments, character education and family are included.

In this lesson, children's literature is used to provide students with an opportunity to explore the concept that all individuals have strengths, abilities, and talents. Through whole-class and small-group dialogue, students determine what each story means in the context of their classroom and themselves as individuals. Students also develop the necessary skills for cooperative learning.

In this lesson, students will participate in small group Collaborative Reasoning about issues of social justice and diversity. Students will read articles and answer questions that spur them to think critically about issues and discuss with others, using evidence and experiences to support their personal beliefs. Each group will create an online Persuasion Map to share whole class.