Language Arts

Language Arts
Goals:

The grade five language arts programs pursues the same objectives initially established in grade four, while studying grammar in more detail and discovering additional literary genres for the students to explore. Students are expected to work independently through the stages of the writing process to create lengthier and more descriptive pieces. Students develop strategies for organizing their thoughts and learn to revise and discuss their work on their own and with their peers. Students use the 6 Traits +1 (Ideas and Content; Organization; Conventions; Word Choice; Voice; Sentence Fluency; and Presentation) to assess their own as well as others’ writing. An integrated spelling program is used in conjunction with the reading text. Paragraph formation, dialogue, and literary devices such as similes, metaphors, and alliteration are introduced as ways to enhance the quality of students’ written work.

Resources:

6 Traits +1 writing principles and rubrics
Spectrum Writing (McGraw-Hill)
Spectrum Reading (McGraw-Hill)
Spectrum Spelling (McGraw-Hill); Spelling based on Fountas & Pinnel Program

Throughout the intermediate grades, the celebration of literature is the organizing principle for the language arts program as children become further acquainted with literary quality and a variety of genres. Each month students complete a book report project from a different genre. Students continue to develop fluency and comprehension skills, and by grade four have developed independence in their reading habits. Student will be given opportunity to read out loud, with partners, chorally and silently. Daily reading logs will help students record the reading they’ve done at home. Class activities stress the ability to draw conclusions, note detail, distinguish between fact and opinion, respond to language, identify the author’s purpose, and recognize literary devices.

Texts:

Fifth Grade Celebrate Reading (Scott Foresman & Co.)
SRA Reading Laboratory
Fifth Grade Novel Sets
Classroom Library

Students who successfully complete the Grade Five Reading program will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:

• A continued interest in reading for pleasure and information
• A developed vocabulary through context and basic etymology
• An ability to use drama and role playing
• Reading comprehension (on literal, critical, and interpretive levels)
• Recognition of the author’s purpose for writing
• The skill of sequencing, skimming, classifying,
• Using a graphic organizer to re-tell a story
• Using compare and contrast
• Identify the use of imagery (simile, metaphor, personification, idioms)
• An ability to summarize
• Responding to literature in meaningful ways
• An ability to reflect, create, and critique writing
• Use context clues to build vocabulary
• Identify comprehension strategies (e.g. making predictions, re-reading, reading ahead, using context clues)