Elementary English Language Arts
- Guiding Statements
- Curriculum Standards
- Enduring Understandings
- Essential Questions
- Curriculum Map
- Longtitudinal Rubrics
- Common Assessments
- Stage Three
- Five Year Plan
Secondary English Language Arts
- Guiding Statements
- Curriculum Standards
- Enduring Understandings
- Essential Questions
- Curriculum Map
- Longtitudinal Rubrics
- Common Assessments
- Stage Three
- Five Year Plan
455 N. Woods Mill Road
Chesterfield, MO 63017
Phone (314) 415-8100
Contact Parkway
455 N. Woods Mill Road
Chesterfield, MO 63017
Phone (314) 415-8100
Contact Parkway
English Language Arts
5th Grade Reading
Course Description
The fifth grade Communication Arts Curriculum is centered on units of study in which students are actively engaged in the processes of reading, writing, speaking, listening, informational literacy and vocabulary. Within the structure of Reading Workshop, students learn to build habits a develop strategies that proficient readers use on a daily basis. The units of study include the following inquires.
Readers Build Good Habits - students will learn the routines of reading workshop.
Nonfiction - which is an inquiry into using multiple strategies to navigate multiple pieces of nonfiction sources on a self selected topic.
Dealing with Difficulty - which in an inquiry into the strategies that readers use to monitor comprehension in order to adjust, clarify, and validate thinking about text.
Questioning the Text and Author - which is an inquiry into the importance of questioning text to clarify meaning, speculate about the text yet to be read, determine author's purpose, and to transfer ideas from the text to larger ideas.
Interrelationship of the Thinking Strategies - which is an inquiry into using a combination of multiple comprehension strategies including the use of connections, inferring, questioning, synthesizing, sensory images, determining importance and self monitoring.
Interrelationshop of the Story Elements - which is an inquiry into the dynamics of the relationships between the various story elements within different types of text.
Synthesizing - which is an inquiry into the purpose and specific skills readers use to generate new ideas as they encounter new ideas and thinking in text related to prior knowledge and experiences.
The units of study are taught in a Reading Workshop which is a balanced approach to instruction. The Reading Workshop includes the following.
Mini-lesson - a short, focused lesson taught in whole group format which teaches a strategy, skill, classroom routine.
Small group instruction - students are grouped in flexible groups based on specific learner needs as determined by assessments such as anecdotal notes, informal assessments, and running records. The small group may be structured as a book club, strategy lesson, or guided reading.
Independent reading - a period of time in which individual students are engaged in the reading of self-selected text at an independent reading level. During this time the teacher is conferring with individual students to provide direct instruction.
Read Aloud - an instructional method whereby the teacher, while reading aloud to the class, models metacognitive process that proficient readers use while engaged in text.
Grade
5
Prerequisite: 4th Grade Reading
Course Expectations
Rationale:
Time Frame: 1 Year
Standards Alignment
Enduring Understandings
- Readers have routines at school and at home to support their reading development.
- Readers understand how selecting a just right book will support their reading development.
- Readers know how to select just right books.
- Proficient readers utilize a variety of skills and strategies to support reading.
- Readers incorporate various reading strategies to think about text in many ways.
- Readers capture and record their thinking about text before, during, and after reading.
- Readers use the reader’s notebook to help them think deeply about the text.
Essential Questions
- What are the behaviors of a proficient reader?
- How do the routines of reading help you become a proficient reader?
- How do readers think about text?
- How do readers capture and record their thinking about text?
- How does the reader’s notebook help the reader think deeply about the text?
Course Materials: Representative Texts, Films and Resources
Classroom Library for self selected independent reading
Leveled Library for small group instruction including book clubs, strategy groups, and/or guided reading (available in buildings)
Anchor Texts for modeling in mini-lessons (available in buildings)
Units of Instruction
1. 5R Building a Community of Readers (CCSS aligned)
This 2 week unit is intended to get routines and procedures up and running in the reading workshop. During these two weeks students should have the opportunity to discover their love of various genres and have the chance to share their enjoyment of reading with others. Students will also be exposed to the various ways readers capture their thinking about texts.
2. 5R Using Fantasy to Tackle 5th Grade Text (CCSS aligned)
In fifth grade, most readers will be reading within the text band U/V/W. By teaching with the characteristics of this text band in mind, we will prepare our readers for new challenges they will encounter in their daily reading. In this unit, we will use Fantasy texts to teach into the new demands of texts at these levels.
13. 5R Poetry (CCSS aligned)
The Common Core State Standards require our readers to develop their understanding and appreciation of text beyond simply what the author is saying but how that text gets that meaning across. As your students read a wide variety of poetry, they will find it necessary to utilize visualization and inferring strategies to deepen their understanding of poetry beyond the literal or most basic interpretation. This unit provides a wonderful opportunity to incorporate poetry from across content areas and social issues in addition to our most beloved traditional poems.
14. 5R Navigating Nonfiction (CCSS aligned)
This unit emphasizes skills that are used to comprehend a nonfiction text such as determining importance, identifying main idea, utilizing text structure knowledge, and identifying author’s point of view.
15. 5R Reading for Social Issues (CCSS aligned)
This unit is designed to help fifth grade readers develop the reading strategies and the identities that enable them to read critically and to think deeply, especially about power, relationships and social issues.
16. 5R Nonfiction Reading to Become Experts (CCSS aligned)
This unit is designed to build on the skills fifth graders learned in the Navigating Nonfiction unit. The emphasis of this unit is on studying a topic of personal interest and integrating information across multiple texts and sources. Collaborative learning is also emphasized as students learn to discuss texts with peers. Technology is guaranteed in this unit as students present their new or changed thinking as an expert.
17. 5R Author Study (CCSS aligned)
This unit was designed to introduce students to the idea that readers often have favorite authors and read multiple texts written by that author. The students will also come to understand that we are drawn to certain authors because of their particular crafts they use when they write.
