5th Grade Literacy
Our core fifth grade literacy curriculum, Expeditionary Learning, goes through a three step cycle: building background knowledge; extended reading and research; and extended writing. This process supports students’ capacity to read, think, talk, and write about complex texts.
Expeditionary Learning
Module 1: Stories of Human Rights
In this module, students explore the questions: What are human rights, and how do real people and fictional characters respond when those rights are challenged? Students closely read the introduction and selected articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), paired with firsthand accounts of real people facing human rights challenges. They then study the novel, Esperanza Rising, applying their new learning about human rights as one lens through which to interpret character and theme. Finally, students revisit the texts and themes of the UDHR and Esperanza Rising as they prepare and perform Reader's Theater.
Module 3: Sports and Athletes’
Impact on Culture
In this module, students learn about the importance of sports in American culture. They read the challenging biography, Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America, focusing on Robinson as a case study of an athlete who broke societal barriers. They also analyze how Sharon Robinson, Jackie's daughter and author of the book, provides evidence to support her opinions. Next, students research another athlete who broke cultural barriers. Finally, students write opinion letters to a publishing company explaining the need for a biography about that athlete given his or her impact on society.
Module 2: Biodiversity in the Rainforest
This module focuses on the nonfiction text, The Most Beautiful Roof in the World, which describes scientists’ work documenting rainforest biodiversity. Students build knowledge about rainforests and how scientists closely observe the natural world to help communicate their research. They then do a case study of Meg Lowman, the researcher in The Most Beautiful Roof in the World. Finally, students examine qualities of field guides and journals, research either ants or butterflies of the rainforest, and produce informational reports and field journals.
Module 4: Natural Disasters in
the Western Hemisphere
In this integrated science and social studies unit, students read literature set during a natural disaster: the beautifully illustrated picture book, Eight Days: A Story of Haiti. They analyze how narrators’ perspectives determine how events are described. Students conduct a short research project about Haiti and the Red Cross. Ultimately, they draft and revise opinion speeches in which they take a stand on what role humanitarian organizations should take when neighboring countries are struck by natural disasters and deliver speeches to the class.
Guided Reading
Guided reading is a daily part of our fifth grade literacy block. Guided reading is a teaching approach designed to help individual readers build an effective system for processing a variety of increasingly challenging texts over time.
Guided reading is not an exercise to practice reading skills. It is research-based, highly targeted, scaffolded reading instruction that propels all students toward confident, independent reading of high quality grade level books across a diverse array of literature and informational genres. In small guided reading groups, students will work closely with the teacher and peers in their reading level.
