Grade 5 

This course helps students explore and advance their reading, writing, and oral communication skills. Individual silent reading opportunities, class novel studies, and teacher read alouds will enhance students’ ability to think critically about a variety of texts. Metacognitive reading strategies will be embedded throughout the course, so that students will become close and critical readers. Creative and analytical writing opportunities will be at the core of the course, with a focus on grammar, punctuation, structure, and writing with purpose and clarity. Finally, students will have many opportunities to practice their oral communication skills through the delivery of multiple speeches, debates, and book talks; peer, self, and teacher review and feedback will be an important theme throughout the course.

The purpose of the course is to offer students a wide variety of literature and literary genres. Short stories, poetry, novels, and media works are examined. Students partake in novel studies and critically think about themes as they apply to the real world. Fundamental writing strategies of organizing ideas and developing a paragraph structure are integrated throughout the course. Students critically analyze the content and writing style of others through peer editing sessions. In the public speaking unit, students rehearse and perform oral presentations to fellow peers. Students practice developing arguments and research topics for classroom debates. Assessments for, as, and of learning allow students to continue working toward mastery of their language skills.

The focus of this course is to provide extensive opportunities for the student to explore various literary genres, poetic styles, writing conventions, and dramatic forms. Students consolidate language knowledge skills to communicate ideas for a multimedia world. Themes covered include adventure, fantasy, science fiction, recognizing bias (fact versus opinion), civil rights, and tolerance. After fundamental writing and editing strategies are reviewed, the focus is on developing competencies in complex sentence, paragraph, letter, creative, journal, and essay writing. Students work to improve their public speaking skills by presenting to their fellow peers on a range of topics. Students analyze and create media texts to understand the different purposes, audiences, and literacy conventions. By the end of the year, with each student’s improved oral, reading, and writing skills, he should be well on his way to becoming a far more effective, thoughtful, and even influential communicator.

This course provides extensive opportunities for the student to explore various literary genres, poetic styles, writing conventions, media works, and dramatic forms. The ability to recognize and effectively respond to bias (fact versus opinion), prejudice, and tolerance will be addressed. Ethics and character development are explored beyond that which is introduced in the grade 7 program. After fundamental writing and editing strategies are reviewed, the focus is on developing competencies in complex sentence, paragraph, report, letter, creative, and journal writing. By the end of the year, with each student’s improved oral, reading, and writing skills, he should be well on his way to becoming a far more effective, thoughtful, and even influential communicator.