English Language Arts — Grade 5

Wolves: Comprehending informational texts

This integrated plan uses non-fiction text and wolves to motivate students with language arts and science. Students will read a nonfiction text and use metacognitive skills of guided reading and KWHL chart to monitor comprehension and extend vocabulary.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts)

By Amy Vance.

One Grain of Rice

One Grain of Rice is a mathematical folktale from India that covers the concept of doubling.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Mathematics)

By Katherine Williamson.

Observing connections: Art, poetry and the environment (Lesson 1)

Students will explore the poem of Pat Lowery Collins, “I Am An Artist” and create their own poem from what they see and experience. They will then illustrate their poems with a visual design. This is the first lesson in a series of three in which students are creating art based on their observations: Observing Connections —Art, Poetry, and the Environment (Lesson 1); Observing Connections—Changing Landscapes (Lesson 2); Observing Connections—North Carolina Pottery and Face Jugs (Lesson 3)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

By Lisa Mitchell.

North Carolina Cherokee Indians: The Trail of Tears

In this two week unit, students will study the Cherokee by participating in literature circles, learning about Native American story telling, writing a letter to Andrew Jackson to protest against the Creek War, and more.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gina Golden.

Resources on the web

Writing Poetry Like Pros

This set of four lesson plans from EDSITEment utilizes poetry to serve as the inspiration for some terrific writing. Using poems available through EDSITEment resources, educators can make poetry an exciting teaching and learning tool in the classroom. ... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Writing and assessing an autobiographical incident

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will build upon their knowledge of biographies to write their own autobiographical incident. Students will be given a rubric and shown several examples. They will then complete the writing process and share their... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

What makes poetry? Exploring line breaks

In this lesson, students read several poems and experiment with line breaks and how they affect rhythm, sound, meaning, appearance, and can substitute for punctuation in poetry. After students brainstorm and discuss characteristics of poetry, they look... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Trees in art and nature

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students use the art of Vincent van Gogh as a point of reference to learn about trees by comparing those in Van Gogh's paintings to those in nature. After learning about the botany of trees, students create leaf rubbings as a culminating... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Science)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Seasonal haiku: Writing poems to celebrate any season

After students are familiar with the parts of speech, they work in groups to create lists of words that describe seasons. The teacher then reads aloud several examples of haiku poetry. Using the lists of seasonal descriptive words, students write their... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Question and answer books—From genre study to report writing

Students explore question and answer books in this lesson to determine how the format and content of this genre is different from narrative texts. After the teacher finishes a read-aloud of two question and answer books that are different in content, students... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Poetry: A feast to form fluent readers

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students examine elements of fluent reading through oral poetry performance. They use the Internet to identify a poem to prepare and perform for the class. The main objective of this lesson concerns improving fluency. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Once upon a time rethought: Writing fractured fairy tales

Students listen to fairy tales, identify common characteristics, and select a fairy tale to be re-written in this lesson. After a discussion of familiar fairy tales and the elements that are required for a story to be a part of this genre, students group... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

On the Oregon Trail

In this lesson, students work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. The goals of this lesson are: to learn about the pioneer experience on the Oregon Trail to... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Myth and Truth: Independence Day

Most Americans think of the Fourth of July as Independence Day, but is it really the day the United States declared its independence? This ReadWriteThink lesson explores all the dates and stories associated with the Declaration of Independence, focusing... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

More Amazing Americans: A WebQuest

In this EDSITEment lesson plan, students use the “Meet Amazing Americans” website created by the Library of Congress to explore the lives of some celebrated Americans. Working in small groups, they complete a WebQuest, identifying facts and... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

The magical world of Russian fairy tales

This EDSITEment lesson focuses on several imaginative and exciting Russian fairy tales. Students review some of the common fairy tale elements that are present within these stories, which also may remind them of more familiar European fairy tales. Students... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Looking for the history in historical fiction: An epidemic for reading

This lesson from ReadWriteThink helps students better understand the genre of historical fiction and its uses in understanding history. Students read historical fiction on a particular topic, and then research nonfiction information on the same topic. They... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Literature as a jumping off point for nonfiction inquiry

Students explore the topic of water in this lesson that is conducted after reading Tuck Everlasting. After reading the book, students discuss examples of the themes that are present in the book. Then, the teacher challenges... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Letter poems deliver: Experimenting with line breaks in poetry writing

Students learn to demonstrate their understanding of line breaks and how format creates dramatic effect by writing their own letter poems. As a whole class, students use the Letter Poem Interactive tool, which demonstrates how to turn a letter into a poem... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

It came from Greek mythology

This page contains six EDSITEment lessons based around teaching Greek mythology. Students will study basic plots of three Greek myths and discuss three types of themes in Greek myths. They will also explore contemporary uses of terms from Greek mythology... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment