English Language Arts — Grade 5

Civil Rights Wax Museum Project

In this lesson plan, students will choose African Americans prominent in the Civil Rights Movement and research aspects of their lives. They will create timelines of their subjects' lives and a speech about their subjects, emphasizing why they are remembered today.

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

By Sabrina Lewandowski.

Clarification Writing-What Could I Add to the NC Zoo

Students will apply their knowledge of clarification writing and address "What Animal or Plant Would You Add to the NC Zoo." Students must research their plant or animal to determine if the zoo ecosystem could support the species. In addition, the student must provide reasons and explanations to support their choice. This is a follow-up activity to a unit of study on ecosystems/biomes.

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

By Connie Johnson.

Comparing Governments - International

This lesson focuses on comparing and contrasting national governments in North America and/or Central America. It is the second in a sequence, the first being "Comparing Governments - Local, State, and National" by Tami Weaver and Wendy Pineda, also on the Learn NC website.

This plan could be easily adapted for eighth grade or high school ESL students.

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

By Tami Weaver and Wendy Pineda.

Exploring the Everglades

After reading the book, Everglades, by Jean Craighead George, students will apply basic Internet navigation and computer skills to complete a scavenger hunt about the Everglades. As a culmination activity, students will use a word processing program to type a paragraph detailing what they have learned about the Everglades.

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

By Debbie Fox.

In the Spirit of...(pre-visit)

This is an integrated unit that focuses on masks in cultures as reflections of individual spirits. In this pre-visit lesson, students will explore the cultures of the Western Hemisphere.

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

By Shannon Kelly.

Research Frenzy

Students will use a variety of reference materials to complete a trivia-question scavenger hunt assignment. Within the context of this assignment, students will be exposed to questions in many curriculum areas.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Information Skills and English Language Arts)

By Jan King.

Simplicity: A Literature Based Paideia Seminar

Students will apply their knowledge of how developments in the history of the United States, as well as the world, can impact the lives of people today. The lesson is based on the picture book entitled, The Simple People, written by Tedd Arnold and illustrated by Andrew Shachat. (Summary: The simple people enjoy the simple life until one of the character's inventions is used to make life more complicated. As a result, everyone forgets the simple things in life.) After a Paideia seminar discussing the book, students will select a modern invention, research the history of its development and how it impacts society, and create a multi-media presentation.

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

By Krista Hannah.

Trick or Truth: Recognizing the hottest trends in advertising

Students will study commercials and advertising techniques, will work in groups to select different types of ads from magazines, and make a collage to illustrate one of the ten techniques advertisers use.

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

By Kathy Idol.

What are the Amendments?

Before the reading of "I Want to Vote" in the Scott Foresman basal reader, I assigned each member of my class to look up a Constitutional Amendment on the web-site http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Amend . This was done in order to give the students a background in Amendments and the history of America. Following the assigning of the Amendments the students interviewed 10 adults to find out how many people are familiar with their Constitutional Amendments. One math extension is to graph the results of the students' interviews.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts)

By Jeremy Luna.

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 and Computer Technology Skills)

By Amy Vance.

Lesson plans on the web

Alaska Native stories: Using narrative to introduce expository text

This lesson uses traditional stories of the Native peoples (i.e., narrative text) to introduce students to the study of animals in Alaska. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Animal adaptations

Students participate in classroom discussions about animals. (Learn more)

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

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Artifacts in Context

Students will explore an archaeological mystery that demonstrates the importance of context in learning from artifacts. (Learn more)

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

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Author study: Improving reading comprehension using inference and comparison

In this lesson, students review several texts by one illustrator/author, practice making inferences about that author, and then check their inferences against the author's online biography. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Behind the scenes with Cinderella

Students use literature and the Internet to research and learn about the geography, architecture, and weather that are associated with the setting of Moss Gown. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Biographies: Creating timelines of a life

Students study biographies and create a timeline about the life of a person. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Compiling poetry collections and a working definition of poetry

Introduces poetry forms and craft elements while students explore poetry about everyday topics or themes. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Cyberspace explorer: Getting to know Christopher Columbus

This lesson supports the exploration of multiple online sources to gather information about the life of a well-known explorer, Christopher Columbus. Extension activities promote critical literacy by exposing students to Columbus from the perspective of the Native Americans and by engaging them in a discussion of point-of-view. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Did you say spiders?

Students work cooperatively using response journals and online resources to inquire into the world of spiders, gather information about various types of spiders, and create a multimedia project about one particular type of spider. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Engaging students in a collaborative exploration of the “Gettysburg Address”

This lesson invites groups of students to learn more about the historical significance of President Abraham Lincoln's famous speech, the “Gettysburg Address” as well as the time period and people involved. (Learn more)

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

Provider: IRA/NCTE