English Language Arts 5

In English Language Arts 5, students solidify their foundational skills in reading, writing, spelling, speaking, and listening. Students read a variety of texts this year, including fiction, nonfiction, and informational texts. They identify the author’s purpose in multiple forms of writing, such as descriptive, expository, technical, persuasive, and narrative passages. Through these texts, they learn to make inferences and analyze multiple accounts of the same event. They also identify, interpret, and compare similes, metaphors, and idioms used in writing and learn to draw a plot diagram and to identify common themes in literature. This year, students write a five-paragraph essay and an effective thesis statement. They follow the writing process to develop essays, create outlines to organize their ideas, and revise and improve their original draft. Students also write a persuasive letter, a speech, and a script. This course teaches and reinforces spelling rules, such as i before e, while also focusing on the spelling of words ending in a silent e, commonly misspelled words, and words with multiple syllables. Students sharpen their research skills by learning to use notecards for research, gathering information about the same topic from multiple sources, and understanding plagiarism and the importance of writing in their own words. They also practice citing sources by creating a bibliography. Students enhance their presentation skills by reporting on a text or topic, telling a story, retelling an experience, or presenting an opinion in an organized way while using facts and details to support the main idea. This course includes a printed Parent and Teacher Guide that will help you support your student’s learning.