Language Arts

Description:

COURSE/SUBJECT TITLE: English Language Arts

LENGTH OF TIME: Full Year (120 minutes every day - 60 for Reading and 60 for Writing)

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The main components of the English language arts program are reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Fountas and Pinnell, a research based, comprehensive approach to teaching literacy provides teachers with a high quality framework for language arts instruction. Explicit instruction and ample practice enable students to further develop fluency, build skills for comprehension, and broaden vocabulary and word knowledge. Supplemental reading materials such as novels, poetry, short stories, textbooks, and magazines are also read.

Teachers use the Lucy Calkins Units of Study as a primary resource for writing instruction. In the fifth grade, emphasis is placed on the writing process as we strengthen the development of ideas, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency, presentation, and grade appropriate conventions.  

VOCABULARY:

  • Analysis

  • Index

  • Root word

  • Antonym

  • Literary

  • Sentences

  • Cause and effect

  • Metaphor

  • Simile

  • Compare

  • Motive

  • Summary

  • Contrast

  • Narrative

  • Supporting details

  • Comprehension

  • Paragraph

  • Synonym

  • Essay

  • Parts of speech

  • Table of contents

  • Expository

  • Personification

  • Tense

  • Genre

  • Pronunciation

  • Topic sentence

  • Guide words

  • Revise

EVIDENCE/ASSESSMENT:

Six Traits Rubrics

Specific Rubrics from WriteSource Resources

Novel Tests

Writing Responses to Literature

Teacher Developed Scoring Guides

Daily Performance on Language, Grammar and Spelling practice

Spelling Dictation

TEXTS AND OTHER RESOURCES:

Treasures, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009.

Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading resources. 

Calkins, Lucy.  Units of Study, 2014.

Write Source Grade 5, Great Source Education Group, 2006.

Culham, Ruth.  Six+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide grades 3 and     Up.  New York:  Professional Books, 2003.

Hakim, Jay.  A History of US.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Junior Great Books. Junior Great Books: Series 5. The Great Books Foundation: Chicago: 1993.

Variety of Supplemental Materials including class novels.

Revised 8/12

 
 
Outcomes: