English Language Arts

Language Arts in 5th grade is all about the written word. We try to instill in the children a love of literature through wonderful read alouds, novel groups, classroom libraries, and our own enthusiasm. Reading is a part of every day that many of the students complain about only when it is removed from the schedule. Additionally, we mix all four classes of students for intensive work on specific reading strategies throughout the year.

To help the students understand what they are reading more fully, the children learn about prefixes, suffixes, and roots. The children are then encouraged to find examples of these affixes while they read. This technique of word study has repeatedly shown great growth in students’ vocabulary in research studies.

Although each of the four teachers have their own personalities and teaching styles, writing instruction is collaborative and units of study are implemented simultaneously grade wide. The year begins with a review of grammar and mechanics. We then study each of the writing genres; narrative, opinion, and informative.