Grade 5 English Language Arts
14 units matched to the Nova Scotia Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Learning focus
- A1 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning for various audiences, purposes, and cultural contexts.
- A2 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply understanding of foundational language knowledge and skill when reading and writing.
- A3 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation when reading and writing.
- B1 Comprehension: Learners will apply knowledge of text forms and organizational structures to comprehend texts.
- B2 Comprehension: Learners will use reading, listening, and viewing strategies to comprehend a variety of texts that represent diverse perspectives, cultures and experiences.
- B3 Comprehension: Learners will analyse a variety of texts that represent individuals with diverse identities, perspectives, cultures and experiences.
- C1 Composition: Learners will apply pre-writing skills and strategies to develop various texts for a range of authentic audiences and purposes.
- C2 Composition: Learners will apply knowledge and understanding of text forms to write a variety of texts.
- C3 Composition: Learners will use suitable and effective media, techniques, and tools to publish and present final texts in a range of text forms.
- D1 Content areas: Learners will apply literacy skills to comprehend and communicate ideas in the content areas.
Units
Unit 1
Talking Together
Speaking and listening in a group: taking turns, building on ideas, asking questions, disagreeing respectfully and reaching decisions together.
Learning outcome: A1 · talking and listening in a group
Unit 2
Spelling Smarts
Spelling rules (plurals, dropping the silent e, doubling a final consonant), homophones such as its and it's, commonly misspelled words and Canadian spellings like colour and centre.
Learning outcome: A2 · spelling strategies
Unit 3
Context Clues
Using the words around an unfamiliar word to figure out what it means, naming the type of clue, and choosing the right meaning of words like “bat” or “bank.”
Learning outcome: A2 · using context to work out word meaning
Unit 4
Greek and Latin Roots
Learning common Greek and Latin roots (like tele = far, port = carry, rupt = break) and using them to figure out long words such as “spectator” or “interrupt.”
Learning outcome: A2 · Greek and Latin roots and word parts
Unit 5
Verb Tenses
Choosing irregular past-tense verbs (brought, swam, froze), making verbs agree with their subjects, naming tenses and keeping tense consistent within a sentence.
Learning outcome: A3 · verb tenses in writing
Unit 6
Complex Sentences
Choosing conjunctions like although, because and unless, finding dependent and independent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and combining sentences.
Learning outcome: A3 · simple, compound and complex sentences
Unit 7
Punctuation Power
Placing commas after introductory words, using colons before lists, writing possessives and contractions, choosing its/it's and their/there/they're, and punctuating dialogue.
Learning outcome: A3 · capitals, commas, colons and apostrophes
Unit 8
Purpose and Structure
Deciding whether a text informs, persuades or entertains, recognizing five common text structures and their signal words, and using text features like the glossary and index.
Learning outcome: B1 · text forms, purposes and organization patterns
Unit 9
Reading Detectives
Reading original stories, a poem and nonfiction passages, then finding the theme and main idea, making inferences, describing characters, summarizing and working out word meanings.
Learning outcome: B2 · predicting, monitoring understanding and summarizing
Unit 10
Plot and Conflict
The five parts of a plot, types of conflict (person vs. person, nature or self), and telling first-, second- and third-person point of view apart.
Learning outcome: B1 · the structure of stories
Unit 11
Figurative Language
Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia and alliteration, and explaining what common idioms really mean.
Learning outcome: C2 · descriptive and figurative language
Unit 12
Style & Perspective
Noticing imagery, humour, voice and sentence length, using book parts like the preface and glossary, and spotting one-sided opinions in persuasive writing.
Learning outcome: B3 · style and perspective in texts
Unit 13
Media Smarts
Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.
Learning outcome: B3 · bias, point of view and persuasive techniques in media
Unit 14
Write for Your Reader
Writing to inform, persuade or entertain; formal and informal voice; and picking details, openings and word choices that suit the reader.
Learning outcome: C1 · writing for a reader
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