Grade 5 English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 5 english language arts in the Alberta Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Engage in collaborative dialogue to share ideas, solve problems, and make decisions
- Apply knowledge of vocabulary to reading and writing
- Evaluate ideas and information to comprehend texts
- Analyze and reflect on ways to write effectively for different audiences and purposes
- Experiment with and apply grammar, spelling, and punctuation to develop precise written communication
- Examine how text genres, forms, and structures support and enhance communication in a variety of digital or non-digital formats
Easy ways to practise english language arts at home
- Read what they are interested in: graphic novels, sports pages, series. Then talk about it.
- Ask for the main idea and one piece of evidence from the text.
- Have them write real messages: a thank-you note, a short review, a note to a relative.
- Read their writing aloud to them; they often spot their own mistakes by ear.
What each unit covers
Talking Together
Speaking and listening in a group: taking turns, building on ideas, asking questions, disagreeing respectfully and reaching decisions together.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Media Smarts
Spotting the tricks ads use, telling facts from opinions, and asking smart questions about who made a message and why.
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.
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.
Complex Sentences
Choosing conjunctions like although, because and unless, finding dependent and independent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and combining sentences.
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.
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.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alberta report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 5 child with english language arts?
Read what they are interested in: graphic novels, sports pages, series. Then talk about it. Ask for the main idea and one piece of evidence from the text. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 5 english language arts in Alberta?
The Alberta Curriculum Grade 5 english language arts units include talking together, context clues, greek and latin roots, reading detectives, plot and conflict, purpose and structure.
Free printable Grade 5 english language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.