Grade 5 Reading Curriculum

Family-facing version of the grade 5 Reading curriculum

Quarterly Overview of Grade 5 Reading

The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.

Units and Details

Unit 1: Building a Community of Readers

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas.
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry:
    • Identify genres. 
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences with support from the text. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Skim material to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension. 

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars.
    • Pose and respond to open ended questions, clarifying and challenging ideas.
    • Understand and encapsulate the speaker’s main points.
    • Use specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.
    • Use specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.
    • Use word origins and stems to expand vocabulary.
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner. 
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language. 
    • Develop linguistic competency.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry:
    • Make new connections considering the evidence and reasoning presented. 
    • Compare and contrast internal and external influences on settings, characters, and events over time. 
    • Develop analytical and interpretative skills in fiction, poetry, and/or non-fiction text. 
    • Respond to and question the answers of peers. 
    • Develop analytical and interpretative skills in fiction, poetry, and/or non-fiction texts. 
    • Employ a variety of strategies, to include determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Develop reasoning skills in language arts. 
    • Understand the concept of change to analyze literature. 
    • Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems. 
    • Consider long and short-term consequences of solutions.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story. 
    • Monitor understanding and know what to do when it is not occurring. 
    • Use expression, rhythm, and phrasing.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Use reading strategies such as predicting, questioning, and connecting to own
    • Monitor understanding and know what to do when it is not occurring experiences 
    • Summarize and encapsulate important ideas.

Unit 2: Characters

Students will be able to:

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas.
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities.
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings.
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions. 
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes, and connect comments to the remarks of others. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions. 
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry:
    • Summarize plot events using details from text. 
    • Discuss the impact of setting on plot development. 
    • Describe character development. 
    • Identify theme(s). 
    • Explain the resolution of conflict(s). 
    • Identify genres. 
    • Differentiate between first and third person point-of-view. 
    • Explain how an author’s choice of vocabulary contributes to the author’s style. 
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences with support from the text.
    • Identify cause and effect relationships. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars. 
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language. 
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry:
    • Evaluate the choices the author makes to construct power, position, and perspective.
    • Use a variety of strategies including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/text based on categories.
    • Monitor reading and know what to do when understanding is not occurring. 
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills. 
    • Increase number of known words. 

Unit 3: Critical Literacy

Students will be able to:

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues. 
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas.
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings.
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions. 
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes, and connect comments to the remarks of others. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions. 
  • Learn how media messages are constructed and for what purposes:
    • Identify the purpose and audience of auditory, visual, and written media messages.
    • Identify the characteristics and effectiveness of a variety of media messages. 
    • Compare and contrast techniques used in a variety of media messages. 
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts: 
    • Use text features such as type, headings, and graphics to predict and categorize information.
    • Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Identify the main idea. 
    • Summarize supporting details.
    • Identify organizational pattern(s). 
    • Identify transitional words and phrases that signal an author’s organizational pattern. 
    • Locate information from the text to support opinions, inferences, and conclusions. 
    • Identify cause and effect relationships. 
    • Differentiate between fact and opinion.
    • Compare and contrast details and ideas within and between texts.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Determine the main points of a media message by identifying the strengths and limitations of the message.
  • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas. 
  • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in media and nonfiction texts.
  • Analyze literature through the lens of a concept.
  • Use a variety of strategies including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and considering multiple perspectives.
  • Evaluate the influence of author and audience bias in each document.
  • Validate a source as to its authenticity, authority, and representativeness. 

Unit 4: Nonfiction

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas.
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings. 
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions.
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes and connect comments to the remarks of others. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions. 
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Use text features such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information. 
    • Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Identify the main idea. 
    • Summarize supporting details. 
    • Identify organizational pattern(s). 
    • Identify transitional words and phrases that signal an author’s organizational pattern. 
    • Locate information from the text to support opinions, inferences, and conclusions. 
    • Identify cause and effect relationships.
    • Differentiate between fact and opinion. 
    • Compare and contrast details and ideas within and between texts. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Use reference books to determine meaning, pronunciation and origin of words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Identify and use text features such as headings, formats, charts, and diagrams.
    • Use a variety of strategies, including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Provide a sequence of events, procedures, and/or activities that occur in the text. 
    • Understand classification of details to make generalizations within text. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/‌text based on categories and concepts.
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature.
    • Develop reasoning skills in the language arts.
    • Understand the concept of change in the language arts.
    • Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.
    • Understand cause and effect and its relationship to consequences and implications within a text. 
    • Create and answer questions about a topic. 
    • Monitor reading and know what to do when understanding is not occurring.  
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills.

Unit 5: Narrative Nonfiction

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues. 
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas. 
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings. 
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions.
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes, and connect comments to the remarks of others. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry:
    • Summarize plot events using details from text. 
    • Discuss the impact of setting on plot development. 
    • Describe character development. 
    • Identify theme(s).
    • Explain the resolution of conflict(s). 
    • Identify genres. 
    • Differentiate between first and third person point-of-view. 
    • Explain how an author’s choice of vocabulary contributes to the author’s style. 
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences with support from the text. 
    • Identify cause and effect relationships. 
    • Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts.
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Identify the main idea. 
    • Summarize supporting details. 
    • Locate information from the text to support opinions, inferences, and conclusions. 
    • Differentiate between fact and opinion. 
    • Compare and contrast details and ideas within and between texts. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension. 

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars. 
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language. 
    • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry.
    • Evaluate the choices the author makes to construct power, position, and perspective.
    • Use a variety of strategies including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/text based on categories.
    • Understand cause and effect and its relationship to consequences and implications within a text.
    • Monitor reading and know what to do when understanding is not occurring. 
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills. 
    • Increase number of known words. 
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Identify and use text features such as headings, formats, charts, and diagrams.
    • Use a variety of strategies, including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Provide a sequence of events, procedures, and/or activities that occur in the text. 
    • Understand classification of details to make generalizations within text. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/‌text based on categories and concepts.
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature.
    • Develop reasoning skills in the language arts.
    • Understand the concept of change in the language arts.
    • Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.
    • Understand cause and effect and its relationship to consequences and implications within a text. 
    • Create and answer questions about a topic. 
    • Monitor reading and know what to do when understanding is not occurring.  
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills. 
    • Increase number of known words.

Unit 6: Fantasy Book Clubs

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues. 
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas. 
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings.
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions. 
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes, and connect comments to the remarks of others. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions. 
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use context to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases. 
    • Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words. 
    • Identify an author’s use of figurative language. 
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry:
    • Summarize plot events using details from text. 
    • Discuss the impact of setting on plot development. 
    • Describe character development. 
    • Identify theme(s). 
    • Explain the resolution of conflict(s). 
    • Identify genres.
    • Differentiate between first and third person point-of-view.
    • Explain how an author’s choice of vocabulary contributes to the author’s style. 
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences with support from the text. 
    • Identify cause and effect relationships.
    • Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars
    • Pose and respond to open ended questions, clarifying and challenging ideas 
    • Understand and encapsulate the speaker’s main points 
    • Use specific vocabulary communicate ideas
    • Use specific vocabulary communicate ideas
    • Use word origins and stems to expand vocabulary
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner 
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others
  • Give oral presentations:
    • Speak clearly using appropriate volume.
    • Speak at an understandable rate.
    • Make eye contact with the audience.
    • Organize ideas sequentially or around major points of information using appropriate facts and relevant details.
    • Use contextually appropriate language and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.
    • Use multimodal tools to create presentations and enhance communication.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language 
    • Develop linguistic competency
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry.
    • Make new connections considering the evidence and reasoning presented 
    • Compare and contrast internal and external influences on settings, characters, and events over time 
    • Develop analytical and interpretative skills in fiction, poetry, and/or non-fiction text 
    • Respond to and question the answers of peers 
    • Develop analytical and interpretative skills in fiction, poetry, and/or non-fiction texts 
    • Employ a variety of strategies, to include determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and considering multiple perspectives 
    • Develop reasoning skills in language arts 
    • Understand the concept of change to analyze literature 
      Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems 
    • Consider long and short-term consequences of solutions
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story 
    • Monitor understanding and know what to do when it is not occurring.

Unit 7: Poetry

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues. 
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work.
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use context to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases.
    • Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words.
    • Use knowledge of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and homophones to determine the meaning of new words.
    • Identify an author’s use of figurative language. 
    • Use word-reference materials.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry:
    • Summarize plot events using details from text.
    • Discuss the impact of setting on plot development.
    • Describe character development.
    • Identify theme(s). 
    • Explain the resolution of conflict(s).
    • Identify genres. 
    • Differentiate between first- and third-person point-of-view. 
    • Differentiate between free verse and rhymed poetry.
    • Explain how an author’s choice of vocabulary contributes to the author’s style.
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences with support from the text.
    • Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts.
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars. 
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars.
  • Create and deliver multimodal, interactive presentations:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Use specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry:
    • Evaluate the choices the author makes to construct power, position, and perspective.
    • Monitor reading and know what to do when understanding is not occurring. 
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills. 
    • Increase number of known words.

Unit 8: Content Area Research

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues. 
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas. 
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities.
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings.
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions.
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes, and connect comments to the remarks of others.
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions.
  • Create multimodal presentations that effectively communicate ideas:
    • Effectively use verbal and nonverbal communication skills to plan and deliver collaborative and individual, formal and informal interactive presentations.
    • Maintain eye contact with listeners.
    • Organize content sequentially around major ideas. 
    • Use language and style appropriate to the audience, topic, and purpose. 
    • Ask and answer questions to gather or clarify information presented orally.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use context to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases.
    • Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words. 
    • Use knowledge of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and homophones to determine the meaning of new words. 
    • Identify an author’s use of figurative language.
    • Use word-reference materials.
    • Develop and use general and specialized content area vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts: 
    • Use text features such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information.
    • Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Identify the main idea. 
    • Summarize supporting details.
    • Identify organizational pattern(s). 
    • Identify transitional words and phrases that signal an author’s organizational pattern. 
    • Locate information from the text to support opinions, inferences, and conclusions.
    • Identify cause and effect relationships.
    • Differentiate between fact and opinion. 
    • Compare and contrast details and ideas within and between texts. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.
  • Find, evaluate, and select appropriate resources to create a research product:
    • Construct questions about a topic. 
    • Collect and organize information from multiple resources. 
    • Evaluate the relevance, reliability, and credibility of information. 
    • Give credit to sources used in research. 
    • Avoid plagiarism and use own words.
    • Demonstrate ethical use of the Internet.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars.
  • Create and deliver multimodal, interactive presentations:
    • Know the type of information found in various reference materials including atlases, dictionaries, and websites.
    • Select appropriate resources to find answers to questions about a topic.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Use specific vocabulary to communicate ideas.
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.
    • Use reference books to determine meaning, pronunciation, and origin of words.
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Identify and use text features such as headings, formats, charts, and diagrams.
    • Use a variety of strategies, including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Provide a sequence of events, procedures, and/or activities that occur in the text. 
    • Understand classification of details to make generalizations within text. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/‌text based on categories and concepts.
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Develop reasoning skills in the language arts.
    • Understand the concept of change in the language arts. 
    • Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.

Unit 9: Functional Texts

Students will be able to:

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas. 
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings. 
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions.
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes and connect comments to the remarks of others.
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions.
  • Learn how media messages are constructed and for what purposes:
    • Identify the purpose and audience of auditory, visual, and written media messages. 
    • Identify the characteristics and effectiveness of a variety of media messages. 
    • Compare and contrast techniques used in a variety of media messages.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use context to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases. 
    • Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words. 
    • Use word-reference materials. 
    • Develop and use general and specialized content area vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Use text features such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information. 
    • Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Identify the main idea. 
    • Summarize supporting details. 
    • Identify organizational pattern(s). 
    • Identify transitional words and phrases that signal an author’s organizational pattern.
    • Locate information from the text to support opinions, inferences, and conclusions. 
    • Identify cause and effect relationships. 
    • Differentiate between fact and opinion. 
    • Compare and contrast details and ideas within and between texts.
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.
    • Use reference books to determine meaning, pronunciation, and origin of words.
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Identify and use text features such as headings, formats, charts, and diagrams.
    • Use a variety of strategies, including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Provide a sequence of events, procedures, and/or activities that occur in the text. 
    • Understand classification of details to make generalizations within text. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/‌text based on categories and concepts.
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Develop reasoning skills in the language arts.
    • Understand the concept of change in the language arts. 
    • Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.

Unit 10: Testing as a Genre

Students will be able to: 

  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use context to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases.
    • Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words.
    • Use knowledge of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and homophones to determine the meaning of new words.
    • Identify an author’s use of figurative language. 
    • Use word-reference materials.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry:
    • Summarize plot events using details from the text.
    • Discuss the impact of setting on plot development.
    • Describe character development. 
    • Identify theme(s). 
    • Explain the resolution of conflict(s). 
    • Identify genres. 
    • Differentiate between first- and third-person point of view. 
    • Describe how an author’s choice of vocabulary contributes to the author’s style. 
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences from text.
    • Identify cause-and-effect relationships. 
    • Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Use text features, such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information. 
    • Skim materials to develop a general overview of content and to locate specific information. 
    • Identify the main idea.
    • Summarize supporting details. 
    • Identify organizational pattern(s). 
    • Identify transitional words and phrases that signal an author’s organizational pattern. 
    • Locate information to support opinions, predictions, and conclusions. 
    • Identify cause-and-effect relationships. 
    • Differentiate between fact and opinion. 
    • Compare and contrast details and ideas within and between texts.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.
    • Use reference books to determine meaning, pronunciation, and origin of words.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry:
    • Evaluate the choices the author makes to construct power, position, and perspective.
    • Use a variety of strategies including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/text based on categories.
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words.
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.  
    • Lead and contribute to discussions and viewpoints with others across content areas and in seminars.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts:
    • Identify and use text features such as headings, formats, charts, and diagrams.
    • Use a variety of strategies, including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Provide a sequence of events, procedures, and/or activities that occur in the text. 
    • Understand classification of details to make generalizations within text. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/‌text based on categories and concepts.
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Develop reasoning skills in the language arts.
    • Understand the concept of change in the language arts. 
    • Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.

Unit 11: Book Clubs

Students will be able to: 

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues. 
    • Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas. 
    • Summarize information gathered in group activities. 
    • Orally express ideas clearly in pairs, diverse groups, and whole class settings. 
    • Use evidence to support opinions and conclusions. 
    • Summarize the main points a speaker makes and connect comments to the remarks of others. 
    • Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams, while sharing responsibility for the work. 
    • Work respectfully with others and show value for individual contributions.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use context to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases.
    • Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words.
    • Use knowledge of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and homophones to determine the meaning of new words.
    • Identify an author’s use of figurative language.
    • Develop and use general and specialized content area vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry:
    • Summarize plot events using details from text.
    • Discuss the impact of setting on plot development.
    • Describe character development. 
    • Identify theme(s). 
    • Explain the resolution of conflict(s).
    • Identify genres. 
    • Differentiate between first- and third-person point-of-view. 
    • Differentiate between free verse and rhymed poetry.
    • Explain how an author’s choice of vocabulary contributes to the author’s style. 
    • Draw conclusions and make inferences with support from the text. 
    • Identify cause and effect relationships. 
    • Compare/contrast details in literary and informational nonfiction texts. 
    • Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension.

Extended Standards

In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.

  • Use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings:
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and a speaker in seminars. 
    • Articulate understanding of a reading to a partner.
    • State the main ideas or themes of the story.
    • Engage in a dialogue about the meaning of a selection.
    • Develop listening/oral communication skills.
    • Make informative and persuasive oral presentations using purposeful structure and visuals. 
    • Ask clarifying questions and take notes when listening to a speaker. 
    • Develop skills of argument formulation in persuasive communication. 
    • Support opinions with examples and details.
    • Engage in discussions with others by exchanging ideas, asking questions, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully to the comments of others.
    • Participate in group discussions as a listener and speaker in seminars.
  • Expand vocabulary when reading:
    • Use the words around an unknown word to figure out its meaning. 
    • Use text, word parts, knowledge of stems and word origins to figure out unfamiliar words. 
    • Increase vocabulary development by applying the knowledge of Greek and Latin stems to the English language.
  • Read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary nonfiction texts, and poetry:
    • Evaluate the choices the author makes to construct power, position, and perspective.
    • Use a variety of strategies including determining importance, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and considering multiple perspectives. 
    • Develop analytical and interpretive skills in literature. 
    • Draw consequences and implications from text for application in the real world.
    • Create generalizations about the story/text based on categories.
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills.
    • Monitor reading and know what to do when understanding is not occurring.
    • Use a variety of word recognition skills.   
    • Increase the number of known words.

Virginia Department of Education Resources

Assessments

Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.

  • Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
    • Check for understanding 
    • Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
  • Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.

For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.

In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), fifth grade tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.

Looking for other grade 5 information?