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Fifth Grade English Language Arts Resources
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Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
The Electric Company media and resources entertain and engage children ages 5–9 while teaching four crucial areas of literacy that are challenging for struggling readers: Decoding, Vocabulary, Comprehension of Connected Text, and reading Motivation. Here you’ll find full episodes, clips, games and activity sheets to excite even the most reluctant readers. -- This resource is listed for up to age 9, but can be appropriate for older (5th grade) as review. Songs and storylines are age-appropriate.
Skill: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Georgia Standard: Reading Foundational - Phonics and Word Recog - ELAGSSE5RF3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 6 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha tries to find out why the new dog in town is so loud and mean. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, play a Choose and Chat game, read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide
Skill: Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Georgia Standard: Speaking and Listening - Comp and Collab - ELAGSE5SL2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 5 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha is suspicious of the Perfect Pup Institute. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, play the game Skits’s Tricks online (if online access is not available, they can skip this step), read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide.
Skill: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Georgia Standard: Speaking and Listening - Comp and Collab - ELAGSE5SL1
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 9 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha and Skits can’t find a way to share a toy, and then T.D. and Alice start bickering. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, play a Truce! game, read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide.
Skill: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Georgia Standard: Speaking and Listening - Comp and Collab - ELAGSE5SL1
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 3 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha’s dream comes true and she gets to ride on a fire truck. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, play a Tic-Tac-Talk game, read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide.
Skill: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Georgia Standard: Speaking and Listening - Comp and Collab - ELAGSE5SL1
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 4 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha is in charge because Helen is sick in bed and Mom is out.
Skill: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text
Georgia Standard: ELAGSERL5.2
Advice on Writing - Video Production: Behind the Scenes with the Pros
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
KET producer, writer, and host Renee Shaw discusses the importance of good writing skills in production.
Skill: With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W6
West Virginia PBS Kids Writers Contest
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
This media gallery is designed to assist students, teachers, and parents in successfully completing an original composition. The lesson plan is designed for use with the accompanying PBS Kids Writers Contest Guidebook, and is divided into four flexible sessions, each of which addresses a component of the project — generating ideas, writing, illustrating, and proofreading using a rubric. An official contest entry form is included at the end of the Guidebook.
Skill: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W5
Storytelling with Words and Pictures
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this interactive lesson, students learn the basics of how stories are structured, gain vocabulary about storytelling elements, and explore how the arts, specifically drawing, can be a valuable way for students to tell stories. By the end of the lesson, each student will have written a story with a clear setting, conflict, and resolution. They will have reflected on the process of storytelling, and are given the (optional) opportunity to create a comic.
Skill: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Gallery
This media gallery is designed to assist students, teachers, and parents in successfully completing an original composition for the WQED PBS KIDS Writers Contest. These resources can be used with students in grades K-5. Visit our website for more information about the WQED contest.
Skill: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 8 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha is annoyed about what a big fuss everyone is making about a new little kitten, until they become friends. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, play a Choose and Chat game, read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide.
Skill: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W4
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 7 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha has won a trip to an inn that doesn’t allow pets. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, play a Tic-Tac-Talk game, read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide.
Skill: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W4
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
You can use this video for Session 2 of the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies program. Students watch the video, in which Martha yearns to be a hero just like her favorite TV star. After watching, buddy pairs talk about the episode, make a SuperPup puppet, read a children’s book together, and write in their journal. Prior to using this resource for Reading Buddies, be sure you have read the complete introductory materials in the MARTHA SPEAKS Reading Buddies Program Guide.
Skill: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W4
The Amazing Adventures of Equiano
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: E-book
This online book from the International Children's Digital Library traces the journey of Equiano, a young African boy of the Ibo tribe, from his capture by Africans to his life in the Americas. It describes his arduous adventure from slavery to becoming a free man. Inspired by the memoirs of Olaudah Equiano, a freed and literate slave. Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
Skill: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RL1
MONTANA SHAKES! WordSmashing: Language Workshop
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
Your elementary students will love Shakespeare! Create, learn, and pantomime new words! Shakespeare loved to create new words and to play creatively with the meaning of words, so can you. This workshop is based on the MT SHAKES! 2016 adaptation of a Midsummer Night's Dream. This workshop is designed to introduce students to the creative capacity of words.
Skill: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5L5
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
Students develop and present an evidence-based argument about a change they would like to bring about at their school to make it a healthier place for all students. In this interactive lesson designed for both full-class and individual or small-group work, students examine a similar effort, chronicled in BASIC BLACK: Youth Fighting Fat, in which a group of concerned Boston teens seeks to address the problem of obesity in their community.
Skill: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W7
Character Change: The Diary of Anne Frank
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills, students examine what Anne Frank’s writing and a video dramatization of her diary reveal about her character and how it changed while she was in hiding. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore an English language arts focus on character change. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.
Skill: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5W2
American Stories: Teens and Immigration
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students watch documentary video about four teens who immigrated to the United States. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on the factors that drive immigration and the challenges immigrants face in the United States, particularly in learning English. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities. This resource is part of the Inspiring Middle School Literacy Collection.
Skill: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students are introduced to Keely, who feels that her identity as a Nipmuc Native American is weakened because there is no strong Nipmuc community around her. The video Keely made when she was young and felt discouraged is countered by her positive thoughts about identity when she is older. Students develop their literacy skills through an English language arts focus on symbolism. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities. This resource is part of the Inspiring Middle School Literacy Collection.
Skill: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills, students watch video dramatizations that tell the story of the Spanish explorers who arrived in the Americas with Columbus and introduced European, African, and Asian plants and animals to the Western Hemisphere. Students develop their literacy skills through a social studies focus on how the the Columbian Exchange impacted life on both sides of the Atlantic. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities
Skill: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI3
Building the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn how historians think the pyramids were built and why they were built—as doorways to the afterlife for the pharaohs. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on ancient Egyptian society and how those at the top organized the rest of the population in order to build these amazing structures. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities. This resource is part of the Inspiring Middle School Literacy Collection.
Skill: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn about the debate over electronic sampling in music and look at how copyright law affects people on both sides of the issue. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on gathering information to form an opinion. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.This resource is part of the Inspiring Middle School Literacy Collection.
Skill: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI4
Trail of Tears: The Cherokee Fight Against Removal
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills, students are introduced to the Cherokees' struggle to remain on their land in the early 1800s. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on the assimilation strategy of the Cherokee Nation and its eventual impact on their fate. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.
Skill: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI4
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive Lesson
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn about the early life of Alexander Hamilton and his achievements as an adult during the Revolutionary War and in the Washington administration. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on how Hamilton s role as an outsider shaped his beliefs about the powers of the federal government. During this process
Skill: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
Georgia Standard: ELAGSE5RI4