Grade 5 TAG English Language Arts: Reading
Year-at-a-Glance
QUARTER TWO
QUARTER ONE
Unit 1: Finding Patterns and Connections Through Comparative Text
Analysis: Students will investigate similarities and differences between realistic fiction and
informational text. In the unit, students will make connections to different texts with special
attention to connections to and between examples of realistic fiction. Texts in this unit will
concentrate upon themes of self-discovery, maturation, and ways in which children gain insights
about adult behaviors. Much of students’ work will focus upon collaborative teams (including
seminars, literary circles, debates, and Reader’s Theater productions) complemented by
independent writing tasks. The core texts for this unit are A Long Way from Chicago (Richard
Peck) and Wonder (R. J. Pallacio).
Unit 2: Place, Time, and Character Development: Exploring Their
Interrelationships in Fiction and Non-Fiction Literature: This unit will extend and
Standards of Learning:
5.5; 5.4d; 5.5b; 5.5e; 5.5f; 5.5i
refine students’ understanding of narrative structure with a major emphasis upon the importance of
setting in influencing characters’ actions, reactions, and motivation. Students will analyze the
function of these narrative elements in works of fiction and non-fiction texts. They will explore such
components as internal and external motivation, physical appearance and actions (and their
reflection of internal states), interactions, and character types (e.g., protagonist/antagonist, flat v.
round, static v. dynamic), They will also analyze how setting (time, place, culture, historical context)
affects character development. Core texts are Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt), The Phantom
Tollbooth (Norton Juster), and The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman).
Suggested Time Frame:
5-6 weeks
Unit 3: Non-Fiction Text and Its Influence on History and World Culture: In this
Standards of Learning:
5.1a; 5.1c; 5.3a; 5.3b; 5.4d; 5.4g; 5.6;
5.6a; 5.6b; 5.6c; 5.6d; 5.6e; 5.6f; 5.6g;
5.6h; 5.6i; 5.6j; 5.6k
unit, students will read and analyze nonfiction text (including narrative nonfiction). Students will
examine, analyze, and critique such formats and media as newspapers, magazines, biographies
and autobiographies, summarizing main idea and supporting details. Students will discuss how
authors can prompt and inspire change in their world. Additionally, students will function as social
and literary critics, evaluating the extent to which specific texts fully serve their author’s purpose.
The core texts for this unit include The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Christopher Paul Lewis) and
Stealing Home (Barry Denenberg). Once again, students will assess the extent to which a narrative
text captures historical truth in the same way that informational text does. What are the
similarities in approach? How do differences in the medium affect the reader/responder?
Unit 4: The Universal Appeal of Story Telling: Unpacking the Elements of
Plot Structure: In this unit, students will investigate in-depth the components of effective plot
development. They will examine how all plots arise from one or more essential human conflicts
(e.g., person v. self; person v. person; person v. group; person v. nature; person v. fate, destiny, or
the supernatural). Additionally, they will compare how different narrative fiction and nonfiction
authors use key plot development structures and techniques (e.g., exposition, complication, rising
action, turning point, resolution) to create realistic and engaging plots. The core texts are Where
the Red Fern Grows (Wilson Rawls), Esparanza Rising (Pam Munos Ryan), and A Wrinkle in Time
(Madeline L’Engle). Additionally, major focus will include students’ discussion and analysis of
culture and its impact upon character and plot development.
Unit 5: Digging Deep—Using Research to Formulate and Support a Thesis: In
QUARTER
THREE
Standards of Learning:
5.1d; 5.5a; 5.5c; 5.5g; 5.5i; 5.5k; 5.6b
Suggested Time Frame:
3-4 weeks
this unit, students will work to organize, create and deliver formal oral presentations based on
their study of a research question of choice. Students will develop key media literacy skills,
including analyzing auditory, visual and written media messages. In lieu of core texts, students
will read numerous online and print sources related to a personal research project. Although
student work products will focus upon multi-media formats, students will revisit the key elements of
expository and persuasive communication, including the importance of a controlling thesis,
coherent organization, and use of a range of supporting evidence to support a main idea.
Suggested Time Frame:
4-5 weeks
Standards of Learning:
5.1; 5.1b; 5.4d; 5.5; 5.5a; 5.5b; 5.5c;
5.5g; 5.5h; 5.5i; 5.5j; 5.5k
Suggested Time Frame:
4-5 weeks
Standards of Learning:
5.2a; 5.2b; 5.2c; 5.2d; 5.2e; 5.2f; 5.2g;
5.2h; 5.2i; 5.3a; 5.3b; 5.5; 5.6a; 5.6b;
5.6c; 5.6d; 5.6e; 5.6f; 5.6g; 5.6h; 5.6i;
5.6j; 5.6k; 5.9a; 5.9b; 5.9c; 5.9d; 5.9e;
5.9f; 5.9g
Suggested Time Frame:
6 weeks
Unit 6: Interpreting, Analyzing, and Evaluating Thematic Development in
Fiction and Nonfiction Text: This unit emphasizes students’ understanding of the concepts of
theme and thematic development in fiction and nonfiction narratives. Specifically, students will
investigate how authors use narrative structure to express insights, commentary, and ideas about
universal human experiences presented in fantasy and real-world settings and eras. The core texts are
Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson), Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare), and The
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Jacqueline Kelly). Major emphasis will be given to comparative text
analysis, explaining how different texts approach a common theme or controlling idea. Students will be
encouraged to consider the universality of literature—and the ways in which different texts give us
insights into what it means to be human.
QUARTER FOUR
Unit 7: Memoires: Recollections of Things Past and Reflections on Things to
Come: In this unit, students will extend their investigation of narrative within the context of nonfiction.
Specifically, they will explore ways in which authors of nonfiction narratives use historical facts and
related evidence to add verisimilitude (life-like qualities) to their recreation of historical events and
characters. This unit will emphasize the concepts of autobiography, biography, and memoires (including
commonalities and differences between and among these three genres). Core texts include Lincoln’s Last
Days (Bill O’Reilly), Chasing Lincoln’s Killer (James L. Swanson), Lincoln’s Ten Sentences (Michael Clay
Thompson), and Life in the Ocean (Sylvia Earle).
Unit 8: Oh The Places You Have Been! Remembering and Reflecting Though
Poetry, Dramatic Literature, and Expository Texts: In this unit, students will have time
to reflect upon and critique the writings they have generated this year—as well as the work of
their peers. They will read and analyze to draw conclusions from text (including a strong emphasis
in this unit on the analysis and writing of poetry). The core text is A Writing Kind of Day: Poems
for Young People (Ralph Fletcher). Additionally, students will experience dramatic literature via
an introduction to the Tales of Shakespeare, including a study of the elements of drama and how
dramatic literature differs from (and is similar to) other literary forms. This TAG unit should
provide a basic introduction to the universality of Shakespeare as a seminal figure in world
literature.
Standards of Learning:
5.1a; 5.1b; 5.4d; 5.5; 5.5a; 5.5b; 5.5c;
5.5g; 5.5h; 5.5i; 5.5j; 5.5k; 5.6d; 5.6e;
5.6k
Suggested Time Frame:
3-4 weeks
Standards of Learning:
5.1a; 5.1c; 5.5a; 5.5b; 5.5c; 5.5d; 5.5h;
5.5j; 5.6
Suggested Time Frame:
5-6 weeks
Standards of Learning:
5.1a; 5.2a; 5.2b; 5.2c; 5.2d; 5.2f; 5.2g;
5.2h; 5.2i; 5.4d; 5.4g; 5.5a; 5.5d; 5.5e;
5.6d; 5.6j
Suggested Time Frame:
3 weeks
Spiraling Standards: (As specified in the procedural and declarative knowledge, these standards spiral though the entire fifth
grade ELA curriculum): 5.4a; 5.4b; 5.4c; 5.4e; 5.4f; 5.5/5.6; 5.5l/5.6l; 5.5m/5.6m. Supplemental texts used through the year
include Jacob’s Ladder; Day Book of Critical Reading; Wordly Wise 3000: Book 6; Grammar Voyage (Michael Thompson).