Grade 5 Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Quarter 1
AV-5-1: Define the meaning of unknown words by using context clues and the author’s use of definition, restatement
or examples.
We are learning to define unknown words using context clues.
We are looking for:
 words or sentences around an unknown word that help define the word.
 definitions, restatements or examples around an unknown word that help define the word.
AV 5-2: Use context clues to determine the meanings of synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homonyms, and
homographs.
We are learning to use context clues to infer the meaning of words.
We are looking for relationships (synonyms or antonyms) between an unknown word and the surrounding words that
give us clues about the meaning of the unknown word.
We are learning to use context clues to determine the meaning of words that are homophones—words that sound alike
but are spelled differently and have different meanings: hear/here.
We are looking for clues from the words that surround the homophone to infer the correct meaning of the word.
We are learning to use context clues to determine the meaning of words that are homographs—words that are spelled
alike but have different pronunciations and meanings: wind/wind.
We are looking for clues from the words that surround the homograph to infer the correct pronunciation and meaning of
the word.
We are learning to use context clues to determine the meaning of words that are homonyms—words that sound alike
AND are spelled alike which have different meanings: run/run
We are looking for clues from the words that surround the homonym to infer the correct meaning of the word.
RP 5-7: Answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print
texts and electronic and visual media.
We are learning to answer a literal question.
We are looking for facts, details or ideas stated directly in the text that answer the question.
IT-5-1: Use text features, such as chapter titles, headings, and subheadings; parts of books, including the index and
table of contents and online tools (search engines) to locate information.
We are learning to locate information in non-fiction texts.
We are looking for text features that help us locate information, such as:
 Chapter titles – identify the content in the chapter
 Headings and sub-headings – identify the content in the section
 Index – identifies the specific page(s) to find information within the text
 Table of Contents - identifies the page number where each section begins
 Search engine – lists websites where information can be found on the internet
LT-5-3: Identify the main incidents of a plot sequence and explain how they influence future action.
We are learning to identify main events of a plot.
We are looking for the important events that move the story forward.
Language Arts 5: Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Last revised: May, 2010
Quarter 2
AV5- 4: Identify and understand new uses of words and phrases in text, such as similes and metaphors.
We are learning to identify and explain figurative language in text.
We are looking for words or phrases that mean something other than what they actually say.
We are learning to identify and explain similes in text.
We are looking for a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as.
We are learning to explain metaphors.
We are looking for a comparison of two unlike things where the authors says one thing is another and how this
comparison helps us understand the text.
AV5-6: Apply the knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and roots and their various inflections to analyze the meanings of
words
We are learning to use prefixes to understand the meaning of a word.
We are looking for how the beginning part of a word (prefix) can
help us know what a word means.
RP 5-2: Predict and support predictions with specific references to textual examples that may be in widely separated
sections of text.
We are learning to make and support our predictions.
We are looking for specific examples/information in the text that show or tell what might happen in the text.
IT5-4: Summarize the main ideas and supporting details.
We are learning to summarize informational text.
We are looking for a short statement that includes the:
 main ideas from text
 details from text (examples or information) that support those main ideas
LT5-1: Explain how a character’s thoughts, words and actions reveal his or her motivations.
We are learning to explain character motivations
We are looking for patterns in a characters’ thoughts, words or actions that tell how or why the character
behaves in a certain way (motivation).
Language Arts 5: Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Last revised: May, 2010
LT5-4: Identify the speaker and explain how point of view affects the text.
We are learning to identify the narrator/speaker.
We are looking for whether the story is told by a narrator within the story (first person) or told by a narrator
outside the story (third person).
We are learning to explain how point of view affects the telling of the story.
We are looking for whether the author:
 reveals the narrator’s thoughts and motivations (first person).
 reports the events of the story but may or may not share knowledge of what the characters are
thinking (third person).
Language Arts 5: Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Last revised: May, 2010
Quarter 3
AV5-6: Apply the knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and roots and their various inflections to analyze the meanings of
words
We are learning to use suffixes to understand the meaning of a word.
We are looking for how the ending part of a word (suffix) can help us know what a word means.
RP 5-3: Make critical comparisons across texts
We are learning to use information from a text to make comparisons.
We are looking for what is different and what is the same about two or more things in a selection.
RP5-7: Answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print
texts and electronic and visual media. (Note: evaluation – weigh out, choose examples out of all of the possibilities)
We are learning to answer an inference question.
We are looking for details in the text together with our own ideas that can be used to support our conclusions.
We are learning to answer questions.
We are looking for information and descriptions that best supports our answers.
IT5-2: Identify, distinguish between and explain examples of cause and effect in informational text.
We are learning to explain cause and effect relationships.
We are looking for the relationship between two events:
 Cause: the reason an event happens
 Effect: situations that occur as a result of an event(s)
IT5-7: Analyze the difference between fact and opinion.
We are learning to tell the difference between facts and opinions.
We are looking for facts (what can be proven to be true) and opinions (what someone believes that is not fact).
LT5-2: Explain the influence of setting on the selection.
We are learning to describe the influence of the setting of a story.
We are looking for how the setting changes or affects the events in the story.
LT5-5: Summarize stated and implied themes.
We are learning to use examples from the text to explain the author’s theme.
We are looking for:
 Stated theme: The place in the text where the author directly states the important message or lesson.
 Implied theme: Repeated actions, words or thoughts of a character that lead us to the author’s lesson
or message.
We are learning to: summarize or name a stated or implied theme.
We are looking for a short sentence that name’s the important message or lesson of a text written in a way so
that it could apply to many other stories.
Language Arts 5: Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Last revised: May, 2010
Quarter 4
AV5-6: Apply the knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and roots and their various inflections to analyze the meanings of
words.
We are learning to use the word’s base or root to understand the meaning of a word.
We are looking for how the word’s base or root can help us know what a word means.
AV5-8: Determine the meanings and pronunciations of unknown words by using dictionaries, thesauruses, glossaries,
technology and textual features, such as definitional footnotes or sidebars.
We are learning to use tools to find the meaning of words.
We are looking for:
 Clues provided in the text to choose the appropriate meaning from the definitions listed for that word in the
dictionary
 the definition at the bottom of the page that tells the meaning of the word (definitional footnote)
 the meaning of the word as it is used in the text that can be found in a list at the end of the text (glossary)
 for the definition on the side of the page that tells the meaning of the word (sidebar)
We are learning to use tools to find the pronunciation of words.
We are looking for the symbols in parentheses that tell how to say the word.
IT5-5:
Analyze information found in maps, charts, tables, graphs and diagrams.
We are learning to analyze maps, charts, tables, graphs and diagrams.
We are looking for conclusions from information that is represented visually that helps the reader understand the topic.
LT5-7: Interpret how an author’s choice of words appeals to the senses and suggests mood.
We are learning to interpret how an author uses language to create mood.
We are looking for words or phrases that are used to create a feeling or atmosphere (mood) for the reader.
LT-5-8 Identity and explain the use of figurative language in literary works including idioms, similes, hyperbole,
metaphors and personification.
We are learning to identify and explain idioms in text.
We are looking for a phrase or sentence used as an expression that means something very different from what it
actually says.
We are learning to identify and explain hyperbole in text.
We are looking for words and phrases that show a deliberate exaggeration.
We are learning to identify and explain personification in text.
We are looking for a phrase or sentence in which human qualities are given to animals, ideas or objects.
We are learning to identify and explain personification in text.
We are looking for a phrase or sentence in which human qualities are given to animals, ideas or objects.
Language Arts 5: Learning Targets and Success Criteria
Last revised: May, 2010