5th Grade

On this page, you will find low and high tech resources for 5th Grade students.

• Students will read aloud or independently every day. Make this a consistent routine every day--choose a time and a special place in your home.

• As students read the book, they will answer:

• What is this book mostly about? (Think main idea.) What did you learn in this book? (If fiction, think about the text’s lesson; if nonfiction, think about the topic.) Jot your ideas on paper.

• Students will think about what they already know related to the book or what the book reminds them of. Share their thinking with someone or write their thoughts down on paper.

• Students will For stories: Think about the characters, setting, problem, solution and events in the text. Who was in the story? When and where did it happen? What was the problem and how was it solved? What happened in the story? Jot your ideas down on paper.

• Students will answer the following:

• Ask yourself, “What were the author’s feelings about this character or topic? How do you know?” Share your thinking with someone or write your thoughts down on paper.

• Students will write a response to the book read or heard. What was the text about? What did you learn?

• To refine your phonics or reading comprehension skills, watch a BrainPOP Jr. video daily and complete the associated video tasks.

  • CLICK | BrainPOP Jr. - Offers free access during school closures. Click on the banner at the top of the page and set up a family account to access many Reading and Writing videos and activities.

• In order to learn about a grade level appropriate topic through reading, choose an activity from Scholastic Learn at Home or ReadWorks.com and complete the tasks associated with the texts.

  • CLICK | Scholastic Learn at Home - 20 days of cross-curricular learning experiences based on stories, videos, and learning challenges.

  • CLICK | ReadWorks.com - Create a free account and choose texts according to grade level and topicTo refine your phonics, grammar, or reading comprehension skills, watch a BrainPOP video daily and complete the associated video tasks.

• Have students track current events using Newsela and keep a journal to record their opinions about what is happening in the world. Some questions students can respond to are:

  • What was the main idea or argument?

  • What details were shared to support this?

  • What’s really sticking with you?

  • What new questions do you have after reading this? (Then encourage students to research answers to their questions.)

  • CLICK | NewsELA - Sign up for a free account. Use this site to find articles about current events that your child is interested in for them to read and answer questions. Adjust texts to match your student’s grade level.

• Locate a nutritional facts label on a food product. How many calories, fat, sodium and carbohydrates are in the product? Record your findings.

• Create a word problem using the nutritional facts label. Solve the word problem.

• Use a deck of cards or make cards with paper and a writing utensil (numbers 1-10, remember the Ace has a value of 1). Ask a friend or guardian to play with you. You will each flip two cards and multiply the numbers. Whoever has the higher product wins and keeps the cards. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins. Be sure to explain how you know you won the battle. “I win because the product of ____ and ____ is _____. That is greater than the product of _____ and ____ which is _____.

• Find the length and width of your front yard, parking lot, table, or a room where you live. In your journal determine the perimeter and area. If you do not have a measurement tool, you can make one up (my room is 20 steps long and 12 steps wide, etc.).

• Determine the volume of 5 containers. Display the containers by volume order from least to greatest. Record the volume of your containers in your journal including the length, the width and height.

• With your guardian, think about the different states of matter that you experience everyday.

  • CLICK | Hang mouse; change of state - Review the water cycle and changes of state using this fund game

• With your guardian, identify state changes and determine the boiling and freezing point of water (Physical properties of matter: States of Matter, phase changes).

  • CLICK | Changes of state simulation - Use this simulation to determine the boiling and freezing point of water.

• With your guardian, think about and identify the different forms of energy that you interact with everyday? Review your knowledge.

  • CLICK | Forms of energy Quiz - Take the quiz and check your answers

• With your guardian, try to find a ladybug where you live. Research the life cycle of a ladybug and draw the life cycle.

  • CLICK | Read about the ladybug’s life cycle - Read about the life cycle and then draw a simple life cycle

• With your guardian, design and create an invention to solve a problem. Write a description to explain the purpose of the invention and the problem it solves.

• With your guardian, complete a coderZ challenge.

  • CLICK | Stechchallenges - All challenges are due by 3/30 midnight

• Watch a short news segment together (ex. CNN 10 - we recommend parents preview beforehand) or read a current events article and discuss using any of the following prompts:

  • What is the main idea/argument?

  • What details support the main idea?

  • What’s really sticking with you?

  • Is this source trustworthy? Why or why not?

  • What new questions do you have after watching this?

  • Research answers to the questions you listed. How does this new information help you better understand the main idea/argument?

  • CLICK | CNN 10 - 10-minute daily news show that covers stories of international significance & clearly describes why they're making news, who is affected, and how they fit into a complex, international society.

• Process and synthesize learning from any text (this includes primary documents, articles, videos, etc.) by creating a one-pager. For additional guidance on one-pagers, see these resources:

  • Overview & Tips for One-Pagers

  • Printable Templates for One-Pagers (free)

• Students create their own primary sources through daily journaling in a notebook (½ to 1 page). Journal entries should include name, date, and location (Alief, Houston, TX)

• Students reflect/discuss:

  • What have I seen today?

  • How do I feel?

  • What is changing in the world compared to how I experienced the world before?

• After watching a video, reading an article, or taking a virtual field trip, have students process/synthesize their learning using any of the following strategies:

  • Sensory figure for one or more of the characters/people involved

  • Letter (ex. to a family member or friend) from the perspective of one of the characters/people involved

  • Illustrated timeline and/or summary (illustrations are an excellent way to process & show understanding in social studies!)

  • CLICK | Liberty’s Kids - Animated series that tells a narrative account of the American Revolution. Includes 40 episodes at 23 minutes each.

• Select two people to interview - a relative, family friend, or neighbor (virtually!) to write a 2-page historical narrative explaining different challenges people have faced and opportunities they have created at different times in history.

• Students can come up with their own interview questions or use these as a starting point:

  • When and where were you born?

  • Where did you grow up? How did you come to live here?

  • What was life like for you growing up?

  • What cultural traditions did your family have?

  • How is the world different from what it was like when you were a child?

  • What world events had the most impact on you growing up? How did they impact you?