Integrated Language Arts - Writing - Grade 5 Writing Home


	GRADE 5 WRITING OVERVIEW

What children will study this year:
Reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking in language are all parts of the Integrated Language Arts program. The curriculum combines:

• skill instruction.
• many types of literature (fiction and nonfiction).
• independent reading to help children become capable readers who enjoy
reading for information and pleasure.
• opportunities to write stories and reports.

Children learn to:
• read increasingly difficult materials.
• become familiar with well-known authors.
• develop reading interests and personal tastes.
• read widely for personal and school purposes.
• identify main ideas and supporting details.
• retell main events in sequence.
• use phonics and context to decode words.
• expand their vocabulary.
• read and apply technical instructions.
• read and use data to understand information in other content areas such as science and math.
• interpret and evaluate information by distinguishing fact from opinion.
• interpret figurative language.
• make predictions and understand ideas the author doesn't directly say.

Children use language as they:
• learn the essential process of writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing.
• are taught four major kinds of writing: descriptive, narrative,
persuasive/argumentative, and expository.
• are taught a process for doing simple research: gathering information,
taking notes, identifying relationships among ideas, forming groups of
ideas, labeling ideas with broad classifications, and making an outline.
• use the writing process to produce reports about topics they are studying or personal experience stories and compositions.
• receive instruction in grammar, in usage of punctuation and in capitalization.
• are given opportunities to write every day.

In addition to receiving instruction in the formal types of writing, students write in writer's notebooks and use their writing skills in all content areas. Students also have many opportunities to learn to present their ideas orally and to practice active listening.

What you can do at home:
• Surround your child with reading materials of various types: novels and
biographies, fiction and nonfiction, newspapers, poetry and magazines.
Encourage your child to read for a variety of reasons -- to find information
on a topic, to learn something new and for enjoyment.
• Let your child see you reading books. Share your favorite books and
authors with your child. Make sure that he or she knows that you value
and enjoy reading. Try to have both males and females model reading and
writing.
• Read some of the books your child reads so you can discuss and share
the book.
• Ask to see your child's writing. Encourage and praise all efforts.
Encourage him or her to write at home. Encourage your child to keep daily
journals or journals when on a family trip.
• Watch a television report with your child. Discuss the "point of view" of the
reporter.
• As you and your child read or listen to something together, discuss fact and
opinion. Ask your child to support facts with details from what they read
or heard.
• Encourage your child to write cards and letters to friends and relatives.
• Visit the library as a family.
• Encourage your child to look for interesting words. Make a contest out of
finding interesting, challenging and unusual words.
• Help your child see reading and writing as pleasant experiences.


	PROGRAM AND GRADE LEVEL UNDERSTANDINGS

Program Understandings	K	1	2	3	4	5
1. Students will understand that effective readers use non-fiction and fiction from print and non-print texts to • acquire knowledge • meet personal, workplace, and societal needs as critical and creative thinkers • develop understanding of United States and world cultures, historical and literary time periods, and a variety of fiction and nonfiction genres • gain understanding of human experience.
2. Students will understand that effective readers use a variety of strategies* to • comprehend , interpret, evaluate, analyze, and appreciate print and non-print texts • transfer knowledge (about content, language, and text structures) gained from reading to writing.
3. Students will understand that effective writers use a variety of strategies* to • create print and non-print texts for different audiences and purposes • write effectively using the writing process: (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing).	Students will understand that writers consider the audience and purpose when choosing their mode to communicate. Students will understand that effective writers use a process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) in order to communicate.	Students will understand that writers consider the audience and purpose when choosing their mode to communicate. Students will understand that effective writers use a process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) in order to communicate.	Students will understand that writers consider the audience and purpose when choosing their mode to communicate. Students will understand that effective writers use a process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) in order to communicate.	Students will understand that writers consider the audience and purpose when choosing their mode to communicate. Students will understand that effective writers use a process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) in order to communicate.	Students will understand that writers consider the audience and purpose when choosing their mode to communicate. Students will understand that effective writers use a process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) in order to communicate.	Students will understand that writers consider the audience and purpose when choosing their mode to communicate. Students will understand that effective writers use a process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) in order to communicate.
4. Students will understand that effective communication with a variety of audiences for different purposes requires • adapting their oral and written expression and visual images to their specific purpose (e.g., to learn, convince, analyze, entertain, and share ideas) • listening and viewing reflectively and critically • recognizing and respecting the various dialects and speech patterns used within diverse regions and cultures, ethnic and social groups.
5. Students will understand that research and use of technology includes: • asking questions, examining problems and considering ideas that focus on issues and interests • seeking information from print and non-print resources, online databases, and appropriate internet sites • finding, evaluating, summarizing, and synthesizing information from a variety of sources and perspectives • sharing the findings in presentations appropriate to the purpose and audience • documenting sources and respecting intellectual property.

* designates: (Strategies such as--- activating background and vocabulary knowledge, questioning, predicting, making connections, interacting with other readers and writers, using their awareness of graphics, text features, media techniques and genre characteristics; and employing their knowledge of sounds and letters, sentence and language structure, spelling, punctuation, and figurative language)