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WAB Faculty & Staff

ES Literacy: Grade 5

READING

Phase 1: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding that print represents the real or the imagined world. They know that reading gives them knowledge and pleasure; that it can be a social activity or an individual activity. They have a concept of a “book”, and an awareness of some of its structural elements. They use visual cues to recall sounds and the words they are “reading” to construct meaning.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Illustrations convey meaning.
  • Print conveys meaning.
  • People read for pleasure.
  • Stories can tell about imagined worlds.
  • Printed information can tell about the real world.
  • There are established ways of setting out print and organizing books.
Phase 2: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding that language can be represented visually through codes and symbols. They are extending their data bank of printed codes and symbols and are able to recognize them in new contexts. They understand that reading is a vehicle for learning, and that the combination of codes conveys meaning.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • The sounds of spoken language can be represented visually.
  • Written language works differently from spoken language.
  • Consistent ways of recording words or ideas enable members of a language community to communicate.
  • People read to learn.
  • The words we see and hear enable us to create pictures in our minds.
Phase 3: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding that text is used to convey meaning in different ways and for different purposes—they are developing an awareness of context. They use strategies, based on what they know, to read for understanding. They recognize that the structure and organization of text conveys meaning.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Different types of texts serve different purposes.
  • What we already know enables us to understand what we read.
  • Applying a range of strategies helps us to read and understand new texts.
  • Wondering about texts and asking questions helps us to understand the meaning.
  • The structure and organization of written language influences and conveys meaning.
Phase 4: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding of the relationship between reading, thinking and reflection. They know that reading is extending their world, both real and imagined, and that there is a reciprocal relationship between the two. Most importantly, they have established reading routines and relish the process of reading.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Reading and thinking work together to enable us to make meaning.
  • Checking, rereading, and correcting our own reading as we go enable us to read new and more complex texts.
  • Identifying the main ideas in them text helps us to understand what is important.
  • Knowing what we aim to achieve helps us to select useful reference material.
Phase 5: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding of the strategies authors use to engage them. They have their favorite authors and can articulate reasons for their choices. Reading provides a sense of accomplishment, not only in the process, but in the access it provides them to further knowledge about, and understanding of, the world.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Authors structure stories around significant themes.
  • Effective stories have a structure, purpose and sequence of events (plot) that help to make the author’s intention clear.
  • Synthesizing ideas and information from texts leads to new ideas and understanding.
  • Reading opens our minds to multiple perspectives and helps us to understand how people think, feel and act.

WRITING UNITS

Unit:
  • Descriptive Writing
Essential Questions:
  • What components make up a successful piece of descriptive writing?
  • How can descriptive writing be used to capture a reader's attention?
  • How can descriptive writing be used to create vivid imagery and evoke emotion?
  • What are the best ways to incorporate dialogue into a descriptive writing piece?
  • How can writing descriptively help an author to craft a story?
  • How can writing descriptively help to create a memorable character?
  • What writing strategies can be used to create a descriptive piece that effectively conveys meaning?
  • How can a writer use sensory details to create vivid descriptions?
  • What are the benefits of using descriptive writing to communicate a message?
Unit:
  • Power Paragraphs
Essential Questions:
  • What is the purpose of a power paragraph?
  • How can I identify the key components of a power paragraph?
  • How do I craft a strong introduction, supporting details, and a conclusion for my writing?
  • How can I use evidence to strengthen my point of view?
  • What types of transitions can I use to connect my ideas?
  • What strategies can I use to revise and edit my work?
  • How do I cite other authors in my own work to strengthen the message?
Unit:
  • Explanatory Writing
Essential Questions:
  • What is explanatory writing?
  • How can we use explanatory writing to explain a concept or idea?
  • How can we use specific details, facts, and examples to support our writing?
  • What techniques can we use to make our writing clear and engaging?
  • How can we use transitions and organization to improve the flow of our writing?
  • How can we use editing and revision to improve our writing?
  • What strategies can we use to craft effective explanations?
  • How can we evaluate our own explanatory writing for clarity and accuracy?
Unit:
  • Summary Writing
Essential Questions:
  • What is the purpose of writing a summary?
  • What strategies can students use to identify the most important information in a text?
  • How can students check for accuracy and completeness when summarizing a text?
  • How can students use what they know about summarizing to help them with other types of writing?
  • What is the best way to use evidence from a text when summarizing?
Unit:
  • Memoir
Essential Questions:
  • What is a memoir and why is it important to write one?
  • What are the elements that make up a strong memoir?
  • How can writers use their own personal experiences to craft a compelling story in their memoir?
  • How can writers use sensory details to effectively describe a scene from their past?
  • What techniques can writers use to help them create a vivid description of a past event?
  • How can writers use storytelling techniques to bring their memoir to life?
  • How can writers use dialogue and characterization to make their memoir more interesting?
  • How can writers organize their memoir in a way that captures their readers’ attention?
  • How can writers create a vivid atmosphere in their memoir that reflects their inner emotions?
  • How can writers edit and revise their memoir to ensure that it is effective and engaging?

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

Phase 1: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding of the value of speaking and listening to communicate. They recognize that sounds are associated with objects, or with symbolic representations of them. They are using language to name their environment, to get to know each other, to initiate and explore relationships, to question and inquire.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Spoken words connect us with others.
  • People listen and speak to share thoughts and feelings.
  • People ask questions to learn from others.
Phase 2: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding that sounds are associated with objects, events, and ideas, or with symbolic representations of them. They are aware that an object or symbol may have different sounds or words associated with it in different languages. They are beginning to be cognizant about the high degree of variability of language and its uses.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • The sounds of language are a symbolic way of representing ideas and objects.
  • People communicate using different languages.
  • Everyone has the right to speak and be listened to.
Phase 3: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding of the wide range of purposes of spoken language: that it instructs, informs, entertains, reassures; that each listener’s perception of what they hear is unique. They are compiling rules about the use of different aspects of language.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Spoken language varies according to the purpose and audience.
  • People interpret messages according to their unique experiences and ways of understanding.
  • Spoken communication is different from written communication—it has its own set of rules.
Phase 4: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding of the conventions associated with speaking and listening and the value of adhering to those conventions. They are aware that language is a vehicle for becoming knowledgeable; for negotiating understanding; and for negotiating the social dimension.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Taking time to reflect on what we hear and say helps us to make informed judgments and form new opinions.
  • Thinking about the perspective of our audience helps us to communicate more effectively and appropriately.
  • The grammatical structures of a language enable members of a language community to communicate with each other.
Phase 5: Overall Expectations
  • Learners are able to understand the difference between literal and figurative language; how to use language differently for different purposes. They are aware that they are building on their previous experiences and using language to construct new meaning.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Spoken language can be used to persuade and influence people.
  • Metaphorical language creates strong visual images in our imagination.
  • Listeners identify key ideas in spoken language and synthesize them to create their own understanding.
  • People draw on what they already know in order to infer new meaning from what they hear.

VIEWING AND PRESENTING

Phase 1: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding that the world around them is full of visual language that conveys meaning. They are able to interpret and respond to visual texts. Although much of their own visual language is spontaneous, they are extending and using visual language in more purposeful ways.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Visual language is all around us.
  • The pictures, images, and symbols in our environment have meaning.
  • We can enjoy and learn from visual language.
Phase 2: Overall Expectations
  • Learners identify, interpret, and respond to a range of visual text prompts and show an understanding that different types of visual texts serve different purposes. They use this knowledge to create their own visual texts for particular purposes.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • People use static and moving images to communicate ideas and information.
  • Visual texts can immediately gain our attention.
  • Viewing and talking about the images others have created helps us to understand and create our own presentations.
Phase 3: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an understanding that visual text may represent reality or fantasy. They recognize that visual text resources can provide factual information and increase understanding. They use visual text in a reflective way to enrich their storytelling or presentations, and to organize and represent information.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Visual texts can expand our database of sources of information.
  • Visual texts provide alternative means to develop new levels of understanding.
  • Selecting the most suitable forms of visual presentation enhances our ability to express ideas and images.
  • Different visual techniques produce different effects and are used to present different types of information.
Phase 4: Overall Expectations
  • Learners show an open-mindedness about the use of a range of visual text resources to access information. They think critically and are articulate about the use of visual text to influence the viewer. They are able to use visual imagery to present factual information, or to tell a story.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • Visual texts have the power to influence thinking and behavior.
  • Interpreting visual texts involves making an informed judgment about the intention of the message.
  • To enhance learning we need to be efficient and constructive users of the internet.
Phase 5: Overall Expectations
  • Through inquiry, learners engage with an increasing range of visual text resources. As well as exploring the viewing and presenting strategies that are a part of the planned learning environment, they select and use strategies that suit their own learning styles. They are able to make connections between visual imagery and social commentary. They show more discernment in selecting information they consider reliable. They are able to use visual imagery to support a position.
Conceptual Understandings:
  • The aim of commercial media is to influence and persuade viewers.
  • Individuals respond differently to visual texts, according to their previous experiences, preferences, and perspectives.
  • Knowing about the techniques used in visual texts helps us to interpret presentations and create our own visual effects.
  • Synthesizing information from visual texts is dependent upon personal interpretation and leads to new understanding.

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