You may like to know what students will learn in 5th grade ELA. It is a class about making the most out of reading, and learning ways to express ideas in speaking and writing. We study 10 units from Benchmark. These units include fiction and non-fiction with a wide range of topics, some of which link to science and social studies content. One highlight is the Water unit. We connect this to Dowling's environmental focus and our location on the Mississippi River.

Class time each Friday is spent on Writer's Workshop. Students will have one or two big writing assignments each quarter. These may include a narrative, an opinion essay, an informational report, and a speech. It is important to learn the structures that make a sentence, paragraph, and story or essay during this year.

There will also be time for guided or independent reading during the ELA class period. We have lots of support to help students advance their reading level. We partner with neighbors for the Becketwood Buddies in which 8 students each session have a 1-to-1 reading tutor. We also work in class with the ELL teacher and reading specialist. Students reading at grade level will be at letter S,T and U. 

Reading at home is very important. We assign a reading log, spelling, and Dreambox as homework weekly. Students and families should regularly review student planners.