5th Grade Language Arts
Reading
Lesson 1
Inferences
What should you do when you don't fully understand a text?
To infer is to make a guess about a text based on what you have read. An inference is an idea that is drawn from a text. It is based on the details found in a text, but it is not something that is directly stated.
Readers who make inferences use the clues in the text along with their own experiences to help them figure out what is not directly said, making the text personal and memorable.
Watch this video to learn more about quoting texts!
Quoting From a Text
To explain what a text says, we can quote directly from the passage or book. Additionally, quoting from a text can help support inferences that we make from reading. There are a few things to remember when citing evidence:
Use the author's exact words
Use quotation marks
Tell where you found it
Always remember to ...
Read the text
Think about the question being asked
Search for specific parts of text to answer the question!
Let's Try it Out!
Practice citing textual evidence with these 4 passages! Read the text, then answer the questions using quotes from the passage!
Compare and Contrast Characters, Settings, and Events
Authors create relationships between characters, settings, and events in a text by developing the interactions among story elements. Good readers can identify the relationships between story elements by comparing and contrasting them.
When you compare two or more things, you find ways they are alike.
When you contrast two or more things, you find ways they are different.
Characters:
An author reveals information about a character through:
physical traits (both explicit and inferred)
actions
thoughts
dialogue
interactions with other characters
Compare any two characters based on the information listed above.
Setting:
A setting is where and when a story takes place. A setting can also affect the mood, or tone, of a story. Many stories often feature more than one setting at different moments throughout the story. Such different settings can sometimes change the mood of a story, either greatly or slightly.
The elements of a setting are:
Place --> Where does the story take place?
Time --> When does the story take place?
Environment --> How would you describe the place? What are the habitat and weather like? What plants, animals and other objects are in the place?
Use these elements to see how 2 or more settings are alike or different
Try it Out!
What is the setting of "The Lion King"?
Events:
The chronological order of events within a story is the order in which things happen. A story usually begins with an introduction to the characters and the problem encountered. The steps taken to solve the problem are additional events in a story. A story ends with the solution to the problem. All of these events, with the problem and solution as a central idea, make up the plot of a story. It helps to compare and contrast these events to better understand the changes that characters undergo
<-- Look at the events in the comic strip to the left!
Watch this video to learn more about comapring and contrasting!
Watch this video to learn more about figuring out what a word means using context clues!
Using Context Clues
When attempting to decipher the meaning of a new word, it is often useful to look at what comes before and after that word. The surrounding words can give readers helpful context clues about the meaning and structure of the new word, as well as how it is used.
Here are a few ways to figure out what a word means when you are reading and come across a new word:
1. Word Parts
The idea: Break down the different parts of a word—base word (word stem or root word), prefixes, and suffixes—to figure out what it means.
2. Synonym
The idea: Words next to the unknown word can be a clue that there is a synonym.
3. Example
The idea: There might be examples of the unknown word in the book, which can give us a clue to meaning.
There are more examples shown in the diagram on the left!
Figurative Language
Sometimes we come across figurative language while reading, and we don't know what it means. Using context clues can help us figure out the meaning of the word, so that we can understand and enjoy the story that we are reading!
Simile is a type of figurative language that compares two unlike things using the words like or as.
Metaphor is a type of figurative language that compares two unlike things using the word is.
Use the steps shown above and apply to figurative language!
Structure
There are four main structures (the way something is built up) in an informational text! Read about chronology, comparison, causation, and problem solving below!
Chronological order (sequential order)
Means that events occur in the order they happened. This structure is common in current events, history and in works of fiction or memoir. Nonfiction passages that are organized chronologically often contains dates. Fiction passages or narratives are more subtle and are organized chronologically but usually have no dates. A narratives or story is a journey through time, and all of the events are arranged in order of time; therefore, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Even if an author uses flashbacks, flash-forwards, or otherwise manipulates the time in his or her text, the events still occur along a timeline.
Remember: Chrono = Time Logic = Order Stories are told chronologically or in order of time
Example: This morning was crazy. My alarm clock was set for PM instead of AM, so I woke up really late. I just threw on some clothes and ran out the door. I rode my bike as fast as I could and thought that I was going to be late for sure, but when I got there everyone was outside and there were firetrucks all lined up in front of school. I guess somebody pulled the fire alarm before class started. It worked out though, because nobody really noticed or minded that I was tardy.
Compare and Contrast
Compare/contrast is a text structure or pattern of organization where the similarities and differences of two or more things are explored. It is important to remember that with the compare and contrast text structure the text should be discussing similarities and differences. If the text only discusses similarities, it is only comparing. Likewise, if it only discusses ways that the things are different, it is only contrasting. The text must do both to be considered compare and contrast.
Example: Apples and oranges are both fruits, which means that they have seeds inside of them. Each has a skin, but orange skins are thick and easy to peel. Apple skins are thinner and do not peel easily. Oranges also contain more acid than apples, but both fruits are delicious.
Here are some signal words that may indicate that the text is written using the compare and contrast organizational pattern: like, unlike, both, neither, similar, and different.
Try it Out!
How are lemons and limes similar and different!
Look at this video! Do you see how each action causes the next action whenever the ball moves?
Cause and Effect
Causation is a common way to organize information in a text. Paragraphs structured as cause and effect explain reasons why something happened or the effects of something. These paragraphs can be ordered as causes and effects or as effects and then causes. The cause and effect text structure is generally used in expository and persuasive writing modes. To put it another way: when an author gives reasons why something happened, he or she is explaining what caused an effect (reasons are causes and the thing that happens is the effect). Also, when a writer explains the results of an action, he or she is explaining the effects of a cause (results are effects and the thing that occurs is the cause).
Example:
Many people think that they can get sick by going into cold weather improperly dressed; however, illnesses are not caused by temperature- they are caused by germs. So while shivering outside in the cold probably won’t strengthen your immune system, you’re more likely to contract an illness indoors because you will have a greater exposure to germs.
Dominos cause eachother to fall!
Problem and Solution
is a pattern of organization where information in a passage is expressed as a dilemma or concerning issue (a problem) and something that was, can be, or should be done to remedy this issue (solution or attempted solution). The problem and solution text structure may seem like it would be easy to recognize, but it can be moderately difficult to identify because it is frequently confused with cause and effect as they both have relational structures; however, if you read the passage and look specifically for both a problem and a solution to the problem, you should find it pretty easy to distinguish from cause and effect, as cause and effect passages do not propose solutions to any negative occurrences within the passage but rather just explain why or how they happen.
Example:
Whenever Laila plays in the rain, her shoes are always muddy when she comes inside. Because of this, her mom always gets mad at her. To keep Laila's shoes from making the house dirty, her mom puts a rubber mat outside the door for Laila to wipe her feet on before coming inside. Now, Laila using the rug to clean her feet, which prevents the floor from getting muddy!
You try! What text structure is the following passage?
Students are not allowed to chew gum in my class. While some students think that I am just being mean, there are many good reasons for this rule. First, some irresponsible students make messes with their gum. They may leave it on the bottoms of desks, drop it on the floor, or put it on other people’s property. Another reason why I don’t allow students to chew gum is because it is a distraction. When they are allowed to chew gum, students are more worried about having it, popping it, chewing it, and snapping it then they are in listening, writing, reading, and learning. This is why I don’t allow students to chew gum in my class
It is cause and effect! The cause is gum makes messes in the classroom, and it is a distraction, so the effect is that students are not allowed to chew gum.
Point of View
Point of view refers to how the person is telling the story or “speaking.”
Point of view (POV) is what the character or narrator telling the story can see (his or her perspective). The author chooses “who” is to tell the story by determining the point of view. Depending on who the narrator is, he/she will be standing at one point and seeing the action. This viewpoint will give the narrator a partial or whole view of events as they happen.
There are THREE main types of Point of View! Look at them below!
1st Person
The subject is the one telling the story! In 1st Person, "I" or "we" are used as pronouns because the speaker is doing the action!
2nd Person
The speaker is telling what "You" are doing. This can also be thought of as talking to the reader! For example, "You eat a pie," is in 2nd Person!
3rd Person
The speaker is telling the story of what someone else is doing. In 3rd person, pronouns like "he" "she" and "they" are used.
To gain a deeper understanding of the texts that we read, let's analyze how particular point of view affects the story. Imagine the story told from a different point of view (from first to third person, or third person omniscient to third person neutral, etc.). We can ask ourselves:
What would change in the story? Would we gain new knowledge from the new point of view, or would we miss out on important information?
Would we feel differently about one or more of the characters if the story was told from a different point of view? Why or why not?
Compare and Contrast Stories in the Same Genre
Comparing and contrasting how stories in the same genre approach similar themes and topics will deepen your understanding and enjoyment of each story!
Stories are grouped by genre, such as mystery, adventure, or science fiction. Stories in the same genre often have similar themes and topics. The theme is the message of the story, such as "friends are always there for you." The topic is the subject of the story, such as horses or time travel.
To compare and contrast stories, we can use a Venn Diagram, like the one shown below!
