5th Grade Lesson Plan Ideas for Parents and Teachers

Ideas for 5th Grade Lessons

Character Posters

In 5th grade, students are expected to become close readers and to use specific quotes from the text. Read a novel with your child or students, and then have them create a poster for a character in the novel. The poster should feature a picture of the character that is based on the descriptions in the text. Next to each feature, the students should provide a quotation in the text as evidence. For instance, if the character has red hair, there should be a quote that mentions that the character's hair is red. This activity is not only fun and creative, but also reinforces the need for close reading.

Real-World Language

Figurative language can be difficult for 5th grade students to understand because it's abstract; however, they most likely use figurative language on a daily basis without even realizing it. Ask students to brainstorm idioms that they frequently use, such as 'that test was a piece of cake.' This idiom is an example of an everyday metaphor because it's comparing the test directly to a piece of cake. It means that the test was painless and easy to complete. Once students realize that they already use figurative language, it can make the concept less intimidating and more accessible.

Fraction Fun

In 5th grade, students add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. To accurately do this, students must have a firm understanding of fraction equivalency because they must find a common denominator for both fractions. For instance, when adding 1/2 and 1/4, they must be able to find an equivalent fraction for 1/2 that has a denominator of four (e.g., 2/4).

Practice at home or in the classroom with drawings. Using the above example, have students draw two circles. The first circle should be divided into halves and one part should be colored to represent the fraction 1/2. Divide the second circle into four equal parts and color one part for the fraction 1/4. Explain that, to add these fractions, the denominators need to be the same, so you must divide the first circle into fourths. As a result, you have a total of three parts colored, which can be translated into the following equation: 2/4 + 1/4 = 3/4.