5th Grade Reading Books and Skills

Overview of 5th Grade Reading Skills

In 5th grade, students work on foundational reading skills, like phonics, word recognition and fluency. Your child will practice decoding multisyllabic words using his or her knowledge of affixes, roots and syllabication patterns. He or she will also learn to read grade-level poetry and prose aloud with fluency and accuracy, and self-correct mistakes using context.

Students in 5th grade also work with informational texts from areas like social studies, science and technology. They learn to use quotes from the text to support inferences and cite details from the text when they explain its main idea. They'll also practice comparing different accounts of a single topic or event and compare and contrast the structures of texts.

At this grade level, students identify themes in literature and compare and contrast approaches taken by different texts with similar themes. In addition, they work on interpreting metaphors and similes, as well as understanding point of view and use of visual elements.

Finding 5th Grade Reading Books

Your child's teacher or a public librarian may be able to offer you age-appropriate books for your 5th grade child. If your elementary school has a library, the library staff may also have lists available.

Scholastic offers a wealth of reading lists designed to promote reading to all children. Kids can use The Stacks website to connect with their favorite books and authors through TV tie-ins and games. By completing the free registration, your child can access the blog, make friends with other 'stackers' and participate on message boards.

Parents can also participate with their child through a parents' page, which has printable reading worksheets and 'must-read' selections by topic and grade level. In addition, parents can conduct a book search by selecting books according to age, subject and genre.

Reading Rockets is another website offering plentiful resources for reading. Here you can find many ways to motivate your child to read. Themed book lists, author video interviews and summer book lists help engage your child throughout the year.

Parents can also find out how to connect their child to just the right book, set up a home library or hook a reluctant reader. Links are available to award-winning book lists and sites that can help you find free or low-cost books for your 5th grader.