5th Grade School Work: Learning and Comprehension Activities

Where Can I Find Learning and Comprehension Activities?

An easy place to start when developing practice activities for your son or daughter is with the teacher. Check with your child's teacher to find out exactly what subjects he or she needs extra help with and go from there. Many teachers can give you materials or books for at-home study. However, you can also find free enrichment materials on the Internet by grade level and subject.

Three Learning Activities for 5th Graders

Reading Comprehension

One of the most common activities for young students is answering comprehension questions based on a short reading passage. While younger children typically read fictional narratives and answer multiple-choice questions, 5th graders may read non-fiction stories, articles, poems and biographies. To encourage active reading, skip the multiple-choice questions, and ask your child to write a short essay about the content using details from the story to support his or her ideas. Not only does this encourage better engagement with the text, it also gives your child additional writing practice.

Writing Prompts

Prompts are a great way to encourage young writers to start writing, even when they have a tough time coming up with ideas. Begin by asking your child to complete a journal entry once per week based on simple topics you provide. For example, ask your son or daughter to discuss an activity that he or she has never tried before and why it might be fun. You could also ask your child to explain why something is important, like nutrition, recycling or education.

Story Element Analysis

In 5th grade, students must understand the elements of a story and how they contribute to the final text. To help your child improve his or her analytic skills, select a text that focuses on an obvious conflict or struggle and ask your child to read up until the climax. Then, have your child outline the problem, reasons the problem exists, characters involved and possible solutions. You may even have your child write his or her own ending to the story before finishing reading.