Grade 5

Reading: Literature—Grade 5

Although your students aren't diving into Ulysses or Moby-Dick quite yet (and if they are, then give them all of the gold stars), the fifth grade is an important transitional year for them as they approach increasingly complex works of literature. As such, the fifth grade Common Core Standards for Reading Literature focus on building the foundation of analytic skills that will propel them forward in their educational career.

If you've encountered the fourth grade Common Core Standards for Reading Literature, then the ones for fifth grade should sound pretty familiar. In the fourth grade, for the first time, students were asked to analyze their reading by breaking down themes. Heady stuff. This year, we'll be taking things up a notch, adding the concept of "comparison and contrast" (see RL.5.3 and RL.5.9) to the mix.

In other words, it's time to amp up the literary ante. But as long as you focus on these standards, it shouldn't be long until your students go all in and decide to play the literary analysis game for keeps.

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