Curriculum › Grade 5 › English Language Arts

Reading Harder Stories on Your Own

  • Grade 5
  • English Language Arts
  • RL.5.10
  • Reading: Literature
  • Free lesson

Aligned to RL.5.10 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

By fifth grade you can enjoy longer, trickier stories independently. When a part gets hard, slow down, reread, and picture what is happening.

Worked examples

Example 1

You hit a long chapter with old-fashioned words. You reread the confusing sentence, guess from clues around it, and keep the story moving.

Example 2

A long sentence with three clauses can be untangled by finding the main verb first, then attaching the rest to it.

Example 3

Abandoning a book is allowed. Abandoning it on page two because the first sentence was long is usually a mistake.

Practice questions

  1. Reread a tough paragraph and say it in your own words.
  2. List one strategy you use when a page gets confusing.
  3. Choose a challenging book and set a daily page goal.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Leer Historias Más Difíciles Solo

En quinto grado ya puedes disfrutar historias más largas y difíciles por tu cuenta. Cuando una parte se ponga difícil, ve más despacio, vuelve a leer e imagina lo que ocurre.

Ejemplo 1: Llegas a un capítulo largo con palabras anticuadas. Vuelves a leer la oración confusa, adivinas por las pistas de alrededor y sigues avanzando en la historia.

Ejemplo 2: Una oración larga con tres cláusulas se desenreda hallando primero el verbo principal y luego colgándole el resto.

Ejemplo 3: Está permitido abandonar un libro. Abandonarlo en la página dos porque la primera oración era larga normalmente es un error.

More Reading: Literature lessons

Quoting Accurately as EvidenceRL.5.1Finding the ThemeRL.5.2Comparing Characters & SettingsRL.5.3Similes, Metaphors & Word MeaningRL.5.4How the Parts Fit TogetherRL.5.5Whose Point of View?RL.5.6

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