Year 5
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of language, literature and literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together, the strands focus on developing students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit and strengthen these as needed.
In Years 5 and 6, students communicate with peers and teachers from other classes and schools, community members, and individuals and groups, in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view, interpret and evaluate spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These include various types of media texts including newspapers, film and digital texts, junior and early adolescent novels, poetry, non-fiction and dramatic performances.
The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Years 5 and 6 as independent readers describe complex sequences, a range of non-stereotypical characters and elaborated events including flashbacks and shifts in time. These texts explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas within real-world and fantasy settings. Informative texts supply technical and content information about a wide range of topics of interest as well as topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. Text structures include chapters, headings and subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries. Language features include complex sentences, unfamiliar technical vocabulary, figurative language, and information presented in various types of graphics.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, explanations and discussions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 5, students explain how text structures assist in understanding the text. They understand how language features, images and vocabulary influence interpretations of characters, settings and events.
When reading, they encounter and decode unfamiliar words using phonic, grammatical, semantic and contextual knowledge. They analyse and explain literal and implied information from a variety of texts. They describe how events, characters and settings in texts are depicted and explain their own responses to them. They listen and ask questions to clarify content.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students use language features to show how ideas can be extended. They develop and explain a point of view about a text, selecting information, ideas and images from a range of resources.
Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for different purposes and audiences. They make presentations which include multimodal elements for defined purposes. They contribute actively to class and group discussions, taking into account other perspectives. When writing, they demonstrate understanding of grammar using a variety of sentence types. They select specific vocabulary and use accurate spelling and punctuation. They edit their work for cohesive structure and meaning.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
- Plus Plan
Types of Assertions Sorting Activity
Explore types of assertions with this interactive sorting activity that helps students distinguish between bare, generalised and supported assertions.
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Derivational Suffixes Teaching Slides
Teach how derivational suffixes can transform words and their meanings with this comprehensive teaching presentation for upper primary students.
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Different Types of Topic Sentences Worksheet Pack
Teach different types of topic sentences with this engaging set of worksheets that introduce, model and reinforce effective paragraph writing in the classroom.
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Formal vs Informal Language Sorting Activity
Engage students in identifying formal vs informal language with this sorting activity that helps build understanding through real-world sentence examples.
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Language and Social Contexts Matching Game
Explore language and social contexts with this fun matching activity that helps students understand how our speech changes depending on the situation.
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Debate Speaker Roles Poster Pack
Download and display these colourful classroom posters that clearly explain every debate speaker role for each member of a debating team.
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Biography of an Immigrant Writing Project
Uncover the untold stories of migrants with an enriching biography research project for upper primary students.
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Self-Monitoring Reading Activities
Explore how to monitor reading while reading with this set of Self-Monitoring Reading Activities task cards.
- Free Plan
Monitoring Comprehension Strategies Text Annotations Poster
Help students monitor their comprehension with this Monitoring Comprehension Reading Strategy using text annotations.
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Persuasive Letter Prompts Task Cards
Use these persuasive letter prompts to get your students writing convincing persuasive letters on a variety of topics.
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Editing and Revising Checklist Pack
Download this editing and revising checklist pack to support your students when revising and editing their written work.
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Genre of the Month - Writing Prompt Grids (Upper)
Introduce your students to a variety of writing genres with our printable genre-specific writing prompt grids.
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The Olympic Games - Comprehension Task
Encourage students to apply a range of comprehension and writing skills when finding out interesting fun facts about the Olympics with a printable reading comprehension task.
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Australian Conservationists: Miranda Gibson – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Miranda Gibson and her conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Paired Passage Worksheets - Thunderstorms
Use paired passages to help your student practise applying reading comprehension strategies.
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What's the Connection? Worksheet
Use this reading skills worksheet to help your students learn about the types of text connections: text-to-text, text-to-self and text-to-world.
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Inspirational Authors – Speechwriting Project
Get you students to research and celebrate an inspirational author with this speechwriting activity.
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Snag-a-Suffix Claw Machine Interactive Review Game
Review knowledge of suffixes with an exciting interactive claw machine game!
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The World's Oceans - Comprehension Worksheet
Explore the world’s five oceans with this detailed comprehension passage and related questions.
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Dictionary Definitions Match Up Game
A set of 20 word cards for students to match to their definition.
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Formation of Earth - Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Combine reading and science content with a reading comprehension worksheet that focuses on the formation of Earth.
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Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Year 5
A visual display for your classroom to help students 'bump up' their persuasive writing.
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Explanation Text Template
Use this explanation text template to help your students correctly structure their explanatory writing.
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Reading Response Journal Task Cards
9 reading comprehension task cards focusing on a different skill.
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Life Without Tacos – Comprehension Task
A comprehension passage and accompanying worksheet about cultural diffusion.
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Informative Writing Bump It Up Wall – Year 5
A visual display for your classroom to help students ‘bump up’ their informative writing.
- Free Plan
Letter to the Editor (Voting Rights) – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a letter to the editor from the Year 6 magazine (Issue 3).
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J. K. Rowling Biography and Worksheet
Download this J.K. Rowling biography and worksheet, designed to help students learn about the life, education and writing career of the world-famous author.
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NAIDOC Week Connection to Country Word Search - Upper Primary
A NAIDOC Week Connection to Country Word Search suitable for upper primary school students.
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Year 5 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 2) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 2 of Teach Starter's Year 5 magazine.
- Free Plan
Explanation Text Research Template
A research template for students to use when writing an explanation text.
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Year 5 Dictation Passages PowerPoint
Use this set of Year 5 dictation passages to promote listening and transcription skills in your students.