Category Archives: fifth grade

Visiting Grandma: ELA Lesson 1

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This Common Core-aligned English/ Language Arts unit, combines ELA and indigenous history as your students follow in the footsteps of the grandchild on their visit to grandmother’s house.

In this first lesson, students receive a letter from grandmother.

📖Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.5.4
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

⏰LESSON TIME

45 minutes

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A device with a web-browser – PC, Mac or Chromebook – or phone or tablet

📃Summary

Students will be introduced to a 10-unit English/ Language Arts unit centered around a visit to their grandmother. In this first lesson, students receive and correct the grammar and spelling in their grandmother’s letter. The lesson ends with playing misspelled words and grammar sections of Making Camp Premium.

📚Lesson Plan

1. Introduce the Unit

This Google slides presentation introduces the unit. Students are given a letter to read and correct. The link to the letter is in the slides presentation, so you can open the presentation, read it to your students and then assign it on Google classroom. The presentation includes links to sound files to read the slides and letter to students to accommodate individual students. This presentation can be used in the classroom, in a web meeting or done individually by students at home.

1a. Assign reading letter and correcting errors

The letter is linked in the Google slide presentation. You can also find the link here.

The teacher answer key for the letter can be found here.

2. Play Making Camp Premium

Go to Making Camp Premium. Select WORDS and then go to the third screen.

Bottom left is misspelled words. Top right is grammar.

Play the game on the bottom left to practice spelling. The box on the top right will practice grammar. An example is shown below of a response after the student has answered correctly.

RELATED LESSON

The next lesson in this unit, letter to grandmother, focuses on organization in writing.

ASSESSMENT: Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering this standard by viewing your Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports. You can view the Making Camp Premium reports here. 

State Standards

Missouri Learning Standards (MLS)

Writing 1C (5.W.1.C.a-b) – Apply a writing process to develop a text for audience and purpose.

-Revise/Edit – Reread, revise, and edit drafts with assistance to do a variety of tasks as stated in a-b.

Language 1A (5.L.1.A.a-e) – Communicate using conventions of the English language.

-Grammar – In speech and written form, apply standard English grammar for a variety of reasons as stated in L.1.A. a-e.

Speaking/Listening 1A (5.SL.1.A.a-d) – Listen for a purpose.

-Purpose – Develop and apply effective listening skills and strategies in formal and informal settings by following SL.1.A. a-d.

Introducing Idioms

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📖STANDARDS: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.5.B Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.5.B Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

[For state-specific standards, click here.]

⏰LESSON TIME

45 minutes

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A device with a web-browser – PC, Mac or Chromebook – or phone or tablet

📃SUMMARY

This lesson plan helps students recognize and understand idioms and what they are through different examples. Students will be able to understand the meaning of common idioms through an instructive video, idiom book activity, and Making Camp Premium gameplay. 

📚Lesson Plan

1. VIDEO: Idioms

Start your lesson with this video that covers the meaning of idioms and understanding common idioms through different examples. 

2. Have your students make their own idiom book.

What you’ll need:

You can go about this in different ways. You can have students pick their favorite idioms. You can assign different idioms to different students. You can assign all students the same idiom. Or you can make it more like a game and random by having students draw out idioms. 

Once students have their idioms, have them write the idiom and what it actually means (this reinforces the memorization of the idiom’s meaning). Then have kids draw pictures as to what the idiom suggests. Students can then share their drawings with the class and see what fun ensues as they share their drawing and explain their idiom. 

3. GAME: Making Camp Premium

Have students play Making Camp Premium for 20 minutes. Students should focus on the WORDS section of Making Camp Premium and especially the idioms activity (the first box in the Words section) in order to reinforce the understanding of idioms. You can access Making Camp Premium on Mac, Windows, Chromebook, and iPad on the Games page of the Growing Math site.   

Choices screen from Making Camp Premium - Watch movies. Answer questions. Earn points.

ASSESSMENT: Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports

You can view your students’ progress on mastering this standard by viewing your Making Camp Premium Teacher Reports. You can view the Making Camp Premium reports here. 

STATE STANDARDS 

Arizona (AZ), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Minnesota (MN) and Oregon (OR) have all adopted the English Language Arts standards covered in the Common Core Standards. 

________________________

List of Idioms & Meaning

IdiomMeaning
Cool as a cucumber.To be calm and relaxed.
Going bananas!To go crazy; to get very excited or angry.
It costs an arm and a leg.To be very expensive.
Bite your tongue.To not say something that you want to say.
On thin ice.Being in a risky situation, usually one where you might upset someone.
Hit the books.To study. 
In hot water.To be in a difficult situation, in trouble. 
Smells fishy.Doesn’t seem quite right.
It’s a piece of cake.To be very easy.
Under the weather.To be sick; not feeling well. 
Raining cats and dogs.To be raining very hard.
More than you can shake a stick at. A great number; very many. 
Drive up the wall.To become frustrated or annoyed by something.
Break a leg!Good luck!
On cloud nine. To be very happy. 
Time is money.Work quickly. 
That ship has sailed.It’s too late. 
Like two peas in a pod.Always together. 
Fit as a fiddle.In good shape. 
On the fence.To be indecisive. 

Adding fractions with like denominators

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📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3.A Understand addition and subtraction of fractions as joining and separating parts referring to the same whole.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3.D Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole and having like denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.

[For state-specific standards, click here.]

⏰ LESSON TIME

45 minutes

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will explore how students can add fractions with like denominators to determine the sum of fractions. It incorporates two instructional videos, an editable presentation and educational game that can be used to practice/reinforce the concept with assessment data.    

📲 Technology Required

The teacher (or student, if learning at home) will need a computer, phone or tablet with an Internet connection to play the video. For students at home without Internet access, the teacher can print out the attached PDF or PowerPoint for students to study. The game required plays on Windows or Mac computers and on iPad. A Chromebook version will be available by April.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. VIDEO: Adding Like Fractions

Start your lesson with this one-minute video on adding fractions with like denominators.

Alternate format : POWERPOINT: Adding Fractions with Like Denominators

This presentation provides the information in the video viewed at the beginning of the lesson as a PowerPoint or PDF.

For a PDF version, go here. 

For an editable PowerPoint version, go here. 

2. Game Play

Have students play Fish Lake for 30 minutes. This lesson is most effective when introduced towards the beginning of Fish Lake gameplay since the math ties into the math in Level 3. Students who master this standard will be able to advance within the game. Students who have trouble with this standard will receive individual instruction within the game to teach and reinforce this concept. 

3. Reinforce with another video

Common denominators can help you determine what’s fair

This two-minute video gives examples of how fractions with like denominators can be used to see if everyone is doing their fair share of the work or eating a fair share of the pizza.

4. Related Lesson – Introducing Fractions

If your students are struggling with adding fractions with common denominators, they may need a review of the introduction to fractions, including defining numerator and denominator.

ASSESSMENT

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Fish Lake Teacher Reports. You can access the Fish Lake reports here. 

STATE STANDARDS

Arizona (AZ), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), and Oregon (OR) have all adopted the math standards covered in the Common Core Standards. 

Minnesota (MN) Math Standard 

4. Number and Operation 

Represent and compare fractions and decimals in real-world and mathematical situations; use place value to understand how decimals represent quantities.4.1.2.3 – Use fraction models to add and subtract fractions with like denominators in real-world and mathematical situations. Develop a rule for addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators.

Multiplying fractions with like denominators

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📖 STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.4 Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction or whole number by a fraction.

Click for individual state standards, or scroll to the bottom of the page.

⏰ LESSON TIME

45 minutes 

📃 SUMMARY

This lesson plan will explore how students can take what they already know about adding fractions with like denominators in order to grasp multiplying fractions with like denominators. It incorporates an instructional video, an editable presentation and an educational game that can be used to practice/reinforce the concept with assessment data. 

📲 Technology required

The game Fish Lake can be played on iPad, Mac or Windows computers. Internet is required to log in to the game with username and password. If Internet access drops, students can continue playing and their progress will be saved on the device and uploaded to the server whenever access is available. Fish Lake is available free to schools participating in the Growing Math project.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. VIDEO: Adding and Multiplying Fractions with Like Denominators

Start your lesson with this video on adding and multiplying fractions with like denominators.

Adding and multiplying fractions: Definitions and examples 3:33

This three-minute video begins with adding fractions with a common denominator. It explains that denominator is more than the number on the bottom, it is the number of parts the whole is divided into. Multiplying fractions with like denominators is shown, with examples, to be the same thing as adding the fraction multiple times.

Teaching Options

The video above is also available as editable PowerPoint presentation and as Google slides. Teachers may prefer to use these as part of a mini-lecture

2. GAME: Fish Lake

Have students play Fish Lake for 30 minutes. This game can be played on Mac, Windows and iPad. You can find the link on our games page. This lesson is most effective when introduced towards the beginning of Fish Lake gameplay since the math ties into the math in Level 3. Students who master this standard will be able to advance within the game. Students who have trouble with this standard will receive individual instruction within the game to teach and reinforce this concept.

ASSESSMENT

You can view your students’ progress on mastering these standards by viewing your Fish Lake Teacher Reports. You can access the Fish Lake reports here. 

STATE STANDARDS 

Arizona (AZ), New Mexico (NM), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), and Oregon (OR) have all adopted the math standards covered in the Common Core Standards. 

Minnesota (MN) Math Standard 

6. Number & Operation

Multiply and divide decimals, fractions and mixed numbers; solve real-world and mathematical problems using arithmetic with positive rational numbers. 

6.1.3.1 – Multiply and divide decimals and fractions, using efficient and generalizable procedures, including standard algorithms.

Subtracting Fractions: Like denominators

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📖 Standards

CCSS.Math.Content.5.NF.A.2 Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. Use benchmark fractions and number sense of fractions to estimate mentally and assess the reasonableness of answers. For example, recognize an incorrect result 2/5 + 1/2 = 3/7, by observing that 3/7 < 1/2.

📃 Summary

After this lesson, students will know how to solve multi–step word problems using addition and subtraction of fractions with like (common) denominators. After watching the video, students will login to “Aztech: The Story Begins” on a device with the website or application. Students will be faced with a fractions problem in Level 1 which uses a calendar to find the fraction of days students did homework. The game character points out that 16/31 may not be “all the time” but it is still more than half. Throughout the game, students will be presented with AzTech history.

⏰ Time required

30 -45 minutes, including individual assessment

📲 Technology required

The game in this lesson plan can be played on the web on any Chromebook, Mac or Windows computer with reliable Internet access. If students do not have high-speed Internet at home, the game can be pre-loaded on to iPads and played offline with no Internet required.

📚 Lesson Plan

1. Video: Adding Like Fractions

Adding fractions with common denominators 1:10

“Like fractions” are those with the same denominator. This is also called a common denominator. How do you add like fractions? This quick video from the game Fish Lake has simple examples of comparing fractions and fraction addition.

2. Presentation or video: When is a fraction the same as 1 ?

Understanding that N/N = 1 for any number 3:32

If the numerator and denominator are the same, then this fraction equals 1. N/N = 1 How can you apply your knowledge of fractions to help you figure out how far you’ve gone on your trip and how much further you have to go? Teachers can either have students watch the video or use this 27-slide presentation in both Google slides format and PowerPoint. Both include examples of fractions of 8/8 , 3/3 and 4/4 all equaling one. Examples include distance, money and a bowl of stew.

3. Game: Play AzTech – The Story Begins

Students will login to “Aztech: The Story Begins” on a device with the website or application. Students using Chromebook, Mac or Windows computers can play on the web here. Students using an iPad can download the app here. Throughout the game, students will be presented with Aztech history. Students will be faced with fraction and statistic examples, leading to similar problems that need to be solved.

Estimated time for this portion: 10 minutes.

Assessment

Individual Assessment

Use this template to have students create their own fraction equation.

It includes a calendar template and these instructions:

Use this template to show what you did most in the last month when you weren’t in school.  

  • First, make a copy in your own Google Drive.
  • Second, put a 1 in the calendar for the first day of this month and continue until all days of the month are filled. 
  • Third, make a picture or write what you did each day in each of the boxes. 
  • Fourth, write your own fraction equation like this:
    • On 11/31 of the days, I played games on the computer.
    • On  7/31 of the days I worked planting my garden
    • On 13/31 of the days I was doing homework.

11/31 + 7/31 + 13/31  =   31/31

Of course, if there are 28 or 30 days in the month, your denominator will be different.

Group Assessment

Use the video below to solve the problem from Level 1 in AzTech: The Story Begins as a group. This video shows the problem from level 1 on finding the fraction of days Xitlali did homework and gives a hint on how to solve it. Ask the students why Xitlali said that 16/31 was more than half. How did she know? Introduce the concept of equivalent fractions.

Fraction problem using a calendar

State Standards

Minnesota State Standard 4.1.2.3 – Use fraction models to add and subtract fractions with like denominators in real-world and mathematical situations. Develop a rule for addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators.