Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 5 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)
Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Speaking & Listening · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What SL.5.6 Means in Plain English
Fifth graders change how they talk to fit who is listening and why. “Wanna do the volcano part?” is fine with a partner. Presenting to the class, or asking the principal for something, calls for full sentences, standard grammar and no slang.
Fourth graders (SL.4.6) learn to tell formal situations from casual ones. Fifth grade asks them to shift their own speech across many tasks, drawing on the grammar of L.5.1 and the language choices of L.5.3. Sixth grade (SL.6.6) expects command of formal English when the task calls for it.
SL.5.6 I Can Statements
I can tell when a situation calls for formal English.
I can use complete sentences and no slang when I present.
I can switch back to casual talk with friends and partners.
SL.5.6 Worked Example
One request, two ways of saying it. Both are fine English somewhere, but only one fits a meeting with the principal.
Prompt
Your class wants a second recess on Friday afternoons. Ask the principal, Dr. Okafor, at the student council meeting.
Not YetHey, so like, we were kinda thinking, can we get another recess on Fridays? ’Cause everybody’s super tired and stuff. Pleeease?That is how friends talk at lunch, and it works there. In front of the principal at a meeting, the slang, the trailing “and stuff” and the begging make the request easy to wave off.
Meets the StandardGood afternoon, Dr. Okafor. The fifth-grade classes would like to ask for a second recess on Friday afternoons. Our class kept track for two weeks, and we finished fewer assignments after two o’clock on Fridays than on any other day. A ten-minute break could help us finish the week strong. Thank you for considering it.A greeting, the request in one complete sentence, a reason with evidence and a polite close. Same request, but now it sounds like something a principal can say yes to.
Moves to Use
Ask who is listening and what the talk is for before you start.Use complete sentences and standard grammar for formal tasks.Trade slang and fillers like kinda, super and and stuff for precise words.Open with a greeting and close with thanks when speaking to an adult or an audience.Save casual talk for partners and small groups, where it fits.
Common Mistakes with SL.5.6
Thinking formal means fancy
“It is with the greatest pleasure that I humbly request…”
Try this: Show that formal means clear and complete, not long, and rewrite stiff sentences in plain words with standard grammar.
One voice for every audience
The same “So yeah, basically…” in a book talk and at the lunch table
Try this: Act out one message three ways, to a friend, to the class and to the principal, and have listeners name what changed.
Slipping back mid-talk
A formal opening, then “and it was, like, so cool” by the second minute
Try this: Have presenters listen to a recording of themselves, tally every filler word, then rehearse that section once more.
Random Name PickerFree ToolLoad the wheel with audiences (a best friend, the class, the principal, a visiting author) and have each student make the same request to whoever comes up.AudiencesOne requestWhole class