Louisiana Standards
Louisiana 5th Grade ELA Standards
All 43 Louisiana English language arts standards for 5th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Louisiana Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.
43 standards
Reading Standards for Literature
9 standardsRL.5.1
Quote the exact words from a story that prove an answer, whether the story says it outright or only hints at it.
RL.5.2
Work out the theme of a story, play or poem from how its characters face challenges or how a poem’s speaker reflects, then summarize it.
RL.5.3
Compare two or more characters, settings or events in a story, using specific details such as how the characters treat each other.
RL.5.4
Figure out word and phrase meanings in a text, including figurative language like metaphors and the connotations, or shades of feeling, words carry.
RL.5.5
Explain how the chapters of a novel, the scenes of a play or the stanzas of a poem build on one another to shape the whole.
RL.5.6
Describe how the narrator’s point of view colors the way events are told, like the same argument retold by each sibling.
RL.5.7
Analyze how pictures and multimedia add to a text's meaning, tone or beauty, like the art in a graphic novel or a myth told with images and sound.
RL.5.9
Compare how two stories of the same kind, such as two mysteries, handle a similar theme or topic in different ways.
RL.5.10
Read and understand stories, plays and poems at the top of the grades 4 to 5 difficulty range independently by year’s end.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
10 standardsRI.5.1
Quote the exact words from a story that prove an answer, whether the story says it outright or only hints at it.
RI.5.2
Find two or more main ideas in an informational text, show which details support each one, and summarize the text.
RI.5.3
Explain how two or more people, events or ideas in a history, science or how-to text connect, using facts the text gives.
RI.5.4
Work out the meaning of school words like analyze and subject words like photosynthesis in a text on a grade 5 topic.
RI.5.5
Compare and contrast how two texts are structured, like one told in time order and one organized by cause and effect or problem and solution.
RI.5.6
Read several accounts of the same event and note how the writers’ points of view agree and differ.
RI.5.7
Pull information from several print or online sources to answer a question quickly or solve a problem efficiently, like using two websites and a book.
RI.5.8
Explain which reasons and evidence an author gives for each point in an informational text, matching each piece of support to its point.
RI.5.9
Combine facts from several texts on one topic, then write or speak about it like someone who has done the reading.
RI.5.10
Read and understand history, science and technical texts at the top of the grades 4 to 5 difficulty range independently by year’s end.
Reading Standards for Foundational Skills
2 standardsRF.5.3
Say the main sound of each consonant, know the long and short sounds of a, e, i, o and u, and read common sight words like the, of and you.
RF.5.4
Read 1st-grade books aloud smoothly and accurately with expression, understand them, and reread when a word or sentence does not make sense.
Writing Standards
10 standardsW.5.1
Write an opinion piece that introduces the topic, states the opinion, gives reasons backed by facts, links them with phrases like for instance, and closes.
W.5.2
Write an informative piece that introduces a topic, groups related facts and definitions, links them with words like also, and closes with a final sentence.
W.5.3
Write a story, real or made up, that sets the scene, introduces the characters, uses dialogue and time words like later, and ends with a sense of closure.
W.5.4
Write clearly and logically, developing and organizing ideas to suit the task, purpose and readers, like an essay that groups related points in paragraphs.
W.5.5
With help from classmates and adults, plan, revise, edit, rewrite or try a new approach to make writing stronger, like retelling a story from a new angle.
W.5.6
With some guidance from adults, publish grade-level writing using technology, working alone or with a partner, like a class blog post or digital poster.
W.5.7
Do a short research project that looks at several sides of a topic, such as a planet’s size, surface and moons, using several sources.
W.5.8
Gather facts from memory, books and websites, restate them in notes and the finished piece instead of copying, and list the sources.
W.5.9
Use evidence from fifth grade stories and nonfiction to support analysis, reflection and research, like comparing two characters using details from the text.
W.5.10
Write regularly, from a report built over several days to a journal entry finished in one class, for different subjects, purposes and readers.
Speaking and Listening Standards
6 standardsSL.5.1
Join discussions on grade 5 topics prepared, follow the group’s rules and roles, build on others’ comments with questions, and sum up what was learned.
SL.5.2
Give a short summary of a text read aloud or of information shown in a video, a chart or a talk.
SL.5.3
Sum up a speaker’s main points, such as in a classmate’s persuasive talk, and tell which reasons and evidence back each claim.
SL.5.4
Give a talk on a topic, a book or an opinion with ideas in a sensible order, facts and details to back them, and clear speech at a steady pace.
SL.5.5
Add pictures, sound clips or a slide to a presentation when they help make the main ideas clearer.
SL.5.6
Adjust how you speak to fit different settings and tasks, using formal English when the task and audience call for it, like giving a report.
Language Standards
6 standardsL.5.1
Print many letters, use everyday nouns, verbs and little words like in and on, make plurals like dogs and wishes, ask with who and where, and speak in full sentences.
L.5.2
Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the word I, name the period and question mark, and spell simple words the way they sound, like kat for cat.
L.5.3
Notice the difference between formal and casual English, like Good morning, Mrs. Lee versus Hey, and choose which fits the moment.
L.5.4
Work out an unknown word on a grade 5 topic from context clues, from Greek and Latin roots like photo in photograph, or by checking a dictionary or glossary.
L.5.5
Explain a nonliteral phrase like take steps, name someone who is friendly to link a word to real life, and rank knew, believed and suspected by how sure they are.
L.5.6
Learn and use grade 5 school and subject words, including linking words that signal contrast or addition such as however, although and moreover.
The official Louisiana documents
- K-12 Louisiana Student Standards for English Language Arts · adopted March 2016, revised 2019 · since 2016-17, through 2026-27
- 2026 K-12 Louisiana Student Standards for English Language Arts · coming next · adopted 2026 · from 2027-28
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Louisiana's standards, not the official wording, which Louisiana Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.