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North Carolina Standards

North Carolina 5th Grade ELA Standards

All 39 North Carolina English language arts standards for 5th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's document, linked at the end of this page.

39 standards

Reading Foundational Skills

3 standards
RF.5.2
Produce readable work in clear cursive handwriting, like a handwritten letter or a test answer someone else can easily read.
RF.5.4
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.
Common Core RF.K.3
RF.5.5
Read 1st-grade books aloud smoothly and accurately with expression, understand them, and reread when a word or sentence does not make sense.
Common Core RF.1.4

Reading Literature

9 standards
RL.5.1
Quote the exact words from a story that prove an answer, whether the story says it outright or only hints at it.
Common Core RL.5.1
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.
Common Core RL.5.2
RL.5.3
Compare and contrast at least two characters, settings or events from a story or play, using specific details like how two characters each face a problem.
RL.5.4
Determine word and phrase meanings from context and notice the word choices that build meaning and tone, like gloomy halls creating a dark mood.
RL.5.5
Explain how a series of chapters, scenes or stanzas fits together to build the whole story, play or poem.
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.
Common Core RL.5.6
RL.5.7
Analyze how pictures, video or sound add to a text’s meaning, mood or beauty, like illustrations in a graphic novel or a film version of a story.
RL.5.9
Compare and contrast how stories of one genre, like mysteries or adventure tales, handle similar themes and topics.
RL.5.10
By the end of fifth grade, read stories, plays and poems at the top of the 4th to 5th grade range well and on their own, relating them to past knowledge.

Reading Informational

10 standards
RI.5.1
Quote the exact words from a story that prove an answer, whether the story says it outright or only hints at it.
Common Core RL.5.1
RI.5.2
Find two or more main ideas in an informational text, show which details support each one, and summarize the text.
Common Core RI.5.2
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.
Common Core RI.5.3
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.
Common Core RI.5.4
RI.5.5
Compare and contrast how two or more nonfiction texts are organized, like one told in time order and another as problem and solution.
RI.5.6
Read several accounts of the same event and note how the writers’ points of view agree and differ.
Common Core RI.5.6
RI.5.7
Use several print and online sources to find an answer or solve a problem quickly, like checking a website and an atlas to plan a route.
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.
Common Core RI.5.8
RI.5.9
Combine facts from several texts on one topic, then write or speak about it like someone who has done the reading.
Common Core RI.5.9
RI.5.10
By year’s end, read nonfiction at the high end of the 4th to 5th grade range well and independently, connecting it to what they already know.

Writing

6 standards
W.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.
Common Core W.4.1
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.
Common Core W.3.2
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.
Common Core W.3.3
W.5.4
With some adult help, use digital tools to produce and share writing and collaborate online, showing good keyboarding and editing skills, like a group slideshow report.
W.5.5
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.
Common Core W.5.7
W.5.6
Gather facts from memory, books and websites, restate them in notes and the finished piece instead of copying, and list the sources.
Common Core W.5.8

Speaking and Listening

5 standards
SL.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.
Common Core SL.5.1
SL.5.2
Give a short summary of a text read aloud or of information shown in a video, a chart or a talk.
Common Core SL.5.2
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.
Common Core SL.5.3
SL.5.4
Give a report or share an opinion with ideas in a logical order and facts and details that back the main points, adapting how they speak to the audience and task.
SL.5.5
Add media and visuals like graphics, sound or slides to presentations when they help develop the main ideas or themes.

Language

6 standards
L.5.1
Use fifth grade grammar, like either and or, better and best, had finished, pronouns that agree with their nouns, and clauses joined into complex sentences.
L.5.2
Use commas after an opening word or phrase, with yes and no, before a tag question and when addressing someone, italicize or underline titles, and spell correctly.
L.5.3
Notice the difference between formal and casual English, like Good morning, Mrs. Lee versus Hey, and choose which fits the moment.
Common Core L.2.3
L.5.4
Figure out unfamiliar and multiple-meaning words in fifth grade reading using context, word parts like photo- and -synthesis, related words and reference books.
L.5.5
Interpret similes, metaphors and other figurative language in context, like the hallway was a zoo, and explain idioms, adages and proverbs like hit the books.
L.5.6
Learn and correctly use fifth grade school and subject words, including linking words that show contrast, addition or logic, like however, in addition and therefore.

The official North Carolina documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of North Carolina's standards, not the official wording, which North Carolina Department of Public Instruction publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.