Wisconsin Standards
Wisconsin 5th Grade ELA Standards
All 31 Wisconsin English language arts standards for 5th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's document, linked at the end of this page.
31 standards
Reading Foundational Skills
2 standardsRF.5.3
Read unfamiliar long words like misunderstanding accurately, in a passage or alone, by combining letter sounds, syllable breaks, and roots and affixes.
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.
Reading
9 standardsR.5.1
Use specific details and evidence to explain what a text states outright and what it implies, and reason out logical inferences, like a character's hidden worry.
R.5.2
Sum up a story, poem, or article to pin down its theme or central idea, and explain which key details support that idea.
R.5.3
Compare two or more characters, settings, or events in a story, and explain how people, events, or ideas in nonfiction connect, using text evidence.
R.5.4
Figure out the meaning of words and figurative language in a text and explain how those word choices shape its meaning, tone, and mood.
R.5.5
Explain how chapters, scenes, or stanzas build a story, play, or poem, and compare how two nonfiction texts are organized, like cause and effect versus sequence.
R.5.6
Explain how a narrator's point of view shapes how events are told, and compare several accounts of one event, noting how their viewpoints agree and differ.
R.5.7
Analyze how images, video, and other media add to the meaning of stories and nonfiction texts, like a map in a history article.
R.5.8
Explain how an author supports claims, matching each reason and piece of evidence to the claim it backs.
R.5.9
Judge how well a text is written and connect it to other texts, ideas, cultures, identities, time periods, and personal experiences.
Writing
9 standardsW.5.1
Write reflective, formal, and creative pieces, separately or blended, for everyday and high-stakes purposes, like a reading log or a final essay.
W.5.2
Write opinion pieces with logically ordered support, informative texts with topic vocabulary and headings, and narratives with characters, dialogue, and pacing.
W.5.3
Open with an introduction that hooks the reader, build to a fitting conclusion, connect ideas with varied transitions, and pick distinctive words for effect.
W.5.4
Produce clear, organized writing whose development suits the task, purpose, and audience while staying true to the writer's culture and voice.
W.5.5
Choose an organization that fits the task and audience, then plan, revise, and edit, using peer questions and suggestions to add needed details.
W.5.6
Pick digital tools with some adult help to write and publish with classmates, and write fluently by hand, in cursive, or by typing two pages at once.
W.5.7
Lead short research projects of their own that use several sources to explore different sides of a topic.
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 novels, poems, and articles, like a key quote, to back up their analysis, reflection, and research.
Speaking and Listening
5 standardsSL.5.1
Come prepared to partner, group, and class discussions, follow agreed norms, add to others' comments, and draw conclusions from what was shared.
SL.5.2
Summarize a text read aloud or information from media like videos, charts, or podcasts.
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
Report on a topic or share an opinion with ideas in logical order, backed by facts and details, speaking clearly and engagingly for the audience.
SL.5.5
Use graphics, sound, and visual displays in presentations, like a slide with a chart, to strengthen main ideas or themes.
Language
6 standardsL.5.1
Recognize standard English as one dialect with a history tied to power, compare dialects in stories, and expand or combine sentences for style.
L.5.2
Work out unknown words with context, word parts, and references, using Greek and Latin roots as clues, like graph in autograph and photograph.
L.5.3
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.5.4
Grow vocabulary alone and with others, using linking words that show contrast or addition, like however, although, and moreover.
L.5.5
Use standard grammar when it fits and explain choices like verb tenses, pairs like neither and nor, and they or their for one person.
L.5.6
In formal writing, use commas after introductory words and in direct address, mark titles with italics or quotation marks, and check spelling with references.
The official Wisconsin documents
- Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts · adopted May 2020 · current for 2026-27
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Wisconsin's standards, not the official wording, which Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.