By fifth grade, students will be capable of reading texts from a variety of genres, including biography, historical fiction, informational texts, essays, poetry, drama and fictional narratives. Students will be able to recognize the distinguishing features of the various genres and will be able to make some inferences as to the piece's audience and tone and author's intention based on these clues. Besides the basic genre, a student will be able to recognize whether the piece is primarily a presentation of opinions or facts.
The fifth grader can generally interpret the meaning of unknown words through context. Naturally, the number of unknown words cannot exceed a certain percentage of the entire text; however, among texts generally considered to be at a fifth-grade reading level, students will be able to infer the meaning of unknown vocabulary by surrounding context. Likewise, the student will be able to extrapolate thematic conclusions or narrative events that an author presents indirectly or through contextual clues, assuming the text is at fifth-grade reading level. In the case of a story, the student will be capable of inferring individual character's intentions or thoughts, even when they are not directly reported by an omniscient narrator.
A fifth-grade student will be able to rapidly recognize and explain an author's apparent intention in writing a work. For example, having read just a passage of a larger work, a fifth grade student should have a general idea as to whether the author seeks to inform his readers, explain a specific process or provide entertainment. Based on indirect evidence, the student will also be able to infer the author's beliefs and assumptions about a text's underlying themes.
Upon reading a text of any genre at the grade reading level, a fifth grade student should be able to identify and succinctly summarize the work's main idea. This may be in the form of a thesis statement, as in the case of a persuasive essay. It may also come in the form of a narrative synopsis, as in the case of a novel or short story. The student will be able to use suitable language according to the genre of the piece.