Students produce writings that are well organized, engaging and coherent, set a context and have logical conclusions. Based on a student's writing purpose and genre, he selects a topic as well as the appropriate organizational structure and point of view. In addition, he determines the composition's length and structure. Examples of writing structures are cause and effect, similarity or difference, posing and answering a question and chronological order. The student also ensures coherence through writing techniques such as transitions.
The student is taught to write competently in a variety of genres. In narrative writing, the student develops the plot, point of view, setting, conflict and characters. For informational writing, he provides a theme, appropriate organizational structure and relevant details. In response to literature, he makes and supports a statement about a literary piece. For persuasive writing, the student states and supports his position. In all fifth-grade writing, the student engages the reader, develops an organizing structure, omits unnecessary information, provides closure and uses appropriate words.
Students use research and technology to support themes and assertions they make in their compositions. They locate information they need by using references such as dictionaries, electronic information, encyclopedias, magazines and newspapers. They also use text features such as indexes, table of contents and end notes to find information. The students understand basic computer terms and use electronic media to create and proof documents. They use a thesaurus for synonyms and alternate meanings of words.
Fifth graders understand and use correct grammar, punctuation and style. They know the parts of speech and their functions in sentences. They use and identify verb phrases and verb tenses. Additionally, they know that a word's function depends on its placement in a sentence. The students vary their sentence structure by length, kind, order and complexity. They also understand and use correct punctuation, sentence structure and spelling when revising and editing.
The students consistently use a writing process to develop, revise and evaluate their writing. They plan and draft their compositions independently, using various resources to enhance their writing. They also revise their drafts to improve their writing by adding, deleting, clarifying and rearranging words and sentences. Finally, the students edit their writing to correct punctuation, grammar and spelling errors.