This unit not only builds students' vocabulary, it also enables students to explore how words are related, in meaning, sound and construction. Learners will also discover some of the ways words are constructed using derivational root words, prefixes, suffixes, and compound words. Students will also learn strategies we use to shorten words and phrases like acronyms and abbreviations.

When students learn the patterns and structures of words they become word wizards! They are able to more fluently convert a word from one part of speech to another, adjust the meaning, or translate a word from singular to plural (or vice versa). In this set of activities students will build on their knowledge of word structure and practice adding prefixes and suffixes, changing tenses and using contractions.

Words work together in a sentence, each one performing a different task. By fifth grade, students have become more adept readers and writers and they are familiar with the basic parts of speech. The activities in this unit revisit some of the basics and also add depth to their existing understanding. Students will engage in such topics as superlative adjectives, correlative conjunctions and prepositional phrases, to name a few.

The mysterious comma is arguably the trickiest form of punctuation, which is why assigned it it’s own unit in 5th grade. As students become more sophisticated writers they craft more complex sentences. They incorporate independent phrases and clauses, generate compound sentences, and utilize transition words to combine ideas - and the exercises in this unit will teach them how to use commas correctly in each scenario.

As students begin to read more sophisticated texts, understanding how authors use figurative language becomes critical. In this unit, students will revisit some of the figurative language they learned in fourth grade and also study some new ones too, including onomatopoeia, hyperbole, puns and oxymorons. Analyzing how figurative language is used in texts will help readers apply what they have learned.

Learning to add single-digit numbers is a highlight of the kindergarten math curriculum. You can support addition fluency with this guided lesson that takes kindergarteners through an understanding of values. Kids will learn with focused instruction and practice that by putting numbers together, they get a new number. When the lesson is over, kids can continue practicing addition with our accompanying worksheets.