Grade 5

Reading: Informational Text—Grade 5

Science, social studies, and history—oh my! Teacher's pets aside (psh—don't act like they don't exist), there may be some grumbles from the peanut gallery when they hear those four words. But it doesn't have to be like that, people—there's another way!

That's where the fifth grade Common Core Standards for Informational Texts come in. By teaching your students to employ these techniques when reading nonfiction texts, you'll give them the critical reading skills they'll need not only in school, but in life. No pressure or anything. These skills include critical comparison, the analysis of multiple accounts of a single incident, and the ability to perform research using both offline and online sources.

In other words, these are the tools they're going to use in school every day, from fifth grade to senior year in college. Failing to instill those skills now is like kicking off the Tour de France without knowing how to ride a bike—it's not going to turn out well.

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