Unit Plan 17 (Grade 5 ELA): Explanatory Writing with Text Features

Focus: Multi-paragraph sections; integrating visuals and captions

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Writing, Reading Informational, Speaking & Listening)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Writers move from single paragraphs to multi-paragraph explanatory sections that genuinely teach. Students will plan clear headings, develop ideas with facts/definitions/examples, and strengthen cohesion with linking words/phrases/clauses. They’ll integrate text features—diagrams, charts, labeled images—and write teaching captions that connect visuals to the prose. By Friday, each learner produces a two–three section explanatory piece with at least one original visual and caption that improves reader understanding.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Introduce a topic with a clear organizational structure and informative headings (W.5.2a).
2. Develop sections using facts, definitions, details, quotations, examples, and basic attributions (W.5.2b).
3. Use linking words/phrases/clauses to connect ideas within and across sections (W.5.2c).
4. Choose precise, domain-specific vocabulary appropriate to audience (W.5.2d).
5. Provide a concluding statement/section that follows from the information (W.5.2e).
6. Interpret and integrate visuals (charts, diagrams, maps) with the text (RI.5.7) and create a simple multimedia/visual component that strengthens the message (SL.5.5).

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 5

• W.5.2a–e, RI.5.7, SL.5.5

Success Criteria — student language

• My heading tells readers what the section will teach.
• I used facts/definitions/examples and linking words to build each paragraph.
• My visual and caption explain something the text alone doesn’t make obvious.
• My conclusion wraps up what readers should now understand.