Unit Plan 22 (Grade 5 ELA): Poetry, Drama, and Prose Structures

Grade 5 structure and performance unit: analyze stories, poems, and dramas for structural elements, then explain how visuals or performances deepen tone, pacing, and meaning.

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 5 ELA): Poetry, Drama, and Prose Structures

Focus: Structural elements; connecting text and performance/visuals

Grade Level: 5

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

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


I. Introduction

Readers compare how stories, dramas, and poems are built—and how those blueprints affect meaning. Students will name structural elements (e.g., stanza/verse, line breaks, cast of characters, scenes, stage directions, narration, paragraphs, dialogue) and explain how visual or multimedia choices (audio, staging, images) shape understanding and tone. By Friday, each learner can analyze structure and describe how a performance or visual enhances the text.


II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

  1. Explain major structural differences among stories, dramas, and poems, referring to elements such as verse, rhythm, meter, cast of characters, settings, dialogue, stage directions, and paragraph/narration (RL.5.5).
  2. Analyze how visual and multimedia elements (performance choices, images, audio) contribute to meaning, tone, or beauty (RL.5.7).
  3. Engage in collaborative discussions, building on others’ ideas and drawing on textual evidence (SL.5.1).

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 5

  • RL.5.5, RL.5.7, SL.5.1

Success Criteria — student language

  • I can name the structure of a passage (poetry/drama/prose) and point to specific elements that prove it.
  • I can explain how structure changes what readers notice (pacing, emphasis, tone).
  • I can tell how a visual, audio, or performance choice adds to understanding or mood.
  • I can listen, respond, and cite lines during group discussion.