Unit Plan 33 (Grade 5 ELA): Summarizing & Synthesizing Information
Fifth-grade students master how to summarize key ideas, connect multiple texts, and write concise, evidence-based responses. Build synthesis and analytical writing skills in one engaging week.
Focus: Condensing key ideas; cross-text connections; evidence lines
Grade Level: 5
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational; Writing—Analysis)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Readers this week learn to compress information without losing meaning and to synthesize ideas across sources. Students will determine main ideas, write objective summaries (no opinions), and build evidence lines that braid details from two or more texts into a single, coherent answer. By Friday, each student produces tight summaries and a short written response that integrates multiple sources.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Determine main ideas of informational texts and explain how key details support them; write objective summaries (RI.5.2).
- Integrate information from two or more texts on the same topic to demonstrate understanding (RI.5.9).
- Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis in short constructed responses (W.5.9).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 5
- RI.5.2, RI.5.9, W.5.9
Success Criteria — student language
- I can state the main idea in my own words and back it with two key details.
- My summary is brief, neutral, and keeps the most important ideas in order.
- I can synthesize by combining ideas from two sources into one answer.
- My evidence line shows claim → evidence from Text A → evidence from Text B → reasoning.