Curriculum by grade › 5th Grade › English Language Arts

5th Grade homeschool English curriculum

All 36 weeks of 5th grade English, planned and ready, with the exact topic for every week below. Start with Week 1 free, no card needed.

Open the free Week 1 lesson See plans

How 5th grade English works

Lessons build reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary step by step, with read-aloud audio, typed responses, and quizzes that grade themselves.

Time: about 25–40 minutes a day
Scores go straight to the gradebook and report card
Print any lesson as a worksheet with an answer key
Parent tools: hours log, weekly report, portfolio
Family plan: up to 4 students, each with their own records

The full 36-week scope & sequence

Topics and standards come straight from the live course. Standards codes are listed for reference; Life Academy is built to help meet homeschool requirements in all 50 states.

Quarter 1 (weeks 1–9)

Week	Topic	Standards
1	Evidence & citation	CCSS RL.5.1
2	Research questions	RI.5.1
3	Argument writing: a claim a skeptic could disagree with	W.5.8
4	Counterarguments	CCSS W.5.7
5	Narrative pacing	CCSS W.5.1a-b
6	Literary analysis: prove a character trait from a line	CCSS W.5.3b
7	Research report I	W.5.3d
8	Research report II	RL.5.3
9	Revision	CCSS W.5.2a-e

Quarter 2 (weeks 10–18)

Week	Topic	Standards
10	Speeches: who is talking, and what they want you to do	CCSS W.5.5
11	Media literacy: headlines vs evidence	L.5.3a
12	Journalism: who / what / when + a named source	CCSS SL.5.3
13	Poetry: speaker, image, and a turn	RI.5.8
14	Drama: stage directions are instructions	CCSS W.5.2
15	Compare texts: two articles, one claim each	CCSS RL.5.2
16	Info structure	RL.5.4
17	Financial literacy	RL.5.5
18	Reading check: argument vs summary	CCSS RL.5.5

Quarter 3 (weeks 19–27)

Week	Topic	Standards
19	Rhetoric	RL.5.7
20	Socratic seminar	CCSS RI.5.6
21	Lab reports	RI.5.9
22	Engineering design	CCSS RI.5.4
23	History analysis	RI.5.2
24	Global geography	L.5.6
25	Civics deep	CCSS RI.5.8
26	Book club	W.5.1
27	Creative writing	preparing for RI.6.8

Quarter 4 (weeks 28–36)

Week	Topic	Standards
28	Poetry anthology	CCSS SL.5.1a-d
29	Documentary notes	CCSS W.5.2d
30	Debate tournament	WHST connection
31	Reflective writing	NGSS SEP 8
32	Capstone research I	NGSS 3-5-ETS1-1 to 3
33	Capstone research II	CCSS RI.5.7
34	Presentation: three pieces of evidence, not a costume	C3 D2.Geo.2.3-5
35	Skills battery: name the author + a short argument	CCSS RI.5.3
36	Portfolio + goals	W.5.2

Need a little extra help?

Live 1:1 tutoring with David Clifford on Zoom or Google Meet: $35/hour, your first hour $25. See tutoring.

Same grade: 5th Grade math · 5th Grade science · 5th Grade history

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FAQ

Is this 5th grade English curriculum free?

Week 1 is free with no card needed: open the Week 1 English lesson. Weeks 2–36 unlock with a Student plan ($35/month) or a Family plan for up to 4 students ($69/month).

How long is a 5th grade English lesson?

Plan on about 25–40 minutes a day for English. There is one lesson per week of the school year, broken into short daily steps.

Is Life Academy accredited?

No. Life Academy is not accredited. It's built to help meet homeschool requirements in all 50 states, and parents are the school of record. Why that's usually fine.

Can I print it?

Yes. Every lesson prints as a worksheet with a separate parent answer key.

Life Academy is a parent-directed online K–12 curriculum, built to help meet homeschool requirements in all 50 states. It is not accredited, and parents issue the homeschool transcript. Nothing here is legal advice. Check your state's law at HSLDA. Questions? Email david.dukes77102@gmail.com.