Grade 5 - Literacy

Ms. Fusun

The Grade 5's are continuing to work extremely hard in the Literacy Room and as we come to the end of the term; after much planning, drafting and editing, the Grade 5's are on the verge of completing their Expository writing pieces. Students have written some extraordinary and deeply convincing persuasive expositions. See below for some examples:

Gozde Turan, 5B

Extract from Gozde's exposition:

"Animals shouldn't be used as test subjects because it is harmful and can cause illness. It is not right to hurt animals. How would you like it if scientists were testing things on you? You will be suffering harmful consequences like blindness, can't move, can't speak, can't have a baby and can't catch or eat your own food. It will not be good to have any of these illnesses, so we shouldn't let this go on! Animals can't speak for themselves, but we can. Let's take a step forward and fight against scientists and tell them to stop testing on animals."

Amina Pasevic, 5B

Extract from Amina's exposition:

"A lot of sea animals eat other sea animals, so if we continue to litter and throw rubbish into our oceans, sea animals may accidentally eat them and it could cause them to die. An example of this is: If we throw plastic bags on the floor they may end up in our oceans. Turtles could think that the plastic bags are jellyfish and try to eat it. This can make them suffocate or even die from eating toxic plastic. ...There is no doubt that pollution is a terrible habit. It is one of the most horrible things we can do. We must stop for our own safety!"

Students are also working in their Reading Groups to not only help develop their comprehension skills but also to build on their ability to engage in discussion and decode text by revising and applying the following 7 reading strategies.

7 Reading Strategies that assist in understanding what is being read

As we are all aware, the Grade 5's will sit their NAPLAN test in Term 2. In preparation for this, we have been working on some past test papers as practice. In class, students have been given writing prompts and have been required to plan and draft quick narratives and persuasive pieces in an x amount of time to not only help develop their writing but to also help develop the proper time management skills required to complete the NAPLAN test. Unfortunately, it is more common for children of all ages to score lower in a test due to not completing it on times, as opposed to answering incorrectly. This is why time management is extremely important. Please practice this skill at home at any and every chance you get. Students have also been given a series of reading comprehension and language conventions tasks to ensure that all areas of literacy are being covered. If you wish to find out more about the NAPLAN test, please visit their website by clicking on the following link:

Or if you wish to download the example NAPLAN tests please click the following links to download them in PDF form. Please keep in mind that we have already been working on these tests in class.

I would like to encourage both our parents and students to do some NAPLAN practice at home and during the holidays. I have attached the link to a website where you can do some NAPLAN practice tests online. Please click the link below:

Students can also practice their Reading Comprehension and other areas of Literacy on the Reading Eggs website. Please take advantage of their huge range of books and valuable resources. I wish all Sirius College students all the best with their final assessments and I look forward to a great and successful Term 2.