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District List: DCPS - Fifth Grade Unit Text List
Description: District of Columbia Public Schools Unit Text List for students in 5th Grade. #dcps
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The Planets
by Gail GibbonsA nonfiction favorite for more than twenty years, The Planets has been updated to include some of the latest discoveries in space exploration.
From the burning surface of Venus to the freezing darkness of Neptune, Gail Gibbons takes children on a tour of our planetary neighbors—which are very different from each other in size, shape, orbit, and even weather.
Since its original publication in 1993, The Planets has been a home and classroom staple for introducing our solar system to the youngest readers. With her signature blend of clear, bright illustrations and accessible text, Gail Gibbons takes readers on a tour of our planetary neighbors, near and far.
From the burning surface of Venus to the freezing darkness of Neptune, the bodies in our solar system are named, described, and illustrated in clear, well-labeled spreads that give a strong sense of shape and scale to our skies. Each entry is full of intriguing details about their composition, behavior, and moons.
What Color is my World
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond ObstfeldWhile twins Ella and Herbie help the handyman Mr. Mital work on their new home, he tells them about such inventors as Granville Woods, Dr. Henry T. Sampson, and James West, giving them a new view of their heritage as African Americans.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
by Christopher Paul CurtisNIMAC-sourced textbook
Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's thirteen and an "offical juvenile delinquent." When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a visit to Grandma. Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons set out on a trip like no other. they're heading South. They're going to Birmingham, alabama, toward one of the darkest moments in American history. A warmly memorable evocation of an African-American family. Both comic and deeply moving.
Who Settled the West?
by Bobbie KalmanThis book discusses the reasons people migrated West, the routes they took, some of the difficulties faced by pioneers, the different ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the settlers, and the building of homes and towns.
Pioneer Girl
by Andrea WarrenPioneer Girl is the true story of Grace McCance Snyder. In 1885, when Grace was three, she and her family became homesteaders on the windswept prairie of central Nebraska. They settled into a small sod house and hauled their water in barrels. Together they endured violent storms, drought, blizzards, and prairie fires. Despite the hardships and dangers, Grace loved her life on the prairie. Weaving Grace's story into the history of America's heartland, award-winning author Andrea Warren writes not just of one spirited girl but of all the children who homesteaded with their families in the late 1800s, sharing the heartbreaks and joys of pioneer life.
The Split History of Western Expansion in the United States
by Nell Musolf and Malcolm RohrboughDescribes the opposing viewpoints of the American Indians and settlers during the Westward Expansion.
Moonshot
by Brian Floca"We choose to go to the Moon.
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."
--John F. Kennedy, 1961
Simply told, grandly shown, here for a new generation of readers and explorers is the story of Apollo 11. Here are the steady astronauts, the ROAR of rockets, and the silence of the Moon. Here is a challenge met, a journey made, and a view of home, seen whole, from far away.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Winner of the Sibert Honor
...If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
by Ellen LevineA provocative question-and-answer format teaches young readers a multitude of facts about a small slice of American history--life on the Oregon Trail in the 1840s.
Frederick's Journey
by Doreen Rappaport and London LaddFrederick Douglass was born a slave. He was taken from his mother as a baby, and separated from his grandparents when he was six. He suffered hunger and abuse, but miraculously, he learned how to read. Frederick read newspapers left in the street, and secretly collected spellings from neighborhood children. Words, he knew, would set him free.
When Frederick was twenty, he escaped to the North, where he spread his abolitionist beliefs through newspaper articles, autobiographies, and speeches. He believed that all people-regardless of color or gender-were entitled to equal rights. It is Douglass's words, as well as his life, that still provide hope and inspiration across generations.
Pink and Say
by Patricia PolaccoSay Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier, during the Civil War, and their capture by Southern troops.
The Wright Brothers
by Russell FreedmanHe saw the first regular airmail service introduced in 1918, the first nonstop transcontinental flight in 1923, the first round-the-world flight in 1924, the first polar flight in 1926, and the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1927. He witnessed two world wars in which the airplane played a critical role. He saw the earth shrink as the jet engine replaced propellers. He lived to see airplanes that flew faster than the speed of sound, and planes whose wings stretched farther than the distance of his first flight at Kitty Hawk. There were moments when he looked back wistfully to those long-ago days when flying was still a dream that he shared with his brother. He once said, “I got more thrill out of flying before I had ever been in the air at all – while lying in bed thinking how exciting it would be to fly.”
Newbery Medal Honor book
Our Solar System
by Seymour SimonBorn almost 5 billion years ago at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, our Solar System is a place filled with mystery and wonder. In the last fifty years, we have learned more than ever about the farthest reaches of our world. With dramatic full-color photographs and spacecraft images, Our Solar System takes young readers on a fascinating tour of the sun, the eight planets, and their moons, plus asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon has teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution on this new, updated edition of his much admired book about the vast and mystifying part of the universe that we live in.
Dare to Dream
by Angela Shelf Medearis and Anna Rich"A concise, engaging biography for young readers. . . A fine addition to easy-reading biography collections. " --Booklist "A readable account of the life of Coretta Scott King. . . this biography shows her to be a courageous woman who can stand on her own merit, and not just as the wife of one of the world's most well-known men. " --School Library Journal From her childhood encounters with discrimination to her activism as an adult, Coretta Scott King dreamed of finding a place where people were treated equally. This compelling biography tells how she joined her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to lead protest marches and stand up to prejudice and violence.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
by Christopher Paul CurtisThe Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree about the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan—from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of Bud, Not Buddy, a Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott Award Winner.Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's thirteen and an "official juvenile delinquent."When Byron gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up.AN ALA TOP TEN BEST BOOKAN ALA NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOKAN IRA YOUNG ADULT'S CHOICEA NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOKNAMED TO MULTIPLE STATE AWARD LISTS"Every so often a book becomes a modern classic almost as soon as it arrives on bookshelves. That happened in the mid-'90s when Christopher Paul Curtis released his first book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963." —NPRFrom the Hardcover edition.
Girls Think of Everything
by Melissa Sweet and Catherine ThimmeshThis updated edition of the bestselling Girls Think of Everything, by Sibert-winner Catherine Thimmesh and Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, retains all the integrity of the original but includes expanded coverage of inventions (and inventors) to better reflect our diverse and technological world. In kitchens and living rooms, in garages and labs and basements, even in converted chicken coops, women and girls have invented ingenious innovations that have made our lives simpler and better. What inspired these girls, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities?
Retaining reader-tested favorite inventions, this updated edition of the best-selling Girls Think of Everything features seven new chapters that better represent our diverse and increasingly technological world, offering readers stories about inventions that are full of hope and vitality—empowering them to think big, especially in the face of adversity.
The Toothpaste Millionaire
by Jean MerrillLikable, clever, and inventive sixth-graders Rufus Mayflower and Kate Mackinstrey develop and sell toothpaste to become millionaires in just one year! This fun, breezy story includes many real-life mathematical problems which the characters must solve to succeed in their budding business.
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. WhiteSome Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.
This is a tender novel of friendship, family, and adventure that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.
Newbery Honor book
The Little Rock Nine
by Meredith CostainStudent Library (nonfiction-fiction-graphic novels) These high-interest paperbacks give students the opportunity to apply the unit skill to longer texts. Two books are available for each unit .
The City of Ember
by Jeanne DuprauMany hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all -- the lights are failing. Soon Ember could be engulfed by darkness. But when two children, Lina and Doon, discover fragments of an ancient parchment, they begin to wonder if there could be a way out of Ember. Can they decipher the words from long ago and find a new future for everyone? Will the people of Ember listen to them?
Malcolm X
by Walter Dean Myers"I believe in recognizing every human being as a human being, neither white, black, brown, nor red." This was just one of the messages that Malcolm X brought to people of color. He lived by the idea that black people should demand equality by taking their lives and futures into their own hands. With guidance from the religious leader Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X became one of the most powerful leaders of the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s, and his beliefs live on today.
Boss Of The Plains
by Laurie M. Carlson and Holly Meade and Dorling Kindersley Publishing StaffAt first, settlers and travelers in the American West wore whatever hats they had worn back home: knit caps, wool derbies, straw sombreros. Everyone wore some kind of hat, though, because of the Western weather. At last, one hat came along that was especially suited to frontier life. This is the story of that amazing hat -- the Boss of the Plains -- and the young man, John Stetson, an Easterner and hat maker who followed his dream to go West and ended up creating the most popular hat west of the Mississippi -- a hat still worn by countless Westerners and others today. This unusual picture book biography is inventively illustrated in cut paper and paint by Holly Meade, whose picture book Hush! was a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book.
The Universe
by Seymour SimonImagine the biggest thing you can think of—now imagine something bigger that hasn't even stopped growing. That is the universe. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, though enormous, is a tiny speck among the 100 billion galaxies containing nebulas, planets, "space pods," billions of stars, and black holes that fill the cosmos. New stars, planets, and galaxies continue to form as the universe expands. Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon brings you deep into the universe to explore this immense topic.
B Is For Battle Cry
by Patricia Bauer and David GeisterB is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet takes readers on a journeyinto one of the most important chapters of our nation's past.The Civil War was one of the bloodiest, most divisive events to takeplace in America's history, and most certainly ever on Americansoil. For four years our young country's sense of self and citizenrywas shaken to the core as North and South battled each other.B is for Battle Cry brings to life historic battles (Antietam andGettysburg), renowned leaders (Abraham Lincoln and Robert E.Lee), inventions (ironclad ship and Gatling gun), and inspiringevents and documents (the Gettysburg Address and theEmancipation Proclamation).From the first shot fired at Fort Sumter to Lee's surrender atAppomattox Court House, B is for Battle Cry brings thisnation-defining time period to vivid life.Patricia Bauer believes that stories bring history alive. She uses poetry, music,picture books, costumes, and literature to engage her middle school students in thestudy of American history. B is for Battle Cry is Pat's first children's book. She livesin Minneapolis with her artist husband, David Geister.David Geister's deep appreciation for the drama of American history and the desireto tell those stories is what inspires his artwork. He is a popular visitor at schoolswith his costumed portrayals of historic characters. He lives in Minneapolis with hisauthor wife, Patricia Bauer. This is David's fifth book with Sleeping Bear.