PK–12 Essential Standards and Benchmarks

Kahua Standards and Benchmarks

PK-12 essential standards and benchmarks for Hawaiian-focused education.

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Grade 5 - English / LA

In addition to HFCS ‘Āina-based Learning Competencies (click to view), the PK-12 English Language Arts (E/LA) kahua is grounded in the belief that the purpose of reading and writing is constructing meaning. Reading allows the reader to construct meaning based on the writing by an author and writing allows the writer to construct meaning to convey to a reader.

  • ELA.5.1Weave together ʻāina, ʻohana, and cultural components of moʻokūʻauhau (i.e. ʻohana genealogy, waʻa genealogy, Kumulipo, history, moʻolelo wahi pana)
  • ELA.5.2Interact with ‘āina by using ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi performance cartographies (i.e. oli, mele, hula, kaulana mahina, hoʻokele) and develop a stronger relationship with ʻāina.
  • ELA.5.3Understand the function and relationship between cultural protocols, cultural artifacts, and lawena (i.e piko/pū/reverence, mahalo/lei/gratitude).
  • ELA.5.4Know our place in the community ʻāina, its resources (mauna, awawa, wai, kai, one, wao) and the relationship with well-being.
  • ELA.5.5Understand the connection between moʻokūʻauhau, knowing deeply about a place, and fulfilling the ʻauamo to care for that place.

  • ELA.5.6Take initiative to complete assignments and projects with quality (e.g., use rubric criteria to refine and improve own work, seek and use feedback from others, use mentor texts for writing support).
  • ELA.5.7Value work produced and knowledge learned across curriculum areas and share it competently with the wider community (e.g., ʻāina partners, guest speakers, other schools).

  • ELA.5.8Speak knowledgeably and confidently about a topic from information gained from wide reading and from other sources of information, both in print, online, and in person (e.g., texts, audio, video, visual, face-to-face).
  • ELA.5.9Continue to build and use discussion skills to more clearly express own ideas and better connect to the ideas of others.

  • I.Reading Comprehension
    • ELA.5.10Read widely in different genres (mele/poetry, narrative, and informational texts) across curriculum areas to gather information about topics of study and personal interest, and integrate information from different texts on a topic. Use both print and online sources.
    • ELA.5.11Use summarizing (creating a coherent text from the essential content of the original source) to help construct meaning and show understanding of text.
      • a.Summarize orally (formal speech, informal sharing), visually (poster, timeline, infographic, photo collage), and in writing.
        • i.Examples for informational texts: identifying important information and putting it together in a shorter form (an opening sentence or an appropriate visual element to identify the topic, a section/paragraph/visual element on each important idea, and a concluding statement/visual element to wrap up important ideas).
        • ii.Examples for mele/poetry and narrative texts: identifying a theme/big idea from key details in the text and explaining this information in summary form (e.g., how a character responds to a challenge, how the writer of a mele or oli tells a story in imagery).
    • ELA.5.12Synthesize information across texts.
      • a.Read more than one source about a topic and note important information from each source.
      • b.Identify concepts that are similar across the sources.
      • c.Integrate these concepts with own background knowledge to broaden understanding of the topic and form new ideas and opinions.
  • II.Writing Process
    • ELA.5.13Use the steps of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, sharing) to communicate ideas related to academic work and personal life, with a focus on:
      • a.editing (correcting grammatical, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling errors) and publishing (creating a final revised and edited version in a chosen form to share in school or with a wider audience outside of school);
      • b.the writing traits of organization and sentence fluency (while continuing to build on the traits of ideas/content and word choice);
      • c.selecting relevant and credible sources of information to support an opinion or a thesis, citing sources of information in the body of writing, and creating a reference list (books, articles, interviewees, and/or online resources).
    • ELA.5.14Produce different types of informational writing.
      • a.Examples of informational writing in response to reading: summary of text content, speech based on text content, short article on some aspect of a text, longer report based on text content from one or more sources.
      • b.Examples of informational writing not specifically related to reading: speech based on topic of interest to writer using prior knowledge, article based on prior knowledge, description of a learning experience so that someone who is not a part of the class would understand.
  • III.Language & Vocabulary Development
    • ELA.5.15Use ʻike kupuna vocabulary (i.e. place names, oli, mele, moʻolelo, ʻōlelo noʻeau) to describe own observations and express a relationship with the ʻāina.
    • ELA.5.16Use descriptive academic vocabulary (in math, science, social studies, ʻike kupuna) accurately.