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5th Grade Research Resources

10 5th grade research resources: 7 activities, 2 Common Core Lessons, 1 test prep and more. How teachers use these

5th Grade Research Resources

10 5th grade research resources: 7 activities, 2 Common Core Lessons, 1 test prep and more. How teachers use these

Workbook
Workbook5th GradeSmarter Balanced (CAASPP / SBAC) 5th Grade ELA Practice Test Workbook

A Smarter Balanced (CAASPP / SBAC) 5th grade ELA practice test workbook for teachers, with a pretest, skill practice for all 24 standards, mixed review and 2 full-length practice tests. Answer key included, so test prep is ready to go.

5th GradeEnglishExpository WritingTest Prep
Activity
Activity5th GradeTake Note Writing Activity

This take note writing activity has 3rd to 5th grade students sort print and digital sources, research a state with question cards, and take notes in their own words. Answer key included.

5th GradeSocial StudiesStatesActivities
Activity
Activity5th GradeDigital Dilemma Research Activity

Students hunt for U.S. government facts with this digital dilemma research activity for 3rd to 5th grade, checking each answer in a website and a book. An answer key is included.

5th GradeSpecialsGovernmentActivities
Activity
Activity5th GradeColor Me Curious Research Writing Activity

Using Color Me Curious Research Writing Activity, students participate in shared research and writing projects to learn about any topic.

5th GradeSocial StudiesGeographyActivities
Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson5th GradeW.5.7 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson

Using W.5.7 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson, students conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

5th GradeWritingResearchCommon Core Lessons
Activity
Activity5th GradeNow Presenting! Report on a Topic Activity

This Now Presenting - Report on a Topic Activity is a fun way for students to learn about Summarizing and presentations!

5th GradeEnglishEssaysActivities
Activity
Activity5th GradeGet to the Point PowerPoint Activity

Using this Get to the Point PowerPoint Activity, students learn to include multimedia components such as graphics, sounds, and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

5th GradeSpecialsEssaysActivities
Common Core Lesson
Common Core Lesson5th GradeW.5.8 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson

Using W.5.8 Fifth Grade Common Core Lesson, students gather relevantinformation from print and digital sources and summarize information in finished work.

5th GradeWritingResearchCommon Core Lessons
Activity
Activity5th GradeW.4.7 Common Core Activity

This W.4.7 common core activity guides 3rd to 5th graders through a short research project with colored topic and aspect cards and a note-taking organizer. Answer key included.

5th GradeWritingResearchActivities
Activity
Activity5th GradeW.5.7 Common Core Activity

Using W.5.7 Common Core Activity, students conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

5th GradeWritingEssaysActivities
From our teachers' playbook

Ask, dig, take notes, share

What do 5th graders learn about research?

Fifth graders do short research projects that pull information from several sources. They learn to write a focused research question, find trustworthy books and websites, and take notes in their own words instead of copying. Kids sort their notes into categories, write a report with facts and details, and list the sources they used. They also learn to judge a website: Who wrote it? Is it up to date? The big shift comes when kids realize research is about answering a question, not just collecting facts.

How we teach research in 5th grade

Research has a lot of moving parts. These moves give students a clear path from question to finished report.

Take notes, don't copy

Teach the "read, cover, write" rule: read a short section, cover it, then write the main idea in your own words. A note-taking activity gives students practice before the real project. It's the best guard against copying sentences straight from the source.

Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.

Take Note Writing ActivityTry it withTake Note Writing ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Start with a curious question

Model turning a broad topic into a focused question: "Sharks" becomes "How do sharks find their food?" Students then write their own questions and narrow them with a partner. A research writing activity built around curiosity gets them started.

Why it works: handing over the work step by step, from teacher to student, is one of the most widely used teaching frameworks (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

Color Me Curious Research Writing ActivityTry it withColor Me Curious Research Writing ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Present what you learned

Spread the project over a few weeks: question, notes, draft, then a short presentation. Teaching students to put only key points on each slide helps them truly understand their topic, not read off the screen.

Why it works: the brain holds on to what it meets again and again over time; spaced practice was rated among the very best methods (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Get to the Point PowerPoint ActivityTry it withGet to the Point PowerPoint ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Make research exciting

Fifth graders love being the experts. Give them a reason to dig in.

Digital Dilemma Research ActivityActivities

Digital dilemma

Students research a real tech question and decide which online sources they can trust.

Open Digital Dilemma Research Activity →Now Presenting! Report on a Topic ActivityActivities

Now presenting!

Kids report on a topic they researched, sharing the most interesting facts with the class.

Open Now Presenting! Report on a Topic Activity →W.4.7 Common Core ActivityActivities

Fact or fake?

Show a few websites and teams vote on whether each is reliable, then explain their reasons.

Open W.4.7 Common Core Activity →

What's on this page

7 Activities2 Common Core Lessons1 Test Prep1 Assessment1 Workbook

Teacher favorites right now: Smarter Balanced (CAASPP / SBAC) 5th Grade ELA Practice Test Workbook, Take Note Writing Activity and Digital Dilemma Research Activity.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What research skills do 5th graders need?

They need to write a research question, find information from several sources, take notes in their own words, organize facts and list their sources. Judging whether a website is reliable is also important.

How do I teach 5th graders to take notes?

Have them read a short section, then cover it and write the main idea in their own words. Bullet points and key words work better than full sentences.

How can kids tell if a website is reliable?

Ask who wrote it, why it was written and when it was updated. Sites from museums, universities and government agencies are usually good choices for kids.

How long should a 5th grade research project be?

Short projects of one to three weeks work well. They give students time to research, write and share without losing interest.

Keep exploring

5th Grade Writing ResourcesResearch Resources

Written by the Have Fun Teaching team of elementary teachers and homeschoolers. Research: U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse (2021). Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades. Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3). Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1).