CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2c

ELA5th GradeText Types and Purposes

The Standard

Link ideas within and across categories of information using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., in contrast, especially).

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

What This Standard Means

Students need to connect facts and ideas in an informational piece so the reader can follow the thinking. They should use transition words, phrases, and clauses to show relationships, like compare, contrast, cause, example, emphasis, or sequence.

Mastery looks like smooth writing where each category of information fits together and the links are clear. Students often get stuck using the same transition over and over, adding transitions that do not match the relationship, or listing facts without showing how they connect.

Ways to Teach It

Give pairs sentence strips from an animal report and have them add transition cards like however, for example, and especially between related ideas.
Ask students to revise one paragraph by adding three linking words, then explain why each one fits the relationship between ideas.
Show four sentence pairs and have students choose the best transition from a short word bank, then underline the clue that helped.
Use a kids' news article and have students highlight transitions that connect categories like causes, effects, examples, and contrasts.