Inspire Your Child! Improve Literacy With These Creative Reads for 5th Graders

Nov 3

Reading Time: 1 min 32 sec

Photo: child smiling holding an open picture book in a library setting

With summer long gone and the kids back to the basics of learning, your fifth grader is likely experiencing a year of encouraged independence and responsibility at school. You’ll soon be looking back upon a semester past, and the routine of a school week might start to feel like the movie “Groundhog Day.”

Our schedules become more rigid in the fall as we quickly learn to rely upon the weekly routines. While we might forget the date in summer as we enjoy a family vacation, the fall doesn’t let us forget it. Days, hours, minutes, seconds — we are keenly aware of the time passing – lest we mix up Crazy Hair Day and Pajama Day at school.

During the school year, there’s less freedom for creativity and more time devoted to scheduled learning. We must encourage our children to remember we can blend creativity and literacy skills by choosing a book that stimulates their imagination.

The following list of books are tried and true winners when it comes to inspiring creativity in your youngster:

The Giver
(1993) by Lois Lowry
A book to inspire independent thinkers! This book about a dystopian community was also made into a movie in 2014 starring Jeff Bridges.

Title: Thunder Rolling in the Mountains. Author: Scott O'Dell and Elizabeth Hall. Image: Historical illustration of Native Americans on horseback

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
(2010) by Scott O'Dell, Elizabeth Hall
Encourage strength and resilience in young women as a leader is born.

Title: Awkward. Author: Svetlana Chmakova. Image: comic-style illustration of a girl and boy sitting side-by-side in a classroom setting looking sideways at each other

Awkward (Berrybrook Middle School)
(2015) by Svetlana Chmakova
Ignite your 5th grader’s unique and quirky sense of spirit with this “Teachers’ pick” on Amazon!

Title: Holes. Winner of the Newberry Medal and National Book Award. Author: Louis Sachar. Image: view from inside of a hole looking up to two children looking in with a lizard on the side.

Holes
(2000) by Louis Sachar (Author), Vladimir Radunsky (Illustrator), Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)
This series encourages resilience and examines honor among young men. After reading the book, enjoy the 2003 Disney movie adaptation with a young Shia LaBeouf!