Academic vocabulary words for 5th graders
Academic vocabulary words for 5th graders : These “hard” words are essential to your fifth grader’s reading comprehension, understanding of new concepts, and writing skills.
Academic vocabulary words for 5th graders
These academic vocabulary words for fifth graders are broadly used in many subjects and even in everyday conversation, but they can be hard to define; their definitions are often abstract and can change based on context. But they add precision to writing and speaking. They often help shape plot, mood, or point of view. For instance, skip or trudge would convey different impressions and feelings than walk. Having a strong academic vocabulary is critical to reading comprehension.
Print this list and post it somewhere that you and your child will see it daily. Try to use these words in conversation with your fifth grader. Hearing new words used in context is one of the best ways for kids to learn and remember new words.
| abolish | escalate | influence |
| accomplish | establish | investigate |
| accurate | evaluate | navigate |
| announce | evidence | opposed |
| anxious | exhaust | ordinary |
| approach | expansion | passage |
| approval | expectation | persuade |
| approximate | explain | primary |
| argument | express | recently |
| avoid | extend | reference |
| briskly | familiar | review |
| cease | frequent | revolt |
| claim | gigantic | scarce |
| conclude | gist | significant |
| conflict | glare | source |
| consistent | harsh | summarize |
| context | heroic | superior |
| convince | hesitate | tension |
| culture | hilarious | tolerate |
| decade | historic | tremble |
| dissatisfied | horizontal | unexpected |
| dominate | hostile | unfamiliar |
| drowsy | huddle | vertical |
| edible | identify | effortless |
| illegible | equivalent | immigrate |
Science Vocabulary Words for 5th Grade
Vocabulary words are important to language arts, but they also come in handy in science. Understanding the different terms like characteristics and heredity is important to gaining mastery of the concepts.
- air pressure (n.) – the pressure exerted by the air onto a surface
- boiling (adj.) – heated to or past the boiling point
- characteristic (n.) – distinguishing features
- chromosome (n.) – DNA strand coded with genes
- continental drift (n.) – the gradual movement of large landmasses (continents) over time
- earthquake (n.) – sudden, violent shaking of the ground
- effort (n.) – physical or mental exertion
- erosion (n.) – the process where elements like water and wind breakdown rock and earth
- fossil (n.) – remains of a prehistoric organism in rock
- glaciers (n.) – large thick ice masses that move slowly
- heredity (n.) – the passing on of genetic traits
- investigation (n.) – formal systematic research, inspection, or examination
- melting (adj.) – liquefying or dissolving
- prehistoric (adj.) – before written records
- repulsion (n.) – force where objects move away from one another
- resistance (n.) – opposition
- subjectivity (n.) – state of being influenced by personal opinions or tastes
- sublimation (n.) – chemical process in which a solid turns into a gas
- topography (n.) – the physical appearance of features on the surface of the earth
- water cycle (n.) – the cycle of water on earth that includes evaporation and transpiration
Check out our weekly spelling lists for fifth graders. Week 1 focuses on homophones, words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings.
Read it also: Compound Words
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