Scientific Study in Our Virtual Classroom

We will ask many questions and define any problems we need to investigate.
 We will design and carry out investigations.
We will collect and evaluate the data collected in our investigation. 
We will create and communicate explanations based on our data our investigation produced.
When possible, we will utilize our data to make suggestions to solve the problem we investigated.
The below link buttons are for research and gathering background information to aid in your understanding of our scientific concepts.

Sequence of Topics for 5th grade
​

Unit 1 / Properties & Changes in Matter
Unit 2 / Matter & Energy in Ecosystems

Our essential questions:
  • How are properties of matter identified and used in the real world?
  • How does matter change?
​Our enduring understandings:
  • Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see with the naked eye, but through the use of microscopes or other equipment it is possible to still obvserve it.
  • Observations and measurements of a variety of properties can be used to identify materials.
  • When two didfferent substances are mixed, a new substance may result.
  • Matter can change and the amount (weight) of matter is conserved when it changes.
Integrated skills:
  • Conduct research by using text and media resources
  • Draw evidence from informational text
  • Summarize & paraphrase information from research and investigations
  • Measure properties of matter using tools accurately and strategically for mass, temperature & volume
  • analyze & interpret gathered data and graphs

Helpful Unit 1 Links:
​Matter Unit Introduction Video
Descriptive Sentence Starters for ELLs
Cause & Effect Sentence Starters for ELLs Matter is Everywhere.PDF
Why does Matter Matter? (Only a SPS link)
Scholastic/Study Jams!  Properties of Matter
Scholastic/Study Jams!  Physical & Chemical Changes of Matter
Chemical Change Cafe (Only a SPS link)
Read Aloud:  Burn Michael Faraday's Candle
Read Aloud:  NGK Wildfires

Unit 3 / Earth's Systems

Our essential questions:
  • How is water distributed throughout the Earth?
  • How do the Earth’s systems interact with each other?
  • How do humans protect Earth’s resources?

​Our enduring understandings:
  • Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and molten rock, soil, and sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (living things, including humans).
  • The Earth’s major systems interact in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes.
  • Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean. Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only a
    tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere.
  • Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space.
  • Individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments​
Integrated skills:
  • Use information from print and digital resources to build understandings
  • After gathering information from multiple sources, make inferences, answer questions, participate in discussions, solve problems, and support their thinking about topics
  • Summarize & paraphrase information from research and investigations
  • Measure properties of matter using tools accurately and strategically for mass, temperature & volume
  • analyze & interpret gathered data and graphs




Helpful Unit 3 Links:
The Best View of the Grand Canyon - video
Layers of the Grand Canyon - video
Weathering & Erosion - Study Jams 
Erosion and Weathering for Kids -Causes and Differences - video
Ice Sculptures - Digital Book
​Chasing Ice - Video trailer/glaciers
Under the Glacier - video
Bill Nye on Erosion
Landforms - video
Old Faithful - video
Super Volcano - PDF
​Volcanos - YouTube Playlist

Our essential questions:
  • Where do plants get their matherial sthey need for growth?
  • How can energy in animals' food be connected to the sun?
  • How does matter cycle among plants, animals, decomposers and the environment?
​Our enduring understandings:
  • Matter is transported into, out of, and within ecosystems?
  • Plants acquire their material for growth cheifly from air and water?
  • The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants.
  • Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms.
  • Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met.
Integrated skills:
  • Use information from readings to answer questions, participate in discussions, solve problems, and support their thinking
  • Build models and enhance those models when possible using multimedia components such as graphics, sound, and visual displays.
  • Use apporpriate tools in strategic wasy to record observations
  • Model and organize observational data using tables, charts and graphs
  • Reason abstractly & quantitatively when analyzing data used for evidence
  • Convert between different-sized standart measurement units

​Helpful Unit 2 Links:
​National Geographic-A Sense of Plants
Venus Flytrap video
Plant senses video
Sensitive plant video
​National Geographic-Staying Alive
Staying Alive - PDF
Flower Power-Dissecting Flower Parts - PDF
Parts of a Flower
Snacking on Sunlight article/listen option
Bugs - PDF
Wiggling Worms - PDF
Ducks Don't Get Wet - PDF
Barn Owl in SILENT flight video
Barn Owl Attack - Slow motion video
Why would a Hawk move to NYC?
Bill Nye the Science Guy:  Food Web

Discovery Kids Articles:  
     Your Nervous System,
     Your Respiratory System,
     Your Circulatory System, and
​     Your Digestive System

​Energy and Kids
​What is Energy? 
Brain Pop - Forms of Energy
Sources of  Energy 
Where Does Energy Come From
Bill Nye on Energy
Brain Pop - Circuits
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind-Documentary
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind-Picture Book
UA-71250716-1