SCIENCE  🦋
GRADE 5 steels curriculum framework

Ecosystems & the food web

STANDARD 3.1.5.A

• Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.

BIG IDEA

• Animals have external and internal sensory receptors that detect different kinds of information that then gets processed by the brain.

CORE IDEAS

• Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from air and water.

ENERGY & MATTER

• Matter is transported into, out of, and within systems.

Ecosystems & the food web

STANDARD 3.1.5.B

• Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. 

BIG IDEA

• Ecosystems are complex systems that include both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components that interact with each other. 

CORE IDEAS

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• 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. 

• Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter. 

SYSTEMS & SYSTEM MODELS

• A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. 

Properties OF Matter

STANDARD 3.2.5.A

• Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. 

STANDARD 3.2.5.B

• Make and communicate observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.  

STANDARD 3.2.5.C

• Interpret and analyze data to make decisions about how to utilize materials based on their properties

BIG IDEA

• All forms of matter exist as a result of the combination or rearrangement of atoms.  

CORE IDEAS

• Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gasses are made from matter particles that are too small to see and that are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects. 

SCALE, PROPORTION & QUANTITY

• Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large

CHEMICAL Reactions

STANDARD 3.2.5.D

• Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.

STANDARD 3.2.5.E

• Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances. 

BIG IDEA

• All forms of matter exist as a result of the combination or rearrangement of atoms.  

CORE IDEAS

• Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gasses are made from matter particles that are too small to see and that are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects. 

SCALE, PROPORTION & QUANTITY

• Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large

CHEMICAL Reactions

STANDARD 3.2.5.F

• Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down. 

BIG IDEA

• All forces between objects, regardless of size or direction, arise from only  a few types of interactions.  

CORE IDEAS

• The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth’s surface pulls that object toward the planet’s center. 

CAUSE & AFFECT

• Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.

CHEMICAL REACTIONS

STANDARD 3.2.5.G

• Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun. 

BIG IDEA

• To produce energy typically means to convert some stored energy into a desired form. 

CORE IDEAS

• The energy released from food was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water). Food provides animals with the materials they need for body repair and growth and the energy they need to maintain body warmth and for motion. (secondary) 

PATTERNS

• Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena. 

STARS & PLANETS

STANDARD 3.3.5.A

• Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.

BIG IDEA

• We can infer information about stars based on observations we make from Earth.

CORE IDEAS

• The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer. Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth.

SCALE, PROPORTION & QUANTITY

• Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large. 

EARTH & SPACE PATTERNS

STANDARD 3.3.5.B

• Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

BIG IDEA

• Observations of the sky can be explained by predictable patterns of the movement of Earth, moon, sun and planets. 

CORE IDEAS

• The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes. 

PATTERNS

• Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena

WATER CYCLE & EARTH'S Systems

STANDARD 3.3.5.C

• Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.

BIG IDEA

• Plate tectonics explains the past and current movements and features of the rocks at Earth’s surface. 

CORE IDEAS

• 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). These systems interact in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes.  The ocean supports a variety of ecosystems and organisms, shapes, landforms, and influences climate.  Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with the landforms to determine patterns of weather.  . 

SYSTEMS & SYSTEM MODELS

• A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. 

WATER CYCLE & EARTH'S Systems

STANDARD 3.3.5.D

• Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. 

BIG IDEA

• Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things

CORE IDEAS

• Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean. Most freshwater is in glaciers or underground; only a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere. 

SCALE, PROPORTION & QUANTITY

• Standard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight and volume. 

Water CYCLE & Earth’s Systems

STANDARD 3.3.5.E

• Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

BIG IDEA

• Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major impacts on the land, rivers, ocean, and air. 

CORE IDEAS

• Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments.

SYSTEMS & SYSTEM MODELS

• Systems and System Models A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

CONNECTIONS TO NATURE OF SCIENCE

• Science addresses questions about the natural and material World.  Science findings are limited to questions that can be answered with empirical evidence.