Who We Are

An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

Central Idea: Physical, cultural, and social-emotional development define our choices and identity.

NGSS: Structure and Properties of Matter

1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. 5-PS1-1
2. 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. 5-PS1-2
3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties. 5-PS1-3
4. Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances. 5-

Resources:

Books in the iCommons:

1. Tell me how much it weighs written and illustrated by Shirley Willis. (Series: Whiz kids). Summary: Introduces the concept of weight, discussing units of weight, methods of measuring weight, and the importance of weight measurement for a variety of uses. (Nonfiction)

2. How seeds travel. Summary: Describes how seeds are moved from place to place by wind, water, and animals, and how they function in plant reproduction. (Nonfiction)

3. The tin forest by Helen Ward ; illustrated by Wayne Anderson.An old man's persistent dreams transform a garbage dump into a forest full of life. (Picture Book)

4. City green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan. Summary: Marcy and Miss Rosa start a campaign to clean up an empty lot and turn it into a community garden. (Picture Book)

5. There's a hair in my dirt! : a worm's story by Gary Larson ; foreword by Edward O. Wilson. Summary: A young earthworm, upset to discover a hair in his dinner dirt, gets a lesson about the realities of nature from his father, and learns about his importance in the perpetuation of life on Earth. (Picture Book)

6. World above the clouds : a story of a Himalayan ecosystem by Ann Whitehead Nagda ; illustrated by Paul Kratter. Summary: A young snow leopard hunts among the other animal inhabitants of her snow-covered home in the Himalayan peaks of northern India. (Narrative Nonfiction)

7. What if there were no gray wolves? : a book about the temperate forest ecosystem by Suzanne Slade ; illustrated by Carol Schwartz. (Series: Food chain reactions) Summary: Discusses the importance of each animal in the temperate forest ecosystem, and looks at what would happen if the grey wolf were to become extinct. (Narrative Nonfiction)

8. What are food chains and webs? Bobbie Kalman & Jacqueline Langille. (Series: The science of living things)A simple introduction to food chains and webs, featuring both herbivores and carnivores and discussing energy, food production, and decomposition in various ecosystems. (Nonfiction)

9. This is the sea that feeds us by Robert F. Baldwin ; illustrated by Don Dyen Summary: This cumulative rhyme portrays the ocean's intricate food web, with each verse introducing another hungry creature, from the tiny plankton up to a grateful family of humans. (Nonfiction Narrative)

10. Prince William By Gloria Rand. Summary: On Prince William Sound in Alaska, Denny rescues a baby seal hurt by an oil spill and watches it recover at a nearby animal hospital.