Concepts & Practices Storyline

Focus Question #1: How does motion energy move and change? 

1. Moving objects have motion energy.

2. Heat, light, and sound are evidence for energy.

3. Motion energy can change into heat, light, and sound.

4. Motion energy can move to another object in a collision.

Focus Question #2: How does speed affect motion energy?

5. Faster objects produce more sound in a collision.

6. Faster objects have more motion energy.

7. Plants and animals have structures that help them move fast.

Focus Question #3: What causes moving objects to slow down?

8. Motion energy changes to heat when an object slides on a surface.

9. Motion energy changes to heat when an object moves through the air.

10. Motion energy changes to heat when a soft object deforms.

Science Challenge

Focus Question #4: How can we protect our brains in a collision?

11. It is important to protect our brain.

12. Several solutions to a problem need to be considered.

13. A solution to a problem needs to be tested.

Concepts & Practices Storyline

Focus Question #1: How can animals sense the world around them?

1. We see objects because light reflected from their surface reaches our eyes.

2. Internal and external eye structures support different functions for survival.

3. Animals have a variety of sense receptors specialized for different kinds of information.

Focus Question #2: How can animals process and respond to information?

4. Information from the senses is processed in the brain.

5. Animals can use their memories to learn and guide their actions.

6. Information from multiple senses, as well as memories, can be integrated when animals decide how to react.

Focus Question #3: How can animals send and receive information to communicate?

7. Communication requires a sender, signal, and receiver.

8. When receivers are not present, communication is not possible.

9. Plants have structures that support survival and that can sometimes be used to communicate information to animals.

Focus Question #4: What are some challenges in communication?

10. Animals can solve communication problems.

11. Computers send messages as digital signals of 1s and 0s.

12. Solutions to human communication problems vary based on criteria and constraints, but digital signals solve many problems and allow messages to be sent quickly and accurately. 

Science Challenge

Focus Question #5: How can fireflies communicate to attract a mate?

13. Fireflies identify mates using species-specific flash patterns.

14. Flash patterns can be modeled to test how likely they are to be confused for similar patterns.

15. Scientific arguments are based on evidence.

Concepts & Practices Storyline

Focus Question #1: How do volcanoes and earthquakes affect humans?

1. Maps and globes represent major features on Earth.

2. There are patterns in the location of some features of Earth.

3. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can cause hazards for humans.

4. The periodic motion of water waves affects objects differently in deep water and when coming ashore.

Focus Question #2: How can humans protect themselves from earthquakes?

5. Earthquake shaking hazards vary with distance.

6. Earthquake impacts on humans can be reduced through engineering.

7. Buildings can be designed to keep humans safe during earthquakes.

Focus Question #3: How do Earth processes change the landscape?

8. Erosion by wind, water, glacier movement, and earthquake shaking can change landscapes.

9. Weathering and erosion processes break up rocks and move the pieces around.

10. Plants can both contribute to weathering and erosion and limit the effects of these processes.

Focus Question #4: How do rock layers show that landscape change?

11. Rock layers hold evidence of past landscapes.

12. Rock layers hold evidence of past landscapes and landscape changes (Landscape Match Game)

13. Rock layers hold evidence of past landscapes and landscape changes (Red Rock Story)

Science Challenge

Focus Question #5: How can we use evidence to tell the story of a changing Earth?

14. Part 1: Evidence of a changing Earth comes in many forms and can be found all around us.

15. Part 2: Evidence of a changing Earth comes in many forms and can be found all around us.