This page includes information about:
Concept building in the classroom
Assessment and grading
Homework and turning in work
Differentiation
Parent and student resources
2025-2026 School Year
Welcome to the 5th/6th Grade science program! As students move through 5th and 6th grade, they develop strong scientific thinking skills. This page is designed to help students (and parents) understand the general expectations and practices for science in grades 5 and 6. If you have questions that are not answered in this online handbook, please send me an email: lreece@riverdale.k12.or.us
Let’s get started…
Activities in the science room will vary from day to day, following the flow of concept development. Students work individually, in small groups, and as a collective to as they develop new concepts. Concept-building moves through a carefully-orchestrated sequence involving:
(1) asking questions, developing claims
(2) developing models,
(3) planning and carrying out investigations, obtaining information using a variety or resources and strategies, collecting and organizing data
(4) analyzing and interpreting data,
(5) using computation and math concepts,
(6) constructing and explaining science phenomena,
(7) engaging in argument from evidence, developing hypotheses
Throughout the course of a unit of study, students will be assessed using two different methods:
(1) Formative Assessments- "formative" assessments are evaluations of learning as students develop concepts, sometime during the process of concept development. These usually include labs, quizzes and collections of evidence.
(2) Summative Assessments- "summative" assessments are given after the sequence of concept development is complete. These assessments come in two forms: (a) Projects, in which students have the opportunity to apply concepts from a unit in an integrated project, and (b) Unit Tests, summarizing learning on all concepts explored within the unit of study.
All assessments are scored for proficiency and understanding; this understanding is translated into raw marks (out of 10 points), and listed in Synergy as a letter grade. Click here for examples of the scoring rubrics used for science assessments.
To determine a trimester final grade, the mean of summative scores make up 60% of the overall grade; the remaining 40% from formative assessments, such as weekly quizzes, labs, and collections of evidence.
Research on homework is mixed, though the majority of studies lean toward some benefit for home practice. For students in intermediate grades, most studies show that the greatest benefit comes from short, targeted assignments. Science homework is assigned only occasionally; when assigned, it usually involves the completion of something from class that was unfinished, or working on elements of a long-term project.
Turning in Work
Students have a personal folder in the science room for keeping track of science documents throughout the unit of study. Most of these documents will be evidence handouts from class (these are basically records of observations, summaries of group activities or research, other notes, or general classroom data collection. These will not be turned in for a grade, but serve as important elements of the hypothesis-generation process.
Students will work throughout the unit on a "Collection of Evidence"- a large poster that serves as a organizational tool for compiling data, supporting claims, and recording understandings. These will be turned in for a grade at the end of the unit.
Additionally, students will turn in their lab sheets for scoring directly after completion. These will be returned and housed in their classroom folders.
*Additional Note: Families are strongly encouraged to schedule vacations and trips during school vacation days. If it is known ahead of time that a student will be absent for more than a day or two, please contact the 5/6 team so that work can be gathered and sent with the student to prevent him or her from falling behind. This is especially true in math, as students explore new math concepts nearly every day.
Every class of students will be made up of students with a wide range of skills, abilities, learning styles, and learning paces. To address students' need for additional challenge in science, we use an equally wide range of differentiation techniques. Examples include:
Daily monitoring and adjustment of classwork - most classwork assigned is designed to be flexible. While students can all be working on the same general concept, the type of activities completed can vary in complexity.
High-end questioning- all class discussions include a range of questioning strategies, and higher end questions are consistently incorporated into class discussion every day...all students are encouraged to “reach” in their thinking.
Extension work and optional activities- projects assigned at the end of each unit include a variety extensions for students who are ready to move on, assigned in multiple formats.
The practice of differentiation includes adaptation for students who benefit from extra reinforcement as well. All of the techniques mentioned above are utilized for students who need additional processing time, reinforcement, or another approach. For example, as classwork is monitored, problems may be adjusted to include more support work and consolidation, giving a student more time with one concept before moving on to another, or one problem might be broken into individual steps. Follow-up questioning is consistently used, and students also receive additional focused instruction during work stations.
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
ODE:
http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=51
Information about proficiency-based grading:
http://www.ode.state.or.us/pubs/eii/proficiency.learning.parent.info.pdf