Grade 5 Science 

In this unit, students will explore the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers in ecosystems. Students will build models of food chains and food webs to investigate how matter and energy move through living systems. Students will also learn that matter continuously cycles between living and nonliving parts of the environment and consider ways people can help protect ecosystems.

In this unit, students will explore the importance of water as a natural resource. Students will investigate the distribution of fresh water and salt water on Earth and examine how water moves through Earth’s systems. Students will also explore how the hydrosphere and atmosphere interact, how water affects human societies, and how people can design solutions to reduce the impact of weather-related natural hazards.

In this unit, students will explore patterns involving Earth, the Sun, the Moon, and stars. Students will investigate how shadows change throughout the day, how the Sun’s position appears to change throughout the year, and how stars change with the seasons. Students will also create models of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon to explore patterns in the Moon’s appearance.

In this unit, students will explore our solar system and the force of gravity. Students will investigate how bright the sun appears from different planets in our solar system and compare the sun’s apparent brightness with that of stars in distant galaxies. Students will also examine gravity on Earth and on other planets to identify patterns in how this powerful force affects objects throughout space.

In this unit, students will investigate the properties of matter through hands-on explorations with everyday materials. Students will dissolve common substances to make solutions and observe simple chemical reactions. Through these investigations, students will begin to develop models that explain matter as being made of tiny particles.