3-5 Science

Skills of Inquiry
These are not taught as stand alone objectives, but rather should be interwoven throughout
each unit.
Grades 3–5
• Ask questions and make predictions that can be tested.
• Select and use appropriate tools and technology (e.g., calculators,
computers, balances, scales, meter sticks, graduated cylinders) in order to
extend observations.
• Keep accurate records while conducting simple investigations or
experiments.
• Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction. Compare the result of an
investigation or experiment with the prediction.
• Recognize simple patterns in data and use data to create a reasonable
explanation for the results of an investigation or experiment.
• Record data and communicate findings to others using graphs, charts,
maps, models, and oral and written reports.
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Third Grade
Matter
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
M 1. Differentiate between properties of objects (e.g., size, shape, weight) and properties of
materials (e.g., color, texture, hardness).
M 2. Compare and contrast solids, liquids, and gases based on the basic properties of each of
these states of matter.
M 3. Describe how water can be changed from one state to another by adding or taking
away
heat.
TECHNOLOGY
1.1 Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, e.g.,
strength, hardness, and flexibility.
Weather & Water Cycle
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
M 6. Explain how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation
make up the weather in a particular place and time.
M 7. Distinguish among the various forms of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail),
making connections to the weather in a particular place and time.
M 8. Describe how global patterns such as the jet stream and water currents influence local
weather in measurable terms such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and
precipitation. (revisit jet stream in 4th or 5th grade)
M 9. Differentiate between weather and climate.
M 10. Describe how water on earth cycles in different forms and in different locations,
including underground and in the atmosphere.
M 11. Give examples of how the cycling of water, both in and out of the atmosphere, has an
effect on climate.
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Three R’s
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
M 10. Describe how water on earth cycles in different forms and in different locations,
including underground and in the atmosphere.
M 11. Give examples of how the cycling of water, both in and out of the atmosphere, has an
effect on climate.
TECHNOLOGY
1.1 Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, e.g.,
strength, hardness, and flexibility.
LIFE SCIENCE
Introduce through worms and decomposition:
I 11. Describe how energy derived from the sun is used by plants to produce sugars
(photosynthesis) and is transferred within a food chain from producers (plants) to
consumers to decomposers.
Introduction to Energy
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
I 4. Identify the basic forms of energy (light, sound, heat, electrical, and magnetic).
Recognize that energy is the ability to cause motion or create change.
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Fourth Grade
Plants & Soil
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
M 4. Explain and give examples of the ways in which soil is formed (the weathering of rock
by water and wind and from the decomposition of plant and animal remains).
M 5. Recognize and discuss the different properties of soil, including color, texture (size of
particles), the ability to retain water, and the ability to support the growth of plants.
LIFE SCIENCE
M 1. Classify plants and animals according to the physical characteristics that they share.
M 2. Identify the structures in plants (leaves, roots, flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are
responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and
protection.
M 3. Recognize that plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include birth,
growth, development, reproduction, and death.
M 9. Recognize plant behaviors, such as the way seedlings’ stems grow toward light and
their
roots grow downward in response to gravity. Recognize that many plants and animals can
survive harsh environments because of seasonal behaviors, e.g., in winter, some trees shed
leaves, some animals hibernate, and other animals migrate.
M 11. Describe how energy derived from the sun is used by plants to produce sugars
(photosynthesis) and is transferred within a food chain from producers (plants) to
consumers to decomposers.
Pond
LIFE SCIENCE
M 3. Recognize that plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include birth,
growth, development, reproduction, and death.
M 4. Describe the major stages that characterize the life cycle of the frog (new) and
butterfly (review) as they go through metamorphosis.
M 11. Describe how energy derived from the sun is used by plants to produce sugars
(photosynthesis) and is transferred within a food chain from producers (plants) to
consumers to decomposers.
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Simple Machines
TECHNOLOGY
1.2 Identify and explain the appropriate materials and tools (e.g., hammer, screwdriver,
pliers, tape measure, screws, nails, and other mechanical fasteners) to construct a given
prototype safely.
1.3 Identify and explain the difference between simple and complex machines, e.g., hand can
opener that includes multiple gears, wheel, wedge, gear, and lever.
2.1 Identify a problem that reflects the need for shelter, storage, or convenience.
2.2 Describe different ways in which a problem can be represented, e.g., sketches, diagrams,
graphic organizers, and lists.
2.3 Identify relevant design features (e.g., size, shape, weight) for building a prototype of a
solution to a given problem.
Sound & Light
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
M 11. Recognize that sound is produced by vibrating objects and requires a medium through
which to travel. Relate the rate of vibration to the pitch of the sound.
M 12. Recognize that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or travels from
one medium to another, and that light can be reflected, refracted, and absorbed.
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Fifth Grade
Geology
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
M 1. Give a simple explanation of what a mineral is and some examples, e.g., quartz, mica.
M 2. Identify the physical properties of minerals (hardness, color, luster, cleavage, and
streak),
and explain how minerals can be tested for these different physical properties.
M 3. Identify the three categories of rocks (metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary) based
on how they are formed, and explain the natural and physical processes that create these
rocks.
M 12. Give examples of how the surface of the earth changes due to slow processes such as
erosion and weathering, and rapid processes such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and
earthquakes.
Astronomy
EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
M 13. Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the “solar system” that includes
the sun (a star), planets, and many moons. The earth is the third planet from the sun in our
solar system.
M 14. Recognize that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year’s time and that
the earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours. Make connections between
the rotation of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon, and
stars across the sky.
M 15. Describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course
of a month.
Adaptation & Behavior
LIFE SCIENCE
M 5. Differentiate between observed characteristics of plants and animals that are fully
inherited (e.g., color of flower, shape of leaves, color of eyes, number of appendages) and
characteristics that are affected by the climate or environment (e.g., browning of leaves
due to too much sun, language spoken).
M 6. Give examples of how inherited characteristics may change over time as adaptations
to changes in the environment that enable organisms to survive, e.g., shape of beak or feet,
placement of eyes on head, length of neck, shape of teeth, color.
M 7. Give examples of how changes in the environment (drought, cold) have caused some
plants and animals to die or move to new locations (migration).
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Adaptation, continued...
M 8. Describe how organisms meet some of their needs in an environment by using
behaviors (patterns of activities) in response to information (stimuli) received from the
environment. Recognize that some animal behaviors are instinctive (e.g., turtles burying
their eggs), and others are learned (e.g., humans building fires for warmth, chimpanzees
learning how to use tools).
M 10. Give examples of how organisms can cause changes in their environment to ensure
survival. Explain how some of these changes may affect the ecosystem.
TECHNOLOGY
2.4 Compare natural systems with mechanical systems that are designed to serve similar
purposes, e.g., a bird’s wings as compared to an airplane’s wings.
Electricity & Magnetism
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
M 5. Give examples of how energy can be transferred from one form to another.
M 6. Recognize that electricity in circuits requires a complete loop through which an
electrical current can pass, and that electricity can produce light, heat, and sound.
M 7. Identify and classify objects and materials that conduct electricity and objects and
materials that are insulators of electricity.
M 8. Explain how electromagnets can be made, and give examples of how they can be used.
M 9. Recognize that magnets have poles that repel and attract each other.
M 10. Identify and classify objects and materials that a magnet will attract and objects and
materials that a magnet will not attract.
TECHNOLOGY
2.1 Identify a problem that reflects the need for shelter, storage, or convenience.
2.2 Describe different ways in which a problem can be represented, e.g., sketches, diagrams,
graphic organizers, and lists.
2.3 Identify relevant design features (e.g., size, shape, weight) for building a prototype of a
solution to a given problem.