Suggested lessons

Ideas suggested by teachers in our partner school

 * identifying specimens using a dichotomous key
 * inquiry-based trip plan to ECHO
 * formation of Lake Champlain
 * Cellular organelles using prepared slides
 * Observing changes over time to either local land forms or the polar ice caps through photo and image analysis
 * Rock identification lab (ideally a student who has had Ecosystem ecology)

5th Grade Curriculum
Students working to develop activities for grade 5 will find this specific curriculum information helpful.

CS#2 – Physical Science

Topics and Concepts Characteristics of Matter – weight, mass and volume Understanding the difference between weight and mass Introduce the metric system

Skills – Learning Outcomes Using a triple beam balance to measure mass Calculating volume of solid objects – length x width x height Scientific Method Skills – predicting and testing Computer skills – generate a graph that demonstrates the relationship between the volume of an object and it’s mass

Basic Unit Ideas – Learning Strategies •	Compare mass of objects that have similar volume but different matter (a block of wood

Extension Ideas Predict the change of mass that will result from changing the volume of a substance (cut the wood block in half)

CS#4 – Life Science

Topics and Concepts Observe natural interactions and life cycles of plants and animals Decomposers Skills – Learning Outcomes Observation

Basic Unit Ideas – Learning Strategies •	Provide opportunities for students to observe and discuss life cycles of organisms by growing plants or caring for class fish or pets

Extension Ideas Initiate or maintain a garden or flower bed on campus

CS#5 – Life Science

Topics and Concepts Cells as living organisms Unicellular organisms compared to mulitcellular organisms Basic cell functions – metabolizing food, growing and developing, responding to stimulus…

Skills – Learning Outcomes Proper use and handling of a light microscope Scientific Method Skills – observing, testing, collecting and organizing data, analyzing data Preparing a lab report to communicate the results of the experiment

Basic Unit Ideas – Learning Strategies •	Use light microscopes to observe live microscopic organisms •	Experiment with organisms survival in various environmental conditions (i.e. change the temperature of the water, add salt to the environment, change the exposure to light…)

Extension Ideas Examine prepared slides of the reproductive stages of single cells

CS#6 – Earth Science

Topics and Concepts Types of rocks – sedimentary, igneous… Identifying characteristics – cleavage, streak, luster The rock cycle Determining the age of fossils or rocks depending upon their location in the layers of the Earth Geological Changes over time – due to wind, water, ice, snow, global warming, earthquakes…

Skills – Learning Outcomes Classification through use of an identification key for rocks Comparing skills Analyzing visual data – results of the streak tests and comparing the local land forms changing over time Extrapolating skills – predict what the land forms will look like in the future due to continued weather events and patterns

Basic Unit Ideas – Learning Strategies •	Rock identification lab •	Observing changes over time to either local land forms or the polar ice caps through photo and image analysis •	Identify the environmental changes that caused the geologic changes •	Predict future changes

Extension Ideas Create a model of the land form or ice caps as predicted to appear in the future.