Grade 5 Science Curriculum
Family-facing version of the grade 5 science curriculum
Goals
The purposes of scientific investigation and discovery are to satisfy humankind’s quest for knowledge and understanding and to preserve and enhance the quality of the human experience. Therefore, as a result of science instruction, students will be able to achieve the following objectives:
- Develop and use an experimental design in scientific inquiry.
- Use the language of science to communicate understanding.
- Investigate phenomena using technology.
- Apply scientific concepts, skills, and processes to everyday experiences.
- Experience the richness and excitement of scientific discovery of the natural world through the collaborative quest for knowledge and understanding.
- Make informed decisions regarding contemporary issues.
- Develop scientific dispositions and habits of mind.
- Develop an understanding of the interrelationship of science with technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- Explore science-related careers and interests.
Quarterly Overview of Grade 5 Science
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Units and Details
Students will
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that:
- energy can take many forms.
- there is a relationship between force and energy of moving objects.
- the conservation of energy resources is important.
Students will understand:
- There are a variety of forces always acting upon objects, affecting the way the objects move.
- Because the natural world is understandable, scientists use logic and innovation to apply what they learn from nature and develop technology useful for humans.
- Energy can occur in different forms. It can be transferred between objects or it can be transformed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
- Sources of energy can be conserved (used wisely and protected).
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Explain how relationships between variables affect the outcome of an investigation.
- Synthesize data to identify short and long term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e., environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Identify and explain errors or limitations in scientific findings.
Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e., change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.). - Create and/or refine models to explain complex scientific ideas.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Design and model a system demonstrating energy transformations, noting energy loss/places where energy is not used.
- Investigate the efficiency of energy transformations in practical applications.
- Compare and contrast various forms of energy based on their characteristics and uses.
- Explore how changes in mass, speed, and force affect an object's kinetic energy.
- Examine multiple forces acting on an object to predict its movement.
- Design systems to control how energy transfers when objects collide.
- Investigate manipulating friction to aid or hinder motion.
- Analyze long-term impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
- Design energy conservation plans, explaining benefits and drawbacks.
- Evaluate current energy consumption patterns and infer future consequences.
Students will:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that:
- Matter has properties and interactions.
- Earth constantly changes.
Students will understand:
- Changes on and within Earth happen both gradually and suddenly, impacting ecosystems by causing the creation, destruction, or movement of land.
- Scientists use observations to classify, make inferences, draw conclusions, and predict changes in the future.
- The surface of Earth can be changed through human impact, and humans can respond, make decisions, and act in order to control negative changes.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Explain how relationships between variables affect the outcome of an investigation.
- Synthesize data to identify short and long term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e., environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Identify and explain errors or limitations in scientific findings.
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e., change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.).
- Create and/or refine models to explain complex scientific ideas.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Analyze how energy changes the phases of different types of matter.
- Investigate physical changes (like mixing or changing state) to understand what causes them and to show that matter is conserved.
- Predict what happens when substances are mixed, heated, or cooled.
- Analyze interconnections between Earth's internal energy, plate movement, and major landforms.
- Interpret geological evidence (e.g., fossils, rock layers) to infer past Earth changes and events.
- Model the rock cycle to explain the transformation of Earth materials over geological time.
- Evaluate the long-term impact of various surface processes (weathering, erosion, deposition) on Earth's landforms.
Students will:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that:
- Energy can take many forms.
- Electricity is transmitted and used in daily life.
- The conservation of energy resources is important.
Students will understand:
- Scientists carefully plan and conduct experiments to test ideas and form conclusions.
- The flow of electricity can be manipulated to produce different outcomes.
- Electrical and magnetic energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred or transformed.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Explain how relationships between variables affect the outcome of an investigation.
- Synthesize data to identify short and long term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e., environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Identify and explain errors or limitations in scientific findings.
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e., change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.).
- Create and/or refine models to explain complex scientific ideas.
Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement. - Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Design and model a system demonstrating energy transformations, noting energy loss/places where energy is not used.
- Investigate the efficiency of energy transformations in practical applications.
- Compare and contrast various forms of energy based on their characteristics and uses.
- Design complex circuits to achieve specific functions or solve a problem.
Investigate factors affecting the flow of electricity in different types of circuits. - Analyze the practical applications of static electricity and electromagnetism in technology.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of various materials as conductors or insulators for specific electrical applications.
- Analyze long-term impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
- Design energy conservation plans, explaining benefits and drawbacks.
- Evaluate current energy consumption patterns and infer future consequences.
Students will:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that:
- Sound can be produced and transmitted.
- Visible light has certain characteristics and behaves in predictable ways.
Students will understand:
- Light and sound are forms of energy.
- Both light and sound waves have attributes that affect how they are perceived.
- Because the natural world is understandable, scientists use logic and innovation to apply what they learn from nature and develop technology useful for humans.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Explain how relationships between variables affect the outcome of an investigation.
- Synthesize data to identify short and long term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e., environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Identify and explain errors or limitations in scientific findings.
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e., change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.).
- Create and/or refine models to explain complex scientific ideas.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Analyze the relationship between an object's vibration and the properties of the sound produced (e.g., pitch, volume).
- Investigate how different media affect the speed and transmission of sound.
- Design a system to manipulate or utilize sound for a specific purpose or application.
- Evaluate technologies that produce, transmit, or utilize sound in complex ways.
- Analyze how the properties of light waves (e.g., wavelength) relate to the visible spectrum and human perception.
- Investigate how various types of matter interact with light (e.g., reflection, refraction, absorption) to influence its path.
- Evaluate how radiant energy is transformed into other forms (thermal, mechanical, electrical) in different technologies.
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), fifth grade tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.
