Fifth Grade Curriculum
Sun’s Effect on Climate and Seasons
Why are some places on Earth hotter than others at different times of the year? In this set of six lessons, students analyze and interpret data and use models to explain patterns in temperatures at different times of the year. Students explore how Earth’s curved surface, consistent tilt, and its orbit around the sun result in uneven heating across the planet.
Matter
Students learn about a pond nearby a school where they have observed a change. In this set of seven lessons, students wonder how they can figure out what was mixed with pond water that could have changed the water, and can they separate the stuff after it’s mixed in? Students plan and carry out investigations then use the data from those investigations as evidence for an explanation. Students will then use what they’ve learned about properties of substances and the particulate nature of matter to figure out how the substances could have gotten into the pond.