Plum Borough School District
Course
Fifth Grade Science
Grade
5th
Unit/Lesson
Life Science
Overview
Big Idea
All living things are made of parts that have specific functions.
The cell is the basic unit of structure and function for all living things.
Different characteristics of plants and animals help some populations survive and reproduce
in greater numbers.
Standards/Assessment anchor/Eligible Content
Essential Question
S4.A.1.3.1, S4.A.1.3.2, S4.A.1.3.3, S4.C.1.1.2 S8.B.3.1.1, S8.B.3.1.3, S8.C.2.1.1,
S8.C.2.1.3, S8.C.2.2.1 S8.B.1.1.1, S8.B.1.1.3, S8.B.1.1.4 S4.A.3.1
Concepts (what should
students know as a result of the
Competencies/Skills
instruction) -
Parts of living things work
together to carry out life
functions.
Describe relationships
among parts of a
natural or human-made
system.
Each plant or animal has
different structures that serve
different functions in growth,
survival, and reproduction.
Most living things need food,
water, light, air, and a way to
dispose of wastes.
Energy is needed for all
organisms to stay alive and
grow.
Living things can be grouped
based on their similarities and
differences.
Individuals of the same kind
differ in their characteristics,
and sometimes the differences
give individuals an advantage
in surviving and reproducing.
Measure, describe, or
classify organisms,
objects and/or materials
by basic characteristics,
their changes, and their
Materials
Used
How do the structures and functions of living things allow them to meet their
needs?
How does the variation among individuals affect their survival?
How can one cell function as an organism?
Activities/
Assessments
Time
Allocation
Interventions:
Tier 2 or 3,
Enrichment,
Remediation,
etc…
Other:
Technology,
vocabulary,
writing, etc…
creating a population with
survival and reproductive
advantages.
Some organisms that lived
long ago are similar to existing
organisms, but some are quite
different.
There are structural and
functional similarities and
differences that characterize
diverse living things.
All living things are made up of
smaller units called cells.
Cells carry out the many
functions needed to sustain
life.
Cells take in nutrients that they
use to provide energy to carry
out their life functions.
Cells grow and divide thereby
producing more cells.
There are defining structures of
cells for both plants and
animals.
Specialized cells perform
specialized functions in
multicellular organisms.
Different body tissues and
organs are made up of
different kinds of cells.
All multicellular organisms
have systems that interact with
one another to perform specific
functions and enable the
organism to function as a
whole.
uses.
Describe the flow of
energy from the sun,
throughout the earth
system, living and nonliving, from the cellular
scale to the global
scale, and describe the
transformations of that
energy as it moves
through the system.
Identify examples of the
relationship(s) between
structure and function in
the living world.
Disease affects the structures
and/or functions of an
organism.
Every organism has a set of
genetic instructions that
determines its inherited traits.
The gene is the basic unit of
inheritance.
Course
5TH Grade Science
Grade
5th
Unit/Lesson
Earth Science
Overview
Big Idea
The earth system changes constantly as air, water, soil, and rock interact, and the earth is a part of a
larger sun, earth, moon system.
Standards/Assessment anchor/Eligible Content
Essential Question
S4.A.3.2.1, S4.A.3.2.2, S4.A.3.2.3 S4.A.2.1.1, S4.A.2.1.2, S4.A.2.1.3, S4.A.2.1.4
Concepts (what should
students know as a result of the
Competencies/Skills
instruction) -
A system is made of parts, and
the parts can interact.
Anything on or near the earth
is pulled downward by the
earth’s gravity.
Objects in the sky have
patterns of movement that can
be observed.
The Earth rotates on its axis
once every 24 hours, giving
rise to the cycle of night and
day. The Earth’s rotation
causes the sun, moon, stars,
and planets to appear to orbit
the Earth once each day.
When liquid water disappears,
it turns into a gas (water vapor)
in the air. It can reappear as a
liquid when cooled or as a solid
when cooled further. Clouds
Construct and use
models to explain
natural phenomena and
make predictions and
conduct investigations.
Communicate through
speaking, writing, or
drawing predictions,
observations, and
conclusions.
Materials
Used
What is the evidence that the earth’s systems change?
What predictable patterns of change can be observed on and from earth?
Activities/
Assessments
Time
Allocation
Interventions:
Tier 2 or 3,
Enrichment,
Remediation,
etc…
Other:
Technology,
vocabulary,
writing, etc…
and fog are made up of tiny
water droplets or ice crystals.
When such droplets or crystals
get large enough, they fall as
precipitation.
Water from precipitation can
seep into the ground, run off,
or evaporate.
Most ground water eventually
flows through streams, rivers
and lakes and returns to the
ocean.
Weather variables such as
temperature, barometric
pressure, wind direction and
speed, cloud type, cloud cover,
and precipitation can be
observed measured and
recorded to identify patterns.
Basic weather conditions
change in predictable patterns.