Fifth Grade:
The main focus of the study covers the North Carolina Essential Standards. Our curriculum is very vocabulary and concept-driven, which involves researching and studying the content. Fifth-grade students are required to take an end-of-grade (EOG) science test.
This year in science, we will use STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning for grades 5 - 8. STEMscopes is an online science curriculum for teaching science accompanied by a printed student notebook. STEMscopes is aligned with the state standards and focuses on student learning through hands-on exploration and inquiry. Each lesson includes a series of investigations and activities, allowing students to “learn by doing” and fully engage in the scientific process. STEMscopes supports the belief that students learn best through hands-on experiences with experiments, exploration of ideas, interpretation of what they observe, and their ability to relate scientific concepts to the real world.
The curriculum covers topics in Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science. Some adjustments may be made throughout the year based on the needs of students, but the general course outline is as follows:
Physical Science
Matter: Properties and Change
Forces and Motion
Energy: Conservation and Transfer
Earth Science
Earth Systems, Structures, and Processes
Life Science
Ecosystems
Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors
Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms
• Respiratory System (nose, trachea, lungs)
• Skeletal System (bones)
• Muscular System (muscles)
• Digestive System (mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines)
• Nervous System (brain, spinal cord, nerves)
The main focus of the study covers the North Carolina Essential Standards. Our curriculum is very vocabulary and concept-driven, which involves researching and studying the content. Fifth-grade students are required to take an end-of-grade (EOG) science test.
This year in science, we will use STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning for grades 5 - 8. STEMscopes is an online science curriculum for teaching science accompanied by a printed student notebook. STEMscopes is aligned with the state standards and focuses on student learning through hands-on exploration and inquiry. Each lesson includes a series of investigations and activities, allowing students to “learn by doing” and fully engage in the scientific process. STEMscopes supports the belief that students learn best through hands-on experiences with experiments, exploration of ideas, interpretation of what they observe, and their ability to relate scientific concepts to the real world.
The curriculum covers topics in Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science. Some adjustments may be made throughout the year based on the needs of students, but the general course outline is as follows:
Physical Science
Matter: Properties and Change
- Explain how the sun’s energy impacts the water cycle processes (including evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and runoff).
- Compare the weight of an object to the sum of the weight of its parts before and after an interaction.
- Summarize the properties of original materials and the new material(s) formed to demonstrate that a change has occurred. (physical and chemical changes)
Forces and Motion
- Explain how factors such as gravity, friction, and mass change affect objects' motion.
- Infer the motion of objects in terms of how far they travel in a certain amount of time and the direction in which they travel.
- Illustrate the motion of an object using a graph to show a change in position over a period of time.
- Predict the effect of a given force or a change in mass on the motion of an object.
Energy: Conservation and Transfer
- Explain the effects of the transfer of heat (either direct or at a distance) that occurs between objects at different temperatures. ( conduction, convection, or radiation).
- Explain how heating and cooling affect some materials and how this relates to their purpose and practical applications.
Earth Science
Earth Systems, Structures, and Processes
- Identify and understand how weather tools help measure current weather conditions and predict weather patterns. (rain gauge, thermometer, wind vane, anemometer, barometer)
- Predict upcoming weather events from weather data collected through observation and measurement. The presence and type of clouds (stratus, cirrus, cumulus) and fronts are associated with predictable weather patterns.
- Compare daily and seasonal weather conditions (including wind speed and direction, precipitation, and temperature) patterns.
- Identify and explain how global patterns of weather (jet stream, ocean currents) influence local weather patterns.
Life Science
Ecosystems
- Describe the characteristics of the given ecosystems. (Estuaries, salt marshes, oceans, lakes and ponds, forests, and grasslands. )
- Define the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem and identify organisms in each role.
- Define and recognize abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem.
- Identify and explain the effects of the interconnected relationships between plants and animals in their ecosystem. (food webs, food chains, energy pyramid)
- Recognize human interactions and their impact on ecosystems.
Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors
Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms
- Identify and describe the characteristics of single-cell and multicellular organisms.
- Students understand that many systems in the human body work together to maintain health and fitness and provide life functions.
- Some systems covered are:
• Respiratory System (nose, trachea, lungs)
• Skeletal System (bones)
• Muscular System (muscles)
• Digestive System (mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines)
• Nervous System (brain, spinal cord, nerves)