Information for Families and Caregivers of 5th Grade Students (webpage)

Unit 1: Expressions, Equations & Volume

Learning Targets

• Students write and evaluate numerical expressions with parentheses
• Students write a simple expression to record calculations with numbers
• Students use unit cubes to measure the volumes of solid figures
• Students measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, and cubic feet

Unit 2: Adding & Subtracting Fractions

Learning Targets

• Students add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators, including mixed numbers
• Students rewrite fractions with unlike denominators as equivalent fractions with a common denominator in order to find their sum or difference
• Students solve story problems involving addition and/or subtraction of fractions
• Students solve story problems involving division of whole numbers with fraction or mixed number quotients
• Students solve story problems involving multiplying a whole number by a fraction

Unit 3: Place Value & Decimals

Learning Targets

• Students read and write decimals to thousandths represented by numbers, number names and expanded form
• Students compare pairs of decimals to thousandths
• Students round decimals to the nearest one, tenth, hundredth
• Students explain patterns in the number of zeros in the product when multiplying by powers of 10

Unit 4: Multiplying & Dividing Whole Numbers & Decimals

Learning Targets

• Students use the standard algorithm with fluency to multiply multi-digit whole numbers
• Students divide a 2, 3, or 4-digit whole number by a 2-digit whole number
• Students use equations, rectangular arrays, or area models to explain strategies for dividing multi-digit whole numbers

Unit 5: Multiplying & Dividing Fractions

Learning Targets

• Students solve story problems involving multiplying a fraction by a fraction
• Students find the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths by tiling or multiplying side lengths
• Students divide a whole number by a unit fraction
• Students solve story problems involving division of a unit fraction by a whole number or a whole number by a unit fraction

Unit 6: Graphing, Geometry & Volume

Learning Targets

• Students graph points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane to represent a problem
• Students describe the meaning of the values of coordinate points based on the context of a problem
• Students classify 2-dimentional figures based on their attributes

Unit 7: Division & Decimals

Learning Targets

• Students multiply and divide decimals to hundredths
• Students relate strategies for computing with decimals to hundredths to written methods

Unit 8: Solar Design

Learning Targets

• Students read a thermometer and practice converting between the Fahrenheit and Celsius scale
• Students analyze data collected from their model houses to determine the most efficient insulator materials
• Students design floor plans for their houses, draw them to scale, and build the walls
• Students test their houses and analyze their data to determine which houses captured the most heat and maintained heat the longest

Physical Science: Chemical Reactions & Properties of Matter Unit (Chemical Magic)

Learning Targets

• Students observe that a salt and vinegar solution will turn a dull penny shiny again indicating that substances can change other substances
• Students coat a steel nail in copper by placing it into the solution that dissolved bits of the penny. Students realize that substances can change to become particles too small to be seen, but they still exist
• Students figure out that acids are very reactive substances. Students investigate reactions between different substances to determine how known acids react with other materials
• Students combine different substances together to discover that chemical reactions can create new substances
• Students investigate and model the reaction between baking soda and vinegar. They figure out that gases are made of particles too small to be seen

Earth & Space Science: Water Cycle & Earth's Systems Unit (Watery Planet)

Learning Targets

• Students analyze and interpret data from world maps to determine the relative amounts of fresh, salt, and frozen water. Students figure out that while the Earth has a lot of water, most of Earth’s water is not fresh or accessible
• Students create a model ocean to observe how salt seems to completely vanish when dissolved in water. Students measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that the salt is still in the solution, even though we can’t see it
• Students learn most people get fresh water from underground sources. Students determine the best place to settle a town by considering features of the landscape & the characteristics of the plants that thrive there
• Students create a model of the ocean and sky to investigate how temperature influences evaporation and condensation. Students figure out that higher ocean temperatures lead to more evaporation, thus leading to more rain
• Students define the problem that a town needs protection from flooding. They design solutions using different types of flood protection. They realize flooding is caused by severe rainfall generated by hurricanes. Hurricanes are created where ocean temperatures are warm

Earth & Space Science: Stars & the Solar System Unit (Spaceship Earth)

Learning Targets

• Students model the rotation of the Earth and investigate why the Sun looks like it’s moving across the sky. Using evidence they gathered in the investigation, students build a model that explains how the Earth’s rotation around its own axis causes the Sun to appear to rise and set
• Students make a shadow clock (sundial) and investigate how the direction and length of shadows change with the position of the light shining on the sundial. Students realize that the Sun’s position in the sky can be used to tell the time of day
• Students examine photos taken at different times of year and figure out the time of year that each photo was taken. Students discover that the Sun’s path changes with the seasons, as does the time of sunrise and sunset. The Sun is always highest in the sky at noon, but that height changes with the season
• Students build a model of the universe and use it to explain why different stars are visible at different times of year. Using evidence from this model, students make an argument that supports the claim that the Earth orbits the Sun
• Students use a physical model of the Sun and Moon to investigate how the Moon’s phase relates to its position relative to the Sun. Students notice that the Moon’s phases repeat in a predictable pattern
• Students gather evidence to support an argument that the apparent brightness of the Sun is dependent upon an observer’s distance from the Sun. They construct a model of the solar system and gather observations of the Sun’s apparent brightness from each planet within their model
• Using mathematics and computational thinking, students calculate how high they could jump on planets and moons that have stronger or weaker gravity than Earth. Students analyze and interpret this data to construct an explanation for why the amount of gravity is different on other planets
• Students discover that the Earth is in the “Goldilocks Zone” — a distance from the Sun with the right amount of light and heat for life to exist. Students evaluate other solar systems, comparing their stars to our Sun. Based on their analysis, students plan a space mission to a planet with conditions similar to those on Earth

Life Science: Ecosystems & the Food Web (Web of Life)

Learning Targets

• Students develop a model of a pond ecosystem and realize that interrelationships exist between decomposers, plants, and animals. Students discover that each organism must be in balance for the pond ecosystem to function
• In this lesson, students learn about what happens in unbalanced ecosystems and how that can lead to an overabundance of algae and harmful algal blooms. In the activity, Bloom Busters, students play a game in which they obtain and combine science ideas in order to help a community respond to and prevent harmful algal blooms
• Students develop a model of a dinosaur food web. Students realize that blocking the sun’s energy would have disastrous effects on the organisms that rely on this energy in the food web and cause the extinction of some entire species