5th Grade Earth Science Standards

Mr. Gantt’s Earth Science Lab

Weekly Lab Lessons and Homework

5^th Grade

1^st Lab Session Week

Earth Science Vocabulary Pre-Test

Concept: The Solar System

Homework: Solar System Crossword Puzzle and Parent Letter signed

Class Reading: FOSS Science Resources Read pages 145-168. Wonders CA Content Reader Read pgs 78-81, 84-87 & 90-93.

5-ESS1-1. Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.

ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars

•The sun is a star that appears larger and brighter than other stars because it is closer. Stars range greatly in their distance from Earth. (5-ESS1-1)

5. The solar system consists of planets and other bodies that orbit the Sun in predictable paths. As a basis for understanding this concept:

5a. Students know the Sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system and is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.

5b. Students know the solar system includes the planet Earth, the Moon, the Sun, eight other planets and their satellites, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets.

5c. Students know the path of a planet around the Sun is due to the gravitational attraction between the Sun and the planet.

2^nd Lab Session Week

Concept: The Solar System Part 2

5-ESS1-2. Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System

•The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year. (5-ESS1-2)

3^rd Lab Session Week

1^st quiz on the Solar System

Concept: Water Vapor        

Class Reading: FOSS Science Resources Read pages 182-196. Wonders CA Content Reader Read pgs 54-55.

In classroom experiment: Surface Area page 187-188

3. Water on Earth moves between the oceans and land through the processes of evaporation and condensation. As a basis for understanding this concept:

3b. Students know when liquid water evaporates, it turns into water vapor in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled or as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water.

6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

6c. Plan and conduct a simple investigation based on a student-developed question and write instructions others can follow to carry out the procedure.

6g. Record data by using appropriate graphic representations (including charts, graphs, and labeled

Concept: Local Water.

Class Reading: Wonders CA Content Reader Read pgs 60-61.

3e. Students know the origin of the water used by their local communities.

4^th Lab Session Week

Concept: Water Cycle

Homework: Water Cycle worksheet

Class Reading: FOSS Science Resources Read pages 219-226. Wonders CA Content Reader Reread pgs 54-55.

5-ESS2-2. Describe and graph the amounts and percentages of water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.

ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

§Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean. Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere. (5-ESS2-2)

3a. Students know most of Earth’s water is present as salt water in the oceans, which cover most of Earth’s surface.

3b. Students know when liquid water evaporates, it turns into water vapor in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled or as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water.

3c. Students know water vapor in the air moves from one place to another and can form fog or clouds, which are tiny droplets of water or ice, and can fall to Earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow.

3d. Students know that the amount of fresh water located in rivers, lakes, underground sources, and glaciers is limited and that its availability can be extended by recycling and decreasing the use of water.

5^th Lab Session Week 

Concept: Severe Weather

Class Reading: FOSS Science Resources Read pages 227-235. Wonders CA Content Reader Read pgs 56-57, 62-63 & 68-69.

4c. Students know the causes and effects of different types of severe weather.

6^th Lab Session Week

Concept: Forecasting Weather

Homework: Weather worksheet

Class Reading: FOSS Science Resources Read pages 236-250. Wonders CA Content Reader Read pgs 72-73.

4a. Students know the influence that the ocean has on the weather and the role that the water cycle plays in weather patterns.

4c. Students know how to use weather maps and data to predict local weather and know that weather forecasts depend on many variables.

4d. Students know that the Earth’s atmosphere exerts a pressure that decreases with distance above Earth’s surface and that at any point it exerts this pressure equally in all directions.

7^th Lab Session Week

2^nd quiz on the Water Cycle and Weather & Earth Science Vocabulary Post-Test

Concept: How do the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere influence each other?

5-ESS2-1. Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.

ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems

•Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and molten rock, soil, and sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (living things, including humans). These systems interact in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes. The ocean supports a variety of ecosystems and organisms, shapes landforms, and influences climate. Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with the landforms to determine patterns of weather. (5-ESS2-1)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

•Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments. (5-ESS3-1)