Grade 5 Science Curriculum
Grade 5 Science Curriculum
Westborough teachers use a combination of purchased science kits and teacher-designed curriculum that align with the 2016 MA Science, Technology, and Engineering Frameworks. We currently use FOSS, a research-based curriculum designed by the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkley, for some units in K-6 classrooms.
Living Systems: Students explore how organisms and ecosystems interact and the ways that individual organisms meet their basic needs. Students learn about the role of the sun in providing energy to life on Earth and the ways that energy and matter cycle through ecosystems.
Mixtures and Solutions: Students explore matter and its interactions, and learn that matter is made up of particles too small to be seen. Students investigate the conservation of matter when it changes state, and create mixtures, solutions, and reactions between substances.
Earth and Sun: Students explore the properties of the atmosphere, energy transfer from the Sun to Earth, and water cycling in Earth’s atmosphere. Students develop and use models to understand Earth’s place in the solar system, and the interactions of the Earth, sun, and moon that create predictable patterns in shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of stars in the night sky.
