5th Grade - Gateway 1
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Designed for NGSS
| Score | |
|---|---|
Gateway 1 - Partially Meets Expectations | 64% |
Criterion 1.1: Three-Dimensional Learning | 14 / 16 |
Criterion 1.2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning | 4 / 12 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet expectations for Gateway 1: Designed for NGSS; Criterion 1: Three-Dimensional Learning meets expectations and Criterion 2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning does not meet expectations.
Criterion 1.1: Three-Dimensional Learning
Materials are designed for three-dimensional learning and assessment.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations for Criterion 1a-1c: Three-Dimensional Learning. The materials consistently include integration of the three dimensions in at least one learning opportunity per learning sequence. Learning sequences are inconsistently designed for student opportunity to engage in sensemaking with the three dimensions. The materials consistently provide three-dimensional learning objectives at the sequence level that build towards the performance expectations for the larger unit, and consistently assess to reveal student knowledge and use of the three dimensions to support the targeted three-dimensional learning objectives.
Indicator 1a
Materials are designed to integrate the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) into student learning.
Indicator 1a.i
Materials consistently integrate the three dimensions in student learning opportunities.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations that they are designed to integrate the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) into student learning opportunities.
Throughout the Grade 5 materials, nearly all learning sequences include at least one learning opportunity that incorporates all three dimensions. Units are typically three lessons long, and lessons are composed of three to five learning opportunities called Explorations. The Hands-On Explorations are typically where the three dimensions are found together in a single opportunity. In these explorations, students engage in asking a question related to the concept introduced with an opening video or image, participate in hands-on and/or exploratory, collaborative learning opportunities. A notable exception is Unit 1. This unit is an engineering unit and not connected to any DCIs in life, physical, or earth and space science.
Examples of learning opportunities within the materials that integrate all three dimensions:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Evidence of Matter, students engage in one of three activities to investigate the particle nature of air and water. In the first activity, students fill a dosing tube with air and compress it. Students make a model of what they think the air particles look like before and after they are compressed in a syringe (SEP-MOD-E3). They repeat the activity using water to find that air particles can be compressed but water can not. In the second activity, students insert paper towels into a plastic cup and push the cup into a bowl of water, noticing that the paper towel remains dry. Students create a simple model to show how the water and air molecules interact (SEP-MOD-E3). In the third activity, students drop a sugar cube into water and stir to dissolve. They create a model to explain what happened to the sugar (SEP-MOD-E3). After sharing the results of their investigation, students make a claim about how particles of matter make up air, sugar, and water and support their claim with evidence from the investigations (SEP-ARG-E4, DCI-PS1.A-E1, and CCC-EM-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Exploration 4: Making Food, students explore how plants make food. They watch a short video that explains how plants use specialized structures to make air and water into sugars using energy from the sun (DCI-LS1.C-E2, DCI-LS1.A-E1, and CCC-SYS-E2). Students apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation of how plants meet their needs and grow without soil (SEP-CEDS-M4).
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Exploration 1: A Filling Morsel, students research the energy content in different foods. Students ask questions about the energy content in food and how it is needed to provide energy to consumers (DCI-LS1.C-E1, SEP-ADP-E3). Students use those questions to design a research plan. Students carry out their research and organize the information that they have gathered (SEP-INFO-P1) to construct an argument about energy content in food (SEP-ARG-E4). Students use their findings to help understand a panda’s eating habits (CCC-EM-E3).
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Environment Matters, students conduct an experiment by placing one plant completely submerged in water and one on the windowsill and record their observations over the next week. Students set up and conduct an investigation to explore what happens when environmental variables are changed (SEP-INV-E4). Students then collect data and construct an explanation (SEP-DATA-P1, SEP-ARG-E4) for what happens when a specific type of plant lives in two vastly different environments; highlighting the cause and effect of plant survival in different environments (CCC-CE-P1, DCI-LS4.C-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 2, Exploration 4: Water and Earth’s Surface, students read about two ways water affects the surface of the earth. They summarize one of the water-caused changes and then make an argument for a community to control or stop the natural change and make a claim about the role water plays in shaping earth’s materials (SEP-ARG-E4, DCI-ESS2.A-E2). Students read about how the ocean has an effect on weather patterns in coastal regions and explain how air flow from over the ocean to the land affects the weather on land (SEP-CEDS-E2, DCI-ESS2.C-M2). They watch an animation explaining how a rain shadow works, demonstrating how the geosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere interact to affect weather. Students construct an explanation of this process (DCI-ESS.2.A-E1, SEP-CEDS-E2).
Indicator 1a.ii
Materials consistently support meaningful student sensemaking with the three dimensions.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet expectations that they consistently support meaningful student sensemaking with the three dimensions.
Across Grade 5, multiple learning sequences include opportunities for students to engage in sensemaking using all three dimensions. In a few sequences, students engage in sensemaking with two dimensions. In some cases student sensemaking takes place across the entire sequence and in others student sensemaking happens within a single learning opportunity. In cases where there is only two-dimensional sensemaking, a CCC typically is missing. When sequences do not engage students in sensemaking, they typically include tasks for students to recall information or apply the SEPs or CCCs in isolation, but do not provide students the opportunity to use SEPs and CCCs in concert to make sense of a DCI.
Example of materials that are designed for SEPs and CCCs to meaningfully support student sensemaking with the other dimensions:
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: A Tree in a Forest, students investigate why few young plants grow on the floor of a rainforest. They ask a question about the growth of a young tree in the shade formed by the canopy layer (SEP-AQDP-P3) and then plan and conduct a fair test to gather evidence to help them answer this question (SEP-INV-E1). Students organize, record, and analyze their data (SEP-DATA-E1, SEP-DATA-E2) to describe any changes to the plants. They share their data with the class, discussing any similarities and differences in their results. Students make a claim about the pattern of young tree growth on the rainforest floor supported by evidence from the investigation (SEP-ARG-E4). Students then explain how the investigation helps them begin to explain why plants can grow without soil (CCC-CE-P2, DCI-LS2.A-P1, and DCI-LS1.C-E2)
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Exploration 3: Moving Energy and Matter Flow, students explore the flow of energy and matter through an ecosystem. They rearrange the organisms into a food chain to show how energy and matter move through two ecosystems (DCI-LS2.A-E1, SEP-MOD-P3, and CCC-EM-E3). Students read about scavengers and decomposers and how they fit into an ecosystem, breaking down wastes and recycling matter back into the system (DCI-LS2.B-E1). Students construct an explanation of what would happen if scavengers and decomposers disappeared from an ecosystem and how leftover matter and energy in dead organisms get recycled back into the soil (SEP-ARG-E4, DCI-LS2.B-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 1, Exploration 4: Natural Events Connect Systems, students explore the ways that earth’s systems interact. They watch a short video about the 1991 Pinatubo volcanic eruption and make a model that shows how the volcano interacted with living things, water, and the atmosphere (DCI-ESS2.A-E1, SEP-MOD-E4). Students construct an argument with evidence to explain how tracking the flow of matter and energy in the geosphere can help them understand that system (DCI-ESS2.A-M1, SEP-ARG-E4, and CCC-SYS-E1). They construct an explanation, based on their observations of a photo, to describe the changes an earthquake could make to the land in order to form a lake, identify which of the earth’s systems interacted, and identify the system they think is most affected by a volcanic eruption (SEP-CEDS-E2, DCI-ESS2.A-E1, and CCC-CE-E1). Students identify which claims about change and stability in the biosphere can be supported using the photos of Mount St. Helens (SEP-CEDS-E3, CCC-SC-E1). These activities help students to make sense of the earth’s major systems and how they interact in multiple ways to affect the earth’s surface materials and processes.
In Grade 5, Unit 6, Lesson 2: Sky Patterns Over Time, students engage in a learning sequence to explore patterns caused by the earth’s motion and its interactions with the sun and moon. To make sense of these patterns, students plan and investigate why shadows change throughout the day (SEP-INV-E3). After organizing and presenting their data (SEP- DATA-E1, SEP-DATA-E3), students analyze patterns in their data (CCC-PAT-E3) to write an explanation of their findings (SEP-CEDS-E1, DCI-ESS1.B-E1). In Exploration 2, students use a model to gather evidence (SEP-MOD-E4) and explain patterns in the visibility of stars from earth (SEP-ARG-E4, DCI-ESS1.B-E1). Students analyze and create models (SEP-MOD-E4) and create charts and graphs (SEP-MATH-E4) to make sense of observable patterns caused by the earth’s movement (CCC-PAT-E3, DCI-ESS1.B-E1).
Example of materials that are designed for SEPs OR CCCs to meaningfully support student sensemaking with the other dimensions:
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Exploration 4: Animal Energy, students engage in two-dimensional sensemaking to help them understand how food provides animals with the materials they need for growth and repair and the energy they need to maintain body warmth and motion (DCI-LS1.C-E1). Students read how penguins are able to survive frigid temperatures by eating large quantities of krill. They calculate the number of calories an average Adelie penguin eats in a typical day. Students read about warm and cold-blooded animals and make a claim about food and animal body temperature using information from the text and data tables provided (SEP-ARG-E4, SEP-INFO-E1). There is a missed opportunity to include a CCC in this lesson.
Examples of materials that are not designed for SEPs and CCCs to meaningfully support student sensemaking with the other dimensions:
In Grade 5, Unit 1, Lesson 1: Engineering and Society, students engage in a learning opportunity to engage in the engineering process while designing a solution to improve a model car. Students identify a problem (SEP-AQDP-E5), build a toy car according to the instructions provided, and gather data on how the car functions (SEP-INV-E3, DCI-ETS1.B-E1). Working in teams, students identify one way they could improve the car, brainstorm possible solutions (DCI-ETS1.B-E3), and sketch a new model (SEP-MOD-E5, DCI-ETS1.A-E1). Students plan a fair test to test their new car (SEP-INV-E3), test their solution, and gather evidence in a data table (SEP-DATA-E1). Students iterate their solutions, make a new model, test it, and evaluate the results (SEP-MOD-E5), retest their model, and evaluate the results, comparing their cars to other groups’ cars (DCI-ETS1.C-E1, SEP-DATA-E3). Students make a claim, with evidence, about how their new model is better than the original (SEP-CEDS-E2). Students read informational text about how technology helps us solve problems, the roles scientists and engineers play, how research and fair testing can improve designs, and how criteria and constraints are an important part of the engineering process (SEP-INFO-E1). There is a missed opportunity for students to use these SPEs or a CCC to make sense of a science content DCI.
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 1: Organisms Interact in Ecosystems, students engage in a learning sequence to understand that animals interact and thrive in environments that meet their needs. Students investigate and gather data about a local ecosystem (SEP-INV-E1, SEP-DATA-E1), develop a model of how the living things in that ecosystem interact (SEP-MOD-E4), and construct an argument about how organisms' needs are met in their ecosystem (SEP-ARG-E4, DCI-LS2.A-E1). Students conduct an investigation to explain which environment meets the needs of a specific plant (SEP-INV-E3, SEP-ARG-E4). This investigation is confirmatory as the students are told some plants have structures that allow them to survive in water environments while others do not. Students read passages and answer questions about how living things meet their needs in various ecosystems and learn about competition within ecosystems (DCI-LS2.A-E1, DCI-LS2.A-M1, DCI-LS2.B-E1, and DCI-LS4.C-E1). There is a missed opportunity to support student sensemaking around the DCIs using SEPs and CCCs, students are primarily given the content information and then complete explorations that are confirmatory.
Indicator 1b
Materials are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence for three-dimensional learning.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations that they are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence for the three-dimensional learning in the instructional materials.
In Grade 5, materials provide three-dimensional lesson objectives tied to performance expectations. Each lesson includes a Lesson Objective stating what students will do in the subsequent explorations. The lesson objectives are supported by the Making 3D Connections feature, which names which performance expectations the lesson is building to and the elements of the three-dimensions that students are supposed to be engaged in. The exception is Unit 1, which only includes engineering performance expectations and does not include DCIs from life, physical, or earth and space science.
Each learning sequence includes multiple opportunities for formative assessment and the learning objectives are consistently assessed across those opportunities. Each exploration ends with a Making Sense question where students answer a question connected to the publisher identified phenomenon. Each learning sequence, or lesson, ends with a Lesson Check. In the Lesson Check, students return to the Can You Explain It? Question connected to the publisher identified phenomenon introduced at the beginning of the lesson and then answer a series of questions about the lesson that can include short answer, multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions.
The materials consistently incorporate some tasks for the purpose of supporting the instructional process. The materials provide teacher support for struggling students in the Making Sense sections of the lesson in the form of sample answers and remediation guidance. Teacher notes for Lesson Check assessments include supports to help students answer the questions but do not include remediation guidance.
Examples of lessons that have three-dimensional learning objectives, formative assessment tasks assess student knowledge of all, or nearly all, elements in the learning objective, and provide guidance to support the instructional process:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 2: Matter Has Many Properties, the three-dimensional learning objective is "Students can explore properties of matter, compare substances based on their physical properties, recognize factors affecting properties of matter, identify mixtures and solutions, and relate the properties of mixtures with the properties of starting materials,” and is connected with four performance expectations. The Making Sense questions ask students to consider material properties as they decide on the best material for a beanbag chair (DCI-ETS1.A-E1, DCI-ETS1.B-E1). The Lesson Check includes questions on the best material for a pencil eraser, measuring boiling temperature (CCC-SPQ-E2), and identifying new materials (DCI-PS1.A-E3). There is a missed opportunity to assess SEP-INV-E3. The Making Sense questions include sample answers and remediation and the Lesson Check includes sample answers.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 2: Organisms Use Matter and Energy, the three-dimensional lesson objective is “Students can describe how animals exchange matter with their environment and use the matter and energy stored in food for warmth, motion, body growth, and body repair,” and is connected to performance expectation 5-PS3-1. The Making Sense questions ask students to explain pandas’ eating habits and energy needs (DCI-LS1.C-E1). The Lesson Check includes questions on snakes’ eating habits and energy needs (DCI-LS1.C-E1), the sun being the initial source of energy for all plants and animals (DCI-PS3.D-E2), modeling organisms interacting in an ecosystem (SEP-MOD-E4), and energy transfer from food to organisms (CCC-EM-E3). The Making Sense questions include sample answers and remediation and the Lesson Check includes sample answers.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 3: Energy and Matter Move Between Organisms, the three-dimensional lesson objective is “Students develop models to show the flow of energy derived from the sun is transferred as matter through a food chain and food web to consumers and decomposers,” and is connected to performance expectations 5-LS1-1 and 5-PS3-1. The Making Sense questions ask students about the flow of matter in a tundra ecosystem and how organisms in the ecosystem use it (DCI-LS1.C-E1, SEP-ARG-E4, and CCC-EM-E2). The Lesson Check includes questions on the effects of disrupted ecosystems, the source of energy in food chains (DCI-PS3.D-E2), and modeling the flow of matter and energy in an ecosystem (SEP-MOD-E4). There is a missed opportunity to assess DCI-LS1.C-E2. The Making Sense questions include sample answers and remediation and the Lesson Check includes sample answers.
In Grade 5, Unit 1, Lesson 1: Earth’s Systems Interact, the lesson objective is “Students develop and use models to describe how Earth’s systems interact and explore how those systems change and shape Earth’s surface,” and is connected to performance expectation 5-ESS2-1. The Making Sense questions ask students about the various effects of volcanic eruptions and how they interact with other earth systems (DCI-ESS2.A-E1, CCC-SYS-E2). The Lesson Check includes questions on naming earth systems, describing how they interact, and modeling matter exchange between earth’s systems in a volcanic eruption (DCI-ESS2.A-E1, SEP-MOD-E3, and CCC-SYS-E2). The Making Sense questions include sample answers and remediation and the Lesson Check includes sample answers.
Indicator 1c
Materials are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence of three-dimensional learning.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations that they are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence of the three-dimensional learning in the instructional materials.
Most units provide three-dimensional objectives and are built around multiple performance expectations (PEs). The only exception is Unit 1. Unit 1 is built around a PE that incorporates engineering, technology, and applications of science DCIs and SEPS but does not incorporate a DCI from life, physical, or earth and space science or a CCC.
The summative assessment system consists of a unit test for each unit, a mid-year assessment, an end-of-year assessment, and performance-based assessments. Unit Tests consist of mostly multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, or true/false questions, along with a limited number of short answer questions. The mid-year and end-of-year assessments comprise similar question types as the unit assessments, but cover a broader range of learning objectives. The performance-based assessments are connected to performance expectations rather than a particular unit. These assessments include a mix of tasks and questions. They typically engage the student with a brief investigation or hands-on activity that requires the students to answer questions based on the data they collect. The performance-based assessments also include scenarios or data sets that students must interpret and respond with short answer, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and/or matching questions. Although the unit tests sometimes do not assess all elements of the unit’s learning objectives, across the entire assessment system nearly all of the learning goals are assessed.
Examples of three-dimensional objectives and unit tests:
In Grade 5, Unit 2: Matter, the objectives are four performance expectations: 5-PS1-1, 5-PS1-2, 5-PS1-3, and 5-PS1-4 and three engineering performance expectations: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, and 3-5-ETS1-3. The Unit Test contains multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, graphing, ordering, and claim-evidence reasoning questions. Students answer questions about physical and chemical changes, the definition of matter, and conservation of matter (DCI-PS1.A-E2, DCI-PS1.B-E2, and DCI-PS1.A-E3). Students analyze and interpret data to describe the results of an experiment (DCI-PS1.B-E1, SEP-DATA-E2, and CCC-CE-E1), determine a pattern and fill in the missing data points (DCI-PS1.B-E2, SEP-DATA-E1, SEP-MATH-E2, and CCC-PAT-E2), identify an unknown crystal using density, and identify methods of measurement (DCI-PS1.A-E3, SEP-DATA-E2, and CCC-SPQ-E2). Students use a model to explain why a gas is matter (DCI-PS1.A-E1, SEP-MOD-E4, SEP-CEDS-E2, SEP-ARG-E4, CCC-EM-E1, and CCC-CE-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 5: Earth’s Interactions and Resources, the learning objectives are three performance expectations: 5-ESS2-1, 5-ESS2-2, and 5-ESS3-1. The Unit Test consists of multiple-choice, matching, ordering, fill-in-the-blank, and claim-evidence-reasoning questions. Students answer questions about earth’s systems and their interactions, water on earth and where it is found, how human activities can affect earth, and how human use of energy and fuel affects earth (DCI-ESS2.A-E1, DCI-ESS2.C-E1, DCI-ESS3.C-E1, and DCI-ESS3.A-E1), how human actions and use of fuel can affect ecosystems (CCC-SYS-E2, DCI-ESS3.C-E1), and how a volcanic eruption can affect earth’s systems (CCC-CE-E1, DCI-ESS2.A-E1). Students also analyze a model of earth’s systems and describe interactions using evidence found in the model (DCI-ESS2.A-E1, SEP-CEDS-E2, and SEP-MOD-E4) and identify solutions that would get rid of pests but not affect honey bees and use a diagram to help them explain how pesticides are spread through different systems (DCI-ESS2.A-E1, DCI-ESS3.C-E1, CCC-SYS-E2, SEP-MOD-E3, SEP-CEDS-E3, and SEP-CEDS-E2).
In Grade 5, Unit 6: Patterns in the Sky, the objectives are three performance expectations: 5-PS2-1, 5-ESS1-2, and 5-ESS1-1. The Unit Test contains multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and claim-evidence-reasoning questions. Students answer questions about the orbits of both the moon and the earth and how these orbits cause observable patterns (DCI-ESS1.B-E1). Students also use data to answer questions about constellations, gravity, and star brightness (SEP-DATA-E1, DCI-ESS1.A-E1, DCI-ESS1.B-E1, and DCI-PS2.B-E3) and evaluate and describe the motion of a ball thrown up into the air in terms of the forces acting on it, including gravity (CCC-PAT-E3, SEP-ARG-E4, and DCI-PS2.B-E3).
Examples of Performance-Based Assessments that assess additional elements of the learning objectives:
In Grade 5, Tracking Down a Mystery Substance performance-based assessment, students investigate a variety of mystery substances to select one that will be used to mimic a substance like toothpaste. Students measure and observe the substances, mix them with water and vinegar and baking soda (SEP-INV-E1, CCC-SPQ-E2), make a claim if a new substance was formed and identify the mystery ingredient (DCI-PS1.A-E3, SEP-INV-E3), and identify variables in the investigation (SEP-INV-E1). Students then mix the mystery ingredient with water and glue. They measure the masses of the ingredients and final mixture (SEP-MATH-E3, CCC-SPQ-E2), describe the kind of change that occurred, and explain that the mass was conserved in the mixture (DCI-PS1.A-E2, DCI-PS1.B-E2). Students also read scenarios to answer additional questions about measuring mass, conservation of matter, and chemical vs. physical reactions.
In Grade 5, Star Light, Star Bright performance-based assessment, students follow instructions to construct a simple photometer. They investigate the difference in brightness between different lights and at different distances, chart distance vs. brightness of the various lights (SEP-DATA-E1), and explain how the model is like the sun and nearby stars (DCI-ESS1.A-E1, SEP-ARG-E4). Students then follow instructions to make a device that projects constellations from different seasons. Students use the device to record the constellations at different times of year, record what times of years the constellations can be seen (SEP-DATA-E1), and explain why some constellations are not always visible (DCI-ESS1.B-E1, CCC-PAT-E1). Students also read a scenario about the constellations and answer additional questions about the size of stars (CCC-SPQ-E1), how constellations can be used to navigate, and the patterns of constellations’ movement (CCC-PAT-E1).
In Grade 5, There’s Something in the Water performance-based assessment, students compare cups of pure water, water with sugar, and water with salt, record their observations, and use a model to explain what the particles in the cup are doing (DCI-PS1.A-E1, SEP-MOD-E4, and CCC-SPQ-E1). Students follow instructions to make a distilling device, observe its operation, explain how it works in terms of the particles in the system (DCI-PS1.A-E1, SEP-MOD-E4, and CCC-SPQ-E1), and compare different distilling devices. Students then read a scenario and answer questions on a different distilling device, how it works, and define the problem it solves (SEP-AQDP-E5).
Criterion 1.2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning
Materials leverage science phenomena and engineering problems in the context of driving learning and student performance.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 do not meet expectations for Criterion 1d-1i: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning. The materials include phenomena and problems at the lesson and sequence level. Of those phenomena and problems, they consistently connect to grade-level appropriate DCIs. Phenomena and problems are inconsistently presented to students as directly as possible. Few instances of phenomena or problems driving learning and use of the three dimensions are present at the sequence or lesson level, as a science topic or guiding question is the primary focus of the learning. The materials consistently elicit but do not leverage student prior knowledge and experience related to the phenomena and problems present.
Indicator 1d
Phenomena and/or problems are connected to grade-level Disciplinary Core Ideas.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are connected to grade-level Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs).
Materials consistently connect phenomena and problems to grade-level appropriate DCIs or their elements. Opportunities for students to build understanding of grade-level DCIs occurs at the individual lesson level as well as over multiple lessons. Most of the problems present in Grade 5 provide grade-level DCI connections to support student learning. Some of the problems are connected to engineering standards but not to a grade-level science DCI. DCIs from all science disciplines are present in phenomena connected to DCIs. All science disciplines are represented across the phenomena and problems connected to grade-level science DCIs.
Examples of phenomena and problems connected to grade-level DCIs or their elements:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Evidence of Matter, the phenomenon is that a bike tire is being filled with air. Students conduct an investigation looking at how you can compress air in a tube but you cannot compress water in a tube. Students investigate that gasses are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space (DCI-PS1.A-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1: Plants Transform and Use Energy and Matter, the phenomenon is that plants grow in tubes without soil. Students plan and carry out an investigation to see how the amount of sunlight affects plant growth (DCI-PS2.A-P1). Students investigate how the mass of a plant changes after six weeks of growth, and read about the other things that plants need to grow including water, nutrients, and air. These lessons help students to understand that plants acquire the materials they need for growth from the air and water (DCI-LS1.C-E2).
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Exploration 2: Break it Down, the phenomenon is mushrooms are obtaining food from a dead tree.. Students complete an exploration in which they look at what happens to a piece of fruit that is left outside for an extended period of time. They weigh an apple slice before burying it in soil for two weeks. After two weeks, students re-weigh the apple slice and make observations about how the apple slice has changed. Students draw conclusions that decomposers have changed the look and mass of the apple slice (DCI-LS2.A-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 1: Organisms Interact in Ecosystems, the phenomenon is that elephants, zebras, and gazelles share the same watering hole in the savanna. Students investigate to see how a terrestrial herbaceous plant responds to being fully submerged in water and compare that to an aquatic plant, learning that not all plants can survive in the same environment (DCI-LS4.C-E1). Students read about how organisms are dependent on the living and nonliving factors in their environment (DCI-LS2.A-M1) and how ecosystems meet the needs of many different types of living things (DCI-LS2.A-E1). They read about how both energy and matter cycle in the environment (DCI-LS2.B-E1) and about the ways organisms compete for limited resources within their ecosystem (DCI-LS2.A-M2). Students also read about how some organisms can live in a variety of places, while others can only live in a few places and eat limited types of food (DCI-LS4.C-E1).
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 3, Exploration 1: Engineer It: Squeaky Clean Water, the challenge is to build a water filtration system to clean contaminated water. Students work to solve the problem by exploring how people can clean water before and after they use it to help protect the earth’s resources (DCI-ESS3.C-E1). Students research different water filtration systems then design their own. Students test their design a few times in order to determine which filter system works best and why.
Examples of phenomena and problems that are not connected to grade-level DCIs or their elements:
In Grade 5, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Engineer It: Improving Toy Cars, the design challenge is to gather evidence that the model of the balloon powered toy car has improved. Students think like engineers and use the design process as they work to improve the design of a toy car. There is a missed opportunity for students to use grade-level life, physical, or earth and space DCIs.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: A Tree in a Forest, the phenomenon is that few young trees and plants grow on the rainforest floor. Students investigate the effects of little to no sunlight on young trees in a forest. This develops the idea that plants depend on light to grow (DCI-LS1.C-P1). Although this phenomenon is connected to a DCI, it is below grade-level.
Indicator 1e
Phenomena and/or problems are presented to students as directly as possible.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are presented to students as directly as possible.
Grade 5 instructional materials present phenomena and problems to students as directly as possible in multiple instances but not consistently. The materials provide students with access to the phenomena that leads to a shared common experience and a robust entry point into the phenomena. In most of the identified problems, the materials present the problem directly to students. The materials present the phenomena as a video or image that is accompanied by text and recording of the text being read. No instances are present where students engage with the phenomena firsthand. In general, the phenomena are not presented directly as possible when a change over time occurs. Finally, some of the presentations of phenomena do not provide students with enough information to share a common experience, or provide a robust entry point into the phenomena.
Examples of phenomena and problems that are presented to students as directly as possible, providing a common experience of the process(es) and a robust entry point:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 3: Matter Can Change, the phenomenon is that a metal sculpture is one piece of metal but different colors. This phenomenon is presented in both picture and video form. The picture shows a metal statue that is mostly dark except for the area around the dog, which shines as bright bronze. The video shows a brass bell on a boat that is at first dull and dark, but soon turns bright and shiny as it is scrubbed clean by two people. Both the picture and the video clearly show how the metal changes with cleaning or rubbing.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1: Plants Transform and Use Energy and Matter, the phenomenon is that plants grow in tubes without soil. The phenomenon is presented in video format and shows a hydroponic planting and accompanying text explaining that the plants are not growing in soil..
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Exploration 3: Introduced and Invasive Species, the phenomenon is that an emerald ash borer eats through the bark of an ash tree. Students observe a photograph of an emerald ash borer boring into the bark of a tree and then are prompted to consider how invasive plant and animal species affect native species in the ecosystem. This photograph is a clear example of a non-native species and its effects on native populations. The caption to the photograph provides more information about its effects.
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 4, Exploration 1: Engineer It: Pocket Park, the design challenge is to plan a 30' x 30' park with less than $10,000. Students observe a photograph of a small city park with an accompanying explanation of “pocket parks” and their purpose in a community. This problem is presented directly and clearly through the photograph and accompanying information. Students with no prior understanding of pocket parks can access this information through the photograph and explanation.
Examples of phenomena and problems that are not presented to students as directly as possible:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Evidence of Matter, the phenomenon is that a bike tire is being filled with air. The phenomenon is presented as a picture of a child filling a bike tire with a pump. The change in the bike tire is not evident in the still photograph. There is a missed opportunity for the presentation of this phenomenon to provide a common experience of this process and a robust entry point.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Exploration 1, A Tree in the Forest, the phenomenon is that few young trees and plants grow on the rainforest floor. Students observe a picture of the canopy of the rainforest. The picture shows the top of the forest, which looks dense, but it is not clear that the rainforest floor contains few young trees. There is a missed opportunity for the presentation of this phenomenon to provide a common experience of this process and a robust entry point.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Exploration 2: Break it Down, the phenomenon is mushrooms are obtaining food from a dead tree. Students view a photograph of mushrooms on a log, and read text explaining the mushroom gets its food from the dead tree. The still photograph does not provide an opportunity for students to observe the breakdown of the tree and the mushrooms’ effect on the tree.
In Grade 5, Unit 6, Lesson 2, Exploration 1: Shadows, the phenomenon is that shadows can vary in length, size, and shape throughout the day. Students view a photograph of students casting long shadows and read that shadows can have various characteristics. The single photograph does not provide students with an opportunity to see the variety of shadows at different times of day.
Indicator 1f
Phenomena and/or problems drive individual lessons or activities using key elements of all three dimensions.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 do not meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems drive individual lessons or activities using key elements of all three dimensions.
The materials provide few explorations or activities within the grade that use phenomena and problems to drive student learning and use elements from the three dimensions. In the majority of the explorations, the phenomena is used instructionally as a tool to engage students and to pique their interest, but does not ultimately drive student learning. Instead, student acquisition of disciplinary core ideas or science content is the focus of student learning rather than students working to understand the phenomena. The explorations often open with the phenomenon but the phenomenon is not discussed throughout the exploration until the end when students revisit the phenomenon or question. As a result, students are not engaged in figuring out the phenomenon through their work. While the few problems in Grade 5 do drive instruction, in most instances problems are not connected to a physical science, life science, or earth and space science DCI, and miss the opportunity to engage students in all three dimensions.
While most explorations are not phenomenon driven, many incorporate all three dimensions. Many of the hands-on explorations that appear in the first two explorations for each unit incorporate all three dimensions.
Examples of explorations or activities that do not use a phenomenon or a problem to drive student learning:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Exploration 3: A Matter of Particles, a phenomenon or problem does not drive learning. Instead, the focus of this exploration is the science concept that matter is made of particles and can occur in a variety of states. Students read that particles make up matter and that matter can be broken down into particles that are too small to see. Students see examples of matter in different states and a corresponding model of their particle arrangement.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Exploration 1: Modeling Matter Moving within an Ecosystem, the phenomenon is a heron eating a fish. The phenomenon does not drive student learning. Instead, the focus of this exploration is the science concept that matter and energy move through an ecosystem. Students conduct research on ecosystems and then construct a model of their ecosystem to show how energy and matter move through that ecosystem via a food web.
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Earth Materials Form Systems, a phenomenon or problem does not drive learning. Instead, the focus of this exploration is the concept that air, water, rock, and living things are parts of earth’s systems. Students study two pictures of different ecosystems. They list all the things that they see into two different categories (living and nonliving) and make a table to show this. Students then identify things that are found in both ecosystems and explain how they interact. Students make a claim about what different ecosystems have in common and support their claim with evidence.
In Grade 5, Unit 6, Lesson 3, Exploration 2: Color Provides the Final Clue, a phenomenon or problem does not drive learning. Instead, the exploration is focused on the activity of creating and exploring spectroscopes. Students look through diffraction gratings, follow instructions to create a simple spectroscope, and then collect data on the spectra of different lights. Students are then guided to describe how a spectroscope can be used to compare the sun with other stars.
Examples of explorations or activities that use a problem to drive student learning but do not engage students with all three dimensions:
In Grade 5, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Engineer It: What Makes a Good Toy Car?, the design challenge is to improve the model of a balloon-powered toy car. Students build and test the model car provided and look for ways to improve how the car moves. After students are introduced to the design challenge, they identify the specific problem they are trying to solve (SEP-AQDP-E5). They build the toy car according to the instructions provided. Students gather data on how the car functions, noting what works well and what does not (SEP-INV-E3, DCI-ETS1.B-E1). The students work as a team to identify one way they could improve the car and improve their problem statement to match. Next, they brainstorm possible solutions and identify three of the best (DCI-ETS1.B-E3). They sketch a model that has the three improvements (SEP-MOD-E5, DCI-ETS1.A-E1). There is a missed opportunity to incorporate CCCs and science DCIs in this design project.
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Exploration 2: Engineer It, the design challenge is to create a trap to capture a cane toad. Students are presented with the idea that cane toads are invasive species and are harming the area they are in. Students design solutions to the problem and then create posters (SEP-MOD-P4, SEP-CEDS-P2) to share what they learned about how cane toads are a problem and what to do about it (DCI-LS2.A-E1). There is a missed opportunity to incorporate CCCs in this design challenge.
Example of an Exploration that uses a phenomenon to drive student learning and engages students with all three dimensions:
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Needs for Growth, the phenomenon is that a plant grows and increases in size. Students collect evidence about how a plant changes in mass over six weeks of growth. Students begin by asking questions regarding the cause and effect relationship of time, environmental conditions, and plant growth (SEP-AQDP-E3, CCC-CE-P1) and then collect data (SEP-MATH-P3, CCC-DATA-E1) and organize their evidence in a data table. Students then use their evidence from the investigation to summarize their understanding of how plants add mass as they grow (DCI-LS2.A-P1).
Indicator 1g
Materials are designed to include both phenomena and problems.
In Grade 5, materials are organized into six units. Unit 1: Engineering and Technology, Unit 2: Matter, Unit 3: Energy and Matter in Organisms, Unit 4: Energy and Matter in Ecosystems, Unit 5: Earth Interactions and Resources, and Unit 6: Patterns in the Sky. Each unit is divided into three or four learning sequences called lessons. Each lesson consists of three to five single-day explorations. Some of the explorations are hands-on activities, while others are reading or informational sections intended for concept development.
In the Grade 5 materials, each lesson begins with the publisher-identified anchoring phenomenon presented with an image and a video in an engage activity. The phenomenon is typically described as a scientific concept or with a guiding question. The phenomena are often directly related to the publisher-identified objective or concept for the lesson. Each exploration begins with students asking questions about a publisher-identified investigative phenomenon and concludes with students responding to a question related to the anchoring phenomenon or associated content. Phenomena are present in all science disciplines.
Examples of problems presented in the instructional materials:
In Grade 5, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Engineer It! What Makes a Good Toy Car?, the design challenge is to improve the model of a balloon powered toy car. Students solve the design challenge by defining what problems the original design had, brainstorming ways to make improvements, and finally evaluating their solutions to the problem.
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Exploration 2: Engineer It! Balanced Restored, the design challenge is to create a trap to capture the cane toad. Students read about the invasive cane toad to help them determine the criteria and constraints for making a toad trap. Students develop a poster that models their solution and share it with the class.
Examples of phenomena presented in the instructional materials:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 3: Matter Can Change, the phenomenon is that a metal sculpture is one piece of metal but different colors. Students complete an investigation cleaning tarnished pennies, read about sculptures that have dull and shiny areas, and test the results of mixing mystery substances together. Students determine that bronze sculptures develop a thin dark layer on the surface when they are exposed to the weather. The surface of bronze sculptures can be made shiny by rubbing them, along with substances that remove the dark layer.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1: Plants Transform and Use Energy and Matter, the phenomenon is that plants grow in tubes without soil. In Exploration 1, students plan and carry out a fair test investigation to see how the amount of sunlight affects plant growth. In Exploration 2, students investigate how the mass of a plant changes after six weeks of growth. In Exploration 3, students read about the other things that all plants need to grow; water, nutrients, and air. In Exploration 4, students look at a diagram that explains how plants use water, sunlight, and air to make food (sugar). At the end of each exploration, in the Making Sense section, students are asked to explain how what they just learned helps them to understand how plants can grow without soil. At the end of Exploration 4, in the Lesson Check, students explain how their ideas about what plants need to grow have changed. They explain how the plants in the picture are growing even though they aren’t being grown in soil, describe what plants need to survive and grow, and use data from their investigations and explorations to explain how plants make their own food.
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Exploration 1: Modeling Matter Moving Within an Ecosystem, the phenomenon is that a heron eats a fish. Students choose an ecosystem to model. They research the organisms they will include in their model and identify them as producers, consumers, and decomposers. Students create chains that show what eats what and find chains that overlap to form webs. Students make a claim of how energy and matter move through an ecosystem citing evidence from their model to support their claim and explain their reasoning.
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Exploration 3: Introduced and Invasive Species, the phenomenon is that an emerald ash borer eats through the bark of an ash tree. Students read about the emerald ash borer and the impact it has on the ecosystem. Students then look at other invasive species. Students never directly explain the phenomenon of the Emerald Ash Borer, but do explain how invasive species affect the balance of an ecosystem, compare and contrast invasive plants and animals, extrapolate to a novel invasive species (pigs), and then connect back to the anchoring phenomenon.
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 1: Earth’s Systems Interact, the phenomenon is that steam rises along the coastline as hot lava meets the ocean water. In Exploration 1, students investigate how two different environments can be related by identifying parts of ecosystems. In Exploration 2, students model the effects of water on materials found on earth’s surface. In Exploration 3, students read about earth’s systems and begin to describe the interactions between the systems. In Exploration 4, students further explore interactions between earth’s systems by reading and drawing models. Students explain the phenomenon by connecting each exploration concept to describe how volcanoes impact the ecosystems of earth.
Indicator 1h
Materials intentionally leverage students’ prior knowledge and experiences related to phenomena or problems.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet expectations that they intentionally leverage students’ prior knowledge and experience related to phenomena or problems.
The Grade 5 materials consistently provide opportunities for teachers to elicit students’ prior knowledge and experience of phenomena and problems. Phenomena and problems are present at both the learning sequence level, called Lessons, and the learning opportunity level, called Explorations. Phenomena and problems introduced at the lesson level include a question called a TELL Prompt in the Culturally Responsive Education portion of the teacher notes. The TELL Prompt typically asks students for their prior knowledge or experience related to the phenomenon or problem and provides possible student responses for the teacher. When phenomena are present in explorations, the teacher notes sometimes include an Everyday Phenomenon. This provides an alternate phenomenon for teachers to describe to students, along with questions for students to make connections to the alternate phenomenon. In some cases these prompts are clearly connected to the phenomenon for the Exploration and in others they only connect to the alternate phenomenon.
While the materials consistently elicit students’ prior knowledge and experiences related to phenomena and problems, they miss the opportunity to leverage those ideas and experience in student learning. The Culturally Responsive Education portion of the teacher notes in each lesson includes generic guidance for the teacher to “use what you learn from children’s responses to help them connect new academic concepts,” but student responses to the TELL prompt are not recorded, returned to later in the sequence, or explicitly incorporated into the sequence.
Examples where the materials elicit but do not leverage students’ prior knowledge and experience related to phenomena and problems:
In Grade 5, Unit 3, Lesson 1: Plants Transform and Use Energy and Matter, the phenomenon is that plants grow in tubes without soil. The TELL Prompt asks students to share what they know about how plants get what they need to grow. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 1: Organisms Interact in Ecosystems, the phenomenon is elephants, zebras, and gazelles sharing the same watering hole in the savanna. The TELL Prompt asks students to share what they know about the variety of plants and animals that live in the African savanna. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 1: Earth’s Systems Interact, the phenomenon is that steam rises along the coastline as hot lava meets the ocean water. The TELL Prompt asks students to share what they know about volcanic eruptions and their effects on the surrounding environment. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.
In Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 2: Water in Earth’s Systems, the phenomenon is that the island of Hawaii is part green and part brown. The TELL Prompt asks students to share what they know about how water moves around Earth and through its systems. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.
In Grade 5, Unit 6, Lesson 2: Sky Patterns Over Time, the phenomenon is that the sun appears to set on the horizon at different places and times each day. The TELL Prompt asks students to share what they know about the different times of sunset at a single location. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.
Indicator 1i
Materials embed phenomena or problems across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 do not meet expectations that they embed phenomena or problems across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions.
Materials provide few lessons across the grade that use phenomena or problems to drive instruction and engage with all three dimensions across multiple explorations. Typically, lessons contain a publisher identified anchoring phenomenon to initially engage students but then use a DCI or other science topic as the focus of student learning across the lesson sequence.
Most lessons provide students with different opportunities to help them learn the science content being presented. The first two explorations in a lesson are typically hands-on investigations, with the occasional engineering activity or research project incorporated. These are followed by one to three additional explorations where students read expository texts. Although the students are not engaged in exploring the anchoring phenomenon in the lesson, in the Making Sense section at the end of each lesson, students relate what they have just learned to the anchoring phenomenon or introductory example, usually in written form. Students describe how their original ideas changed and explain different parts of the science concept. Only sometimes are the students given the opportunity to revise their thinking based on shared class information. While the materials ask students questions about the phenomena at the closing of each lesson, students rarely collect evidence to directly explain the phenomenon that is presented. As a result, students are not engaged in figuring out the phenomenon.
Example of a lesson sequence where student learning is not driven by a phenomenon across multiple lessons:
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 1: Matter Has Mass and Volume, the phenomenon is that a water-powered rocket launches into the air. Student learning in this lesson is not driven by the phenomenon but is instead focused on the concept that matter is made of particles and has mass and volume. Students measure matter and mass. Students gather evidence that air is matter using models and then engage in argumentation about the nature of matter. Throughout the remainder of the lesson, students read and develop an understanding of the disciplinary core idea that matter has mass and volume.
In Grade 5, Unit 2, Lesson 2: Matter has Many Properties, there is no phenomenon or problem for this lesson. Instead, the science concept that materials have properties and those properties can be used when choosing materials to solve a problem guides the lesson. Students examine different bean bag materials to determine which material would be best for a bean bag and conduct a design challenge to create packaging for chocolate that will withstand melting . Students are then given materials to read to supplement their understanding of the properties of matter . Students have a variety of opportunities to develop, evaluate and revise their thinking in both verbal peer and class discussions and then through reflection prompts provided in the student workbook.
In Grade 5, Unit 4, Lesson 2: Organisms Change Their Ecosystems, the phenomenon is that kudzu vines grow and cover all the other plants in the area. Student learning in this lesson is not driven by the phenomenon but is instead focused by the science concept of invasive species. Students engage in a short research activity and then a simulation to understand how invasive species can affect local populations, design a cage to trap an invasive toad, and read about other examples of plants and animals that have altered their ecosystem. Students research three native fish species that are affected by the invasive northern snakehead fish. They engage in a simulation to learn how the invasive species eats much of the available food, decreasing the population of the native fish. Students learn about the invasive cane toad and then design a humane trap to reduce its population. Finally, students read about several different invasive plant and animal species that have altered their ecosystems. Students are asked a question about the phenomenon after each investigation, but there is a missed opportunity for activities to support an explanation or have a clear connection to the phenomenon for students.
Grade 5, Unit 5, Lesson 1: Earth’s Systems Interact, the phenomenon is that steam rises along the coastline as hot lava meets the ocean water. Student learning in this lesson is not driven by the phenomenon but instead the focus is the science concept that earth’s systems interact. Students begin by comparing different ecosystems and identifying materials found consistently across ecosystems. Students develop questions to investigate and present on water’s effect on the earth. Students examine examples of how the parts of an ecosystem benefit the whole. Students are asked a question related to the phenomenon after each exploration and at the end of the lesson, but most of the questions address the science concept and not the presented phenomenon. Additionally, the explorations miss the opportunity to consistently support an explanation of the presented phenomenon.
In Grade 5, Unit 6, Lesson 2: Sky Patterns over Time, the phenomenon is that the sun appears to set on the horizon at different places and times each day. Student learning is not driven by the phenomenon, instead the focus is on the science concept of the patterns of the sun, moon, and stars. In the first two explorations, students investigate how shadows change throughout the day then model how different constellations are visible at different times of the year. In the subsequent explorations, students read about the cycles of the moon, the position of the sun throughout the year, and visible constellations throughout the year.