What does a student learn in StateConnecticut,GradeGrade 5,SubjectScience?

Students come up with questions that can be tested with an experiment or a problem that could be fixed by building something. The focus is on whether the question or problem is something science or engineering can actually tackle.

Students build or draw a model (a diagram, a sketch, or a physical replica) to show how something in nature works or how an engineered design is put together. The model helps explain what is hard to see or describe in words alone.

Students design simple tests, collect observations or measurements, and use what they find to check whether an idea holds up.

Students look at charts, measurements, or observations from an experiment and figure out what the numbers actually mean. They spot trends or patterns in the data to draw a conclusion.

Students apply math skills, like measuring, counting, or using data, to back up a scientific idea or explain what they observed.

Students build written explanations for science questions by connecting their answer to actual evidence and known science ideas. They also use that same reasoning to propose a fix or solution to a real problem.

Students look at two or more explanations for the same science question and decide which one has better evidence behind it. They back up their choice with data, observations, or test results, not just opinion.

Students read science articles, diagrams, and data, then decide what information is trustworthy and share their findings in writing or discussion.

Students examine what matter is made of and how tiny particles interact to explain everyday physical changes, like why ice melts or salt dissolves in water.

Students test how pushes, pulls, and collisions make objects speed up, slow down, or change direction. They learn why bigger forces cause bigger changes in motion, and why objects at rest tend to stay put.

Students investigate how energy changes form and moves from one object to another, and how the total amount of energy in a system stays the same even when it shifts around.

Students study how waves (like sound, light, and water ripples) move energy from one place to another. They also look at how waves carry information, the way a radio signal brings music into a car.

Students examine how living things are built, starting with the tiny cells inside them and working up to the organs and systems those cells form.

Students trace how energy from the sun and nutrients from the soil move through living things in an ecosystem. They also study how plants, animals, and other organisms depend on and affect each other.

Students look at traits like eye color, height, or leaf shape to figure out which characteristics get passed down from parents to offspring and which ones vary from one generation to the next.

Students compare living things to find patterns in how species are alike and different, then explore why those differences develop over generations.

Students explore where Earth sits in the solar system, how the planets move in predictable patterns, and how Earth itself has changed over billions of years.

Students examine how Earth's four major systems (the solid ground, water, air, and living things) affect each other. For example, rain shapes the land, wind moves water, and plants change the soil.

Students look at how things like farming, building, and pollution change the land, water, and air around us. They also study how earthquakes, floods, and storms affect the people living in those places.

Students identify a real problem, sketch or build possible fixes, then test and adjust their design until it works better.

New tools and systems shape how people live, and the needs of society push engineers to invent new solutions. Students explore how these forces push and pull on each other over time.