Earth and Sun image
Spoon image
bottle with fish image

  • First Unit:

    • The Earth and Sun unit provides students with experiences to explore the properties of the atmosphere, energy transfer from the Sun to Earth, and the dynamics of weather and water cycling in Earth’s atmosphere. Other experiences help students to develop and use models to understand Earth’s place in the solar system, and the interactions of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon to reveal predictable patterns—daily length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of stars in the night sky.

  • Second Unit:

    • The Mixtures and Solutions unit has five investigations that introduce students to fundamental ideas about matter and its interactions. Students come to know that matter is made of particles too small to be seen and develop the understanding that matter is conserved when it changes state—from solid to liquid to gas—when it dissolves in another substance, and when it is partof a chemical reaction.

  • Third Unit:

    • In Ecosystems, students set up terrariums for crickets and isopods. Duckweed, algae, Elodea, guppies, and snails are introduced to an aquarium. Connecting the 2 habitats to create an "ecocolumn," students observe the relationship between the 2 environments and the organisms living within them. Students simulate the effects of pollutants -road salt, fertilizer, and acid rain - on the environment.