Science — Grade 5

Stay still

In this lesson students will learn about stability. They will design and build an earthquake-proof house that takes into account the forces acting upon it and the materials with which it will be built. The house will be tested in a “shake table.” Students will be assessed by the product itself as well as their analysis of the results of the test.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Solving problems using simple machines

This lesson uses the familiar story of the three pigs and the big bad wolf to explore how the wolf could have used simple machines to catch the three pigs. By reading, analyzing, and evaluating the wolf's use of simple machines in The 3 Pigs and the Scientific Wolf by Mary Fetzer, the students will design and justify their own machine to help the wolf catch those pigs!

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts, English Language Development, and Science)

By Allison Buckner and Maria Tanner.

Skyscrapers

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.3

In this lesson, students will build a tower that is as tall as possible, freestanding, and can withstand a slight breeze.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Revenge of the crash test dummies

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.4

In this lesson, students will design and build a wall capable of withstanding the impact of a speeding vehicle driven by angry crash test dummies.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Push-Me Pull-Me toys

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.3

In this lesson, students find themselves working as engineers and toy designers for the Push-Me Pull-Me Toy Company. They will design and build a prototype of a simple toy that moves with a push or pull of one finger.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1, 3, and 5 Visual Arts Education and Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Marshmallow catapults

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.4

Students will work in design teams competing for a contract to produce a marshmallow catapult for Target. Catapults will be assessed based on cost, performance, and appearance.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Mathematics and Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Eco-packaging

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.5

Environmental issues are often at odds with commerce. In this lesson, students balance the need for secure packaging with environmental and economic concerns. They will work together to create mailing packages for a fragile substance and evaluate their results once the package travels through the postal system.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Mathematics and Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Earthquake-proof homes

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.5

For this lesson, students use knowledge gained from previous lessons to design and build an earthquake-proof home. They will test their structures on a “shake table” and see if their houses survive.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Building out

In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.2

Students will be using thin spaghetti noodles and tape to construct a cantilever that projects as far as possible out from a table without touching the floor.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Science)

By Erin Denniston.

Resources on the web

Systems, Up, Up and Away!

This single lesson is designed to allow students to explore how changing parts or amounts will impact the properties of a system. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Simple Machines

Students use Internet resources to explore the parts of a system and develop students understanding of the interactions between those parts (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Seeing around corners

In this lesson, from Science NetLinks, students explore the concept of line of sight by recording the conditions under which they can and can't see an object. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Does soap float?

In this lesson, from Science NetLinks, students form hypotheses and carry out an investigation in order to answer a central question: Does soap float? They then demonstrate their understanding of the topic through oral or written reports. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–6 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Buoyant boats

The purpose of this Science NetLinks lesson is to design and construct a boat that takes into account factors such as buoyancy, the properties of materials, and design constraints. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Building a water clock

The purpose of this lesson is to build a feedback-controlled system, i.e., a water clock and use the Internet to research ways to improve the system design. This activity should follow student encounters with more simple systems, such as pencils, scissors,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Break it down!

In this Science NetLinks lesson, students explore the everyday implications of system failure and are challenged to identify the causes. There are two prerequisite lessons for this lesson: Systems 1: Simple machines and Systems 2: Systems, Up, Up, and Away! (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science