Fifth Grade: Structure and Properties of Matter
Talking Science Through Texts > Fifth Grade > Structure and Properties of Matter
Driving Questions: When matter changes, does its weight change? Can new substances be created by combining other substances?
Fifth Grade Crosscutting Concepts
Select a concept to learn more.
Patterns
Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed and used as evidence.
Cause and Effect
Events have causes that generate observable patterns.
Scale, Proportion & Quantity
Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large.
Standard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.
Talking Science: Crosscutting Concepts to Support Comprehension
Crosscutting concepts have application across all domains of science. As such, they are a way of linking the different domains of science. They include patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; and stability and change. The Framework emphasizes that these concepts need to be made explicit for students because they provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world.
Suggested Read Aloud Texts
Choose a text to view its read aloud guide.
What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Schrew
Rivers of Sunlight
Physics: Why Matter Matters
Talking Science: Formative Assessment Probes
Extend the discussion of these books using the suggested prompts from the Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Series from Page Keeley and NSTA.
- 5-PS1-1
- #10 Is It Matter?, USI Volume 1, 2nd Ed., p. 81
- #11 Is It Made of Molecules?, USI Volume 1, 2nd Ed., p. 89
- #21 Wet Jeans, USI Volume 1, 2nd Ed., p. 167
- 5-PS1-2
- #5 Ice Cubes in a Bag, USI Volume 1, 2nd Ed., p. 47
- #6 Lemonade, USI Volume 1, 2nd Ed., p. 55
- #7 Cookie Crumbles, USI Volume 1, 2nd Ed., p. 63
- #8 What Does Conservation Mean? (USI PSV3) p. 65
- 5-PS1-3
- #7 Do They Have Weight and Take Up Space (USI PSV3) p. 59
- #2 Solid, Liquid, Gas (USI PSV3) p. 23
- 5-PS1-4
- #9 Sat in Water (USI PSV3) p. 71
- #19 Will It Form a New Substance? (USI PSV3) p. 131
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