Earth's Spheres Unit

As a previous science teacher, I am writing my own "curriculum" for our 5th grade home school this year (see other units here). I have divided the 16 5th grade Next Generation Science Standards into units. This is my plan for the Sun and Earth Unit, consisting of the following standards:

• 5-ESS1-1. Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.
• 5-ESS1-2. Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

Some notes: 

The national standards focus on science content, but also science and engineering practices. These practices are an integral part of each standard, which means curriculum and assessment might look a little different than it did when I was a student. Assessments do not have to be a regular "test." Sometimes they will be a lab or a model a student draws of their understanding of an idea.

Also, this is curriculum I, a science teacher, wrote for my academically advanced son. Plus, I was not present for his previous years of school science, so do not know what gaps he may have. In many places, will go way more in depth than just doing the minimum to meet the standard. If you choose to use my resources, please keep that in mind. Feel free to message me about anything you feel needs clarification or more explanation.

The links are to Google Doc version of the materials, allowing you to make a copy and modify them. If you would like all materials in one document, you can find it in the document below, although formatting is not 100%.

Earth's Spheres Unit Outline PDF

Earth's Spheres Materials PDF (Google Docs versions linked below)

Earth's Spheres Answer Keys PDF (Google Docs versions linked below)

Earth's Spheres Unit Slides (can be saved as ppt)

Day One

• Earth's Systems Sorting Activity
• Will need glue
• Not corrected yet

Day Two

• Four Spheres Video
• Slide 2
• Notes as needed
• Four Spheres Part 2
• Slide 3
• Notes as needed

Day Three

• Four Spheres Slides 4-9
• Notes as needed
• Revisit Sorting Activity
• See if any changes should be made. Add labels.
• Answer Key

Day Four

• Sphere Interaction Slides 11-17
• Sphere Interaction Video
• Slide 18
• Notes as needed

Day Five

• Sphere Interaction Practice

• Answer Key

Day Six

• Sphere Interaction Assessment

• Answer Key

Day Seven-Eight

• We have a lot of weather books, so we will a few days to read them. Some of what we have include:
• I Wonder Why The Wind Blows and Other Questions About Our Planet by Anita Ganeri
• Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M Branley
• The Magic School Bus Presents Wild Weather by Tom Jackson
• The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane by Joanna Cole

Day Nine

• Water Cycle Interactive Diagram
• Answer Key

Day Ten

• Water Cycle Reading Guide
• Written for One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss
• Answer Key
• Note: This is a bit long and not really necessary to do the reading guide in order to understand the concepts. I just made it to add a bit more depth to learning about the water cycle.

Day Eleven

• Read about the Water Cycle
• You could use any books from the library. Here are some we will use:
• The Magic School Bus Wet All Over by Joanna Cole
• You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Clean Water by Roger Canavan
• Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water? By Robert E Wells
• Water by Melissa Stewart
• Take notes as needed

Day Twelve

• Water Cycle Video
• Slide 19
• Notes as needed
• Water Cycle Video 2
• Slide 20
• Notes as needed

Day Thirteen

• Water Percentages Graphing Activity
• Answer Key

Day Fourteen

• Assessment - Water Cycle Diagram
• Answer Key

Bonus Materials to be used something during unit:

• Watch The Magic School Bus
• Wet All Over
• Kicks Up a Storm
• Water Erosion
• Watch Planet Earth
• Fresh Water
• Ice Worlds
• Shallow Seas
• Oceans Deep

Potential Resources: 

See other units here