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5th Science OSAS Practice 2021

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Help your students explore the Oregon Statewide Assessment System Grade 5 Science Sample Test in this slideshow with imbedded videos. The OSAS page has been updated, but all of the basics are still there. Each question is broken down in its own section - "Session 1 The Beach House." Before doing the question, we look at the objective and task by thinking like a scientist using CCC & SEP. Then we explore how to navigate the question. We break down the key elements of the question relating to the task. Students work the problem on their own. "Let's check out the answers" goes over strategies used to solve the task and the reasoning behind the answers. The video was made in the spring of 2021 to support distance learning.

Material Type: Assessment

Author: Larry Zurcher

Why Do Dead Things Disappear Over Time? — Next Generation science storylines

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In this fifth-grade unit on interrelationships in ecosystems, students investigate the apparent disappearance of the body of a dead raccoon over time. Their findings lead them to uncover the role of decomposers in this process, as well as the role of decomposers in the disappearance of plant debris over time. Students ultimately track down where the materials come from that all living things need for repair and growth and where the energy comes from that they use to move and stay warm. Resource from: NextGenStoryline.org

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Authors: Jamie Rumage, NextGenStorylines

Think Before You Eat: How Can We Reduce Plastic Pollution?

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The lessons in this project were developed as part of a collaborative effort between the Oregon Department of Education - Oregon Healthy Schools grant, and Multnomah ESD. Educators designed projects that integrated health or physical education standards with either math or science standards.  Project Summary:The project, “Think Before You Eat” is designed to provide students with a voice to be a change agent for their future environment and community. The motto for this unit, “If we know better, we do better.”Students will learn how plastic not only affects our earth's environment but also the harm it can have on us as individuals through the food chain. Students will identify these issues and develop new ways to create healthier alternatives for everyone by reducing plastic pollution. If we use less plastic, we eat less plastic. Students will create awareness in order to impact their communities.

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study

Author: Suzanne Hidde

Ecosystem Invasion! (3rd Grade Life Science Unit)

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This integrated 3rd grade unit addresses the NGSS Life Science bundles for Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-3, and 3-LS4-4) and Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits (3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, and 3-LS4-2). Students embark on a mission to protect their native plants and animals by devising a plan to regulate and prevent the spread of invasive species in the area. Through a series of FOSS investigations and other OER (open educational resource) lessons and activities, students learn about how an organism’s traits aid in survival, how parents pass on traits to their offspring, and how the environment influences plant and animal traits and behaviors.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Pranjali Upadhyay

Science: Oregon's First Geologists

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In this lesson students will learn how Native American tribes living in what is now Oregon incorporated geologic knowledge into their lifeways and cultures. It will describe tribes’ use of stone tools, designation of prominent landforms as significant and meaningful places, and oral traditions they maintained regarding geologic events to help them understand and organize the world they lived in. This lesson assumes students have some familiarity with or prior instruction in earth science concepts such as Oregon landforms, the rock cycle, plate tectonics, and earthquakes and tsunamis.

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan

Authors: Aujalee Moore, April Campbell, Oregon Open Learning

Science: Salmon and the River

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Native American tribes in Oregon have relied on salmon for thousands of years. Salmon is considered a first food—a food resource that Indigenous people have depended on since time immemorial. This lesson includes four activities to support student learning about this traditional resource. In the first activity students will learn why salmon are essential to the traditional lifeways of Native Americans in Oregon. In the second activity students will evaluate the life cycle of salmon, specifically the importance of salmon returning to their home stream to spawn. In the third activity students will examine the impact of dams on the life cycle of salmon. Finally, students will work in small groups to identify strategies being used to restore the salmon population in Oregon.

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan

Authors: Renée House, April Campbell, Oregon Open Learning

Oh, Salmon!

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Through this lesson, students in 3rd-5th grade will understand how the human history of a local creek (Whatcom Creek in this example) affects the health of salmon populations. This lesson is an active way to engage students in graphing through the use of models and uses critical thinking to understand implications of human actions in the past and in the future.

Material Type: Game, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Reading

Authors: Barbara Soots, Hannah Newell

PEI SOLS 5th grade: Regenerative Agriculture (Eastern Washington)

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Soil quality is an important aspect of growing food. In this storyline, students will discover what soil is made of and how carbon is an important part of soil quality as well as how carbon moves between plants, soil, and air. Students will learn how Indigenous people used practices such as composting. Finally, students will explore what regenerative agriculture practices are and how they can be a solution to how the climate is changing over time.  

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

PEI SOLS 4th Grade Natural Hazards: Erosion (Spanish)

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Lo que vemos en la superficie de la Tierra es un conjunto complejo y dinámico de sistemas interconectados que incluyen la geósfera, la hidrósfera, la atmósfera, la criósfera y la biósfera. Los procesos de la Tierra son el resultado del flujo de energía y el ciclo de la materia que está dentro y entre estos sistemas. Comprender los sistemas de la Tierra es importante para muchas decisiones que se toman hoy en las comunidades, por ejemplo en dónde construir una carretera, en dónde un salmón puede poner huevos con éxito y cómo garantizar la calidad del aire. La erosión involucra las cinco esferas, lo que brinda a los estudiantes un excelente ejemplo de la interconexión de estos grandes sistemas.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Pacific Education Institute

What Makes a Weed a Weed? (for 3-5 Educators)

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This professional development course consists of a series of workshops focused on NGSS-aligned & local phenomenon-centered curriculum, developed by IslandWood with funding from the OSPI ClimeTime Grant. It is currently structured to be delivered online and for Upper Elementary (3-5) educators. A slide deck and accompanying handouts are available to complement the course outline. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Full Course, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Brad Street

"Voices of Hope: Climate Science"

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Purpose of UnitThe purpose of this Climate Science NTC Project GLAD® unit is a call to action, providing equity of access for all students. Through a model of instruction that promotes language development within core content, the Voices of Hope unit teaches students the science behind climate change and equips them with the tools necessary toward making a positive impact on our planet. This unit was written for 4th - 7th grade.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Full Course, Lesson Plan, Reading

Author: Kate Lindholm

Fourth Grade Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects-What Happened at Dry Falls?

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The Fourth Grade Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects, What Happened at Dry Falls?, uses the phenomena of a local Washington landform to explore erosion from the Ice Age Floods.  It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects  can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Module, Reading

Author: Georgia Boatman

Third Grade Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects-Weather

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The Third Grade Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects, Weather, uses the phenomena of extreme weather events.  It is part of Elementary Framework for Science and Integrated Subjects project, a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, North Central ESD, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects  can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) pnenomena based, focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

Material Type: Data Set, Lesson Plan, Module, Reading

Author: Georgia Boatman

(Not So) Slow Burn: Teaching Climate Change Through Wildfires

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SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students make personal connections to fire, understand how climate change is making wildfires worse in Oregon and across the globe, and create a wildfire solution presentation to promote a prevention or preparation strategy. SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson allows students to learn about the causes of wildfire and how they are induced by climate change. It also highlights locations at risk to wildfires in Oregon and ways students can develop tactics to promote effective management of wildfire events. The archival data on wildfires will enable them to interpret wildfire hotspots for contingency planning. This lesson is very engaging and is recommended for classroom use. POSITIVES: -This lesson can be taught in a language arts class or a science class. -Students make a personal connection to fire before learning about climate change’s impact on wildfires. -Students promote a prevention or preparation strategy to share with their class, school, or community. ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES: -It would be helpful for students to have some background knowledge of what makes fire burn. The resources Heat and Fuel and Oxygen can provide more context for students. -The data in the sortable table titled, Oregon Biggest Fires, comes from this article. You can access the data by clicking, “Download the data.” DIFFERENTIATION: -If teachers want to provide more context on active fires in Oregon, this map provides up-to-date information. -This video can provide additional information and also serve as inspiration for students to create their own presentations.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Lisa Colombo

Water Is Life: Know Your Local Watershed

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In this lesson, students learn about watersheds, how human activities impact watersheds, and what communities can do to keep the watershed healthy. Step 1 - Inquire: Students think about how they use water in their everyday life and the important role that their local watershed plays in their community. Step 2 - Investigate: Students complete two hands-on activities to understand how watersheds work and the impact that human activities have on watersheds. Step 3 - Inspire: Students write a poem, short story, or letter about the importance of watershed health and share it with their local watershed council.

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan

Authors: Nicole Butler-Hooton, Tana Shepard

​Where Does Our Clean Water Come from and Where Does it Go After We Make it Dirty?​ — Next Generation Science Storylines

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In this fifth-grade science and engineering unit on earth systems and on the structure and properties of matter, students investigate where the dirty water that drains out of their homes and schools goes and where the clean water they use comes from. Their investigations lead them to discover connections between the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Their discoveries spark a series of design problems to solve in order to protect freshwater reservoirs and minimize human impacts on the environment, including ways to mitigate flooding and erosion, naturally filter water and prevent contamination of water reservoirs, and conserve water usage in drought-prone areas of the world.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson

Authors: Jamie Rumage, NextGenStorylines

Grade 5 - Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects: Where Do Plants Get What They Need to Grow?

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Elementary Science and Integrated Subjects is a statewide Clime Time collaboration among ESD 123, ESD 105, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Development of the resources is in response to a need for research- based science lessons for elementary teachers that are integrated with English language arts, mathematics and other subjects such as social studies. The template for Elementary integration can serve as an organized, coherent and research-based roadmap for teachers in the development of their own NGSS aligned science lessons.  Lessons can also be useful for classrooms that have no adopted curriculum as well as to serve as enhancements for  current science curriculum. The EFSIS project brings together grade level teams of teachers to develop lessons or suites of lessons that are 1) focused on grade level Performance Expectations, and 2) leverage ELA and Mathematics Washington State Learning Standards.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Module, Reading

Authors: Georgia Boatman, Barbara Soots, Ellen Ebert, Kimberley Astle, Washington OSPI OER Project

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