BLACKHAWK SCHOOL DISTRICT Course: STEAM Grades: 5 Periods per week: One Authors : Barb Brown Date: 2015-2016 MISSION STATEMENT: The goal of STEAM education is to develop within students an interest in STEAM subjects at an early age. This should be beneficial to them when they enter the jobs market, and in turn it should benefit the greater economy. COURSE DESCRIPTION: STEAM is designed to introduce basic science, technology, engineering, arts, and math concepts for problem solving and everyday use. This course challenges students to use the design process, Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create and Test, and Improve to think/create beyond the first possible solution, to persevere in their process and to create an end product that goes beyond the bare minimum. PA Common Core Standards for Reading and Writing in Science and Technical Subjects: Pennsylvania Department of Education has released standards that describe what students in the science and technical subjects classrooms should know and be able to do with the English language in reading and writing, grade 3 through 12. The standards provide the targets for instruction and student learning essentials for success in all academic areas, not just language arts classrooms. Although the standards are not a curriculum or a prescribed series of activities, Blackhawk School District has used them to develop this science curriculum. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Essential questions are the heart of the curriculum. Essential questions are conceptual commitments that teachers will use to guide instructional decision making. In addition, they are kid friendly so that students can easily understand them. Essential questions are meant to be shared with students in either discussion or posting in the classroom. Essential questions provide the focus for teaching and learning. The following are the s for this class: Assessing Essential questions is key to a robust curriculum. If s are the focal point of learning, how then do we assess students? The following is an overview of recommended assessments to the s. In addition, Differentiated learning opportunities are embedded as well. ROBUST VOCABULARY Robust vocabulary words are Tier 2 words, meaning that they are complex, powerful, and generalizable. Robust vocabulary words support language development of both lower and high level learners. In addition, robust vocabulary instruction helps prepare students for SATs, upper level high school classes, and college. Studies showed that robust instruction was quite effective not only for learning the meanings of words but also for affecting reading comprehension. (p. 2 Bringing Words to Life) Teachers are asked to commit to teaching and students USING these words throughout the entire year. Using a variety of instructional strategies, students will learn the meaning of these words in a deep and meaningful way in this content and across other content areas.
Science Technology and Engineering Grade 5 3.1.5.A2 Describe how life on earth depends on energy from the sun. 3.1.5.A3 Compare and contrast the similarities and differences in life cycles of different organisms. 3.1.5.A5 Explain the concept of a cell as the basic unit of life. Compare and contrast plant and animal cells. 3.1.5.A9 [EQ] How do energy transformations explain that energy is neither created nor destroyed? Covered in the 5 th Grade Classroom/Outdoor Education Week Physical Properties Experiments Science Olympiad Activities Mass/Density Activities Teacher made materials Class Discussion Varies Spectroscopy Society books and handouts
3.1.B: Genetics 3.1.5.B1 Differentiate between inherited and acquired characteristics of plants and animals. 3.1.5.B6 [EQ] What allows some populations of organisms to change and survive while others cannot? Horticulture Project/Plant and Animal Life Cycles State of PA tree program
3.2.5.B1 Explain how mass of an object resists change to motion. 3.2.5.B2 Examine how energy can be transferred from one form to another. 3.2.5.B3 Demonstrate how heat energy is usually a byproduct of an energy transformation. 3.2.5.B4 Demonstrate how electrical circuits provide a means of transferring electrical energy when heat, light, sound, and chemical changes are produced. Demonstrate how electromagnets can be made and used. 3.2.5.B5 Compare the characteristics of sound as it is transmitted through different materials. Relate the rate of vibration to the pitch of the sound. 3.2.5.B7 [EQ] What causes objects to move? Recycling Project Green Car Aerial Photography Wind Tunnel Teacher Designed Material Balls of varying sizes Balloon Rockets Paper Airplanes Teacher created materials Expanding Engineering is Elementary to solve real work problems.
3.1.C: Evolution 3.1.5.C1 Describe how organisms meet some of their needs in an environment by using behaviors (patterns of activities) Recycling Project Engineering Project Aerial Photography Wind Tunnel Engineering is elementary Frugal Fun for Boys Internet Access
in response to information (stimuli) received from the environment. 3.1.5.C2 Give examples of how inherited characteristics (e.g., shape of beak, length of neck, location of eyes, shape of teeth) may change over time as adaptations to changes in the environment that enable organisms to survive. 3.1.5.C4 EQ] What allows some populations of organisms to change and survive while others cannot? Planting/Sprouting/Plant Life Cycle Microscope Lab Materials by Linda Camp Teacher Made Materials Class comparisons News O Matic Articles Microscopes and assorted items to examine
3.2.A: Chemistry 3.2.5.A1 Describe how water can be changed from one state to another by adding or taking away heat. 3.2.5.A6 [EQ] How do scientists identify and sort materials? Solid/Liquid/Gas Activities Expanding Gas Lab Teacher created materials Balances Gram Weights Varied items to measure Recording Sheet Boiling water/ping pong balls Bill Nye Atom Video Video clips Recording Sheet
3.2.B: Physics 3.2.5.B1 Explain how mass of an object resists change to motion. 3.2.5.B2 Examine how energy can be transferred from one form to another. 3.2.5.B3 Demonstrate how heat energy is usually a byproduct of an energy transformation. 3.2.5.B4 Demonstrate how electrical circuits provide a means of transferring electrical energy when heat, light, sound, and chemical changes are produced. Demonstrate how electromagnets can be made and used 3.2.5.B5 Compare the characteristics of sound as it is transmitted through different materials. Relate the rate of vibration to the pitch of the sound. 3.2.5.B7 [EQ] What causes objects to move? Map/Scale/Proportion Cards Measurement Conversion Activities Inertia/Pressure/Heat/Friction Activities Circuit Lab Ongoing throughout all activities and labs Standard/customary/metric measurement tools for capacity, distance, weight Rand McNally Road Atlas Engineering is Elementary Assorted hands on equipment: Scales/Balances/Balloons Spectroscopy Society Materials 50 More Stem Labs/Andrew Finkle Snap Circuits/Batteries The Design Process
3.3: Earth and Space Sciences 3.3.A: Earth Structure, Processes and Cycles 3.3.5.A1 Describe how landforms are the result of a combination of destructive forces such as erosion and constructive erosion, deposition of sediment, etc. 3.3.5.A2 Covered in the 5 th grade Classrooms National Geographic Volcanoes Billy Nye Volcanoes New O Matic Articles/Current Events
Describe the usefulness of Earth s physical resources as raw materials for the human made world. 3.3.5.A3 Explain how geological processes observed today such as erosion, movement of lithospheric plates, and changes in the composition of the atmosphere are similar to those in the past. 3.3.5.A4 Explain the basic components of the water cycle. 3.3.5.A5 Differentiate between weather and climate. Explain how the cycling of water, both in and out of the atmosphere, has an effect on climate 3.3.5.A7 [EQ] What causes the great variation at Earth s surface? Supplemented with articles and videos Water Cycle Lab Weather Observations/Data Collection poster board/variety of different building/shading materials Plastic bags, water Sunlight Scholastic Study Jams Online Activities Bill Nye Atmosphere Video Weather Kit 4M Weather Station Interactive weather maps/ipads/ipods/computer lab
3.3.5.B1 Provide evidence that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours. 3.3.5.B1 Provide evidence that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours. 3.3.5.B3 [EQ] Not currently available for this standard at this level Covered in the 5 th grade classroom
3.4: Technology and Engineering Education 3.4.A: The Scope of Technology 3.4.5.A1 Explain how people use tools and techniques to help them do things. 3.4.5.A2 Understand that a subsystem is a system that operates as part of a larger system. 3.4.5.A3 Describe how technologies are often combined. 3.4.B: Technology and Society 3.4.5.B1 Explain how the use of technology can have unintended consequences. 3.4.5.B2 Describe how waste may be appropriately recycled or disposed of to prevent unnecessary harm to the environment. [EQ] What methods do humans employ to create, use, and modify technologies? What is technology? Technology Systems Engineering is Elementary
3.4.5.B3 Describe how community concerns support or limit technological developments. 3.4.5.B4 Identify how the way people live and work has changed history in terms of technology. 3.4.C: Technology and Engineering Design 3.4.5.C1 Explain how the design process is a purposeful method of planning practical solutions to problems. 3.4.5.C2 Describe how design, as a dynamic process of steps, can be performed in different sequences and repeated. 3.4.5.C3 Identify how invention and innovation are creative ways to turn ideas into real things. 3.4.3.D1 Identify people s needs and wants and define some problems that can be solved through the design process. 3.4.4.D3 Investigate and assess the influence of a specific technology or system on the individual, family, community, and environment. 3.4.5.D1 Identify ways to improve a design solution. 3.4.5.D2 Use information provided in manuals, protocols, or by experienced people to see and understand how things work. 3.4.5.D3 [EQ} How do human wants and needs influence technological developments? [EQ] What steps are involved in technological design and problem solving when creating inventions and innovations? Osmo Lab ipad Lab Making improvements to known inventions using the design process. Osmo and assorted programs Rube Goldberg App, Little Broken Robots, Engineering by Design Engineering Design Process
Determine if the human use of a product or system creates positive or negative results. 3.4.E: The Designed World 3.4.5.E1 Identify how technological advances have made it possible to create new devices and to repair or replace certain parts of the human body. 3.4.5.E2 Understand that there are many different tools necessary to maintain an ecosystem, whether natural or man-made. 3.4.5.E3 Explain how tools, machines, products, and systems use energy in order to do work. 3.4.5.E4 Describe how the use of symbols, measurements, and drawings promotes clear communication by providing a common language to express ideas. 3.4.5.E5 Examine reasons why a transportation system may lose efficiency or fail (e.g., one part is missing or malfunctioning or if a subsystem is not working). 3.4.5.E6 Examine how manufacturing technologies have become an integral part of the engineered world. 3.4.5.E7 Describe the importance of guidelines when planning a community. 4.1: Ecology 4.1.5.A Describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers within a local ecosystem. [EQ]Why is it important for people to understand technology? [EQ] How do human wants and needs influence technological developments? Investigate tools needed to improve our environment, quality of life, yet fulfill specific needs within society. Transportation systems study Aerodynamics activities. Engineering by Design Engineering Design Process Assorted Scientific Tools used with experiments Engineering by design Spectroscopy Society Manuals
4.1.5.C Describe different food webs including a food web containing humans. 4.2: Watersheds and Wetlands 4.2.5.B Identify important wetlands in the United States 4.2.5.C Identify physical, chemical, and biological factors that affect water quality. 4.4: Agriculture and Society 4.4.5.A Explain why animal production is dependent upon plant production. 4.5: Humans and the Environment 4.5.5.D Explain how different items are recycled and reused. Outdoor Education Week Camp Kon O Kwee