Vermont State Standards for Science: Grade 5

VT.7.1. Inquiry, Experimentation, and Theory: Scientific Method: Students use scientific methods to describe, investigate, and explain phenomena and raise questions in order to: Generate alternative explanations (hypotheses) based on observations and prior knowledge; Design inquiry that allows these explanations to be tested; Deduce the expected results; Gather and analyze data to compare the actual results to the expected outcomes; and Make and communicate conclusions, generating new questions raised by observations and readings.

S5-6:1. Scientific Questioning: Students demonstrate their understanding of scientific questioning by:

1.1. Distinguishing between observational, experimental, and research questions (e.g., Observational - How does a cricket chirp? Experimental - -Does the amount of light affect how a cricket chirps? Research - Do all crickets chirp? Why do crickets chirp? ). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 1.1.

1.2. Identifying multiple variables that affect a system and using the variables to generate experimental questions that include cause and effect relationships. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 1.2.

S5-6:2. Predicting and Hypothesizing: Students demonstrate their understanding of predicting and hypothesizing by:

2.1. Using logical inferences derived from evidence to predict what may happen or be observed in the future. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 2.1.

2.2. Providing an explanation (hypothesis) that is reasonable in terms of available evidence. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 2.2.

S5-6:3. Designing Experiments: Students demonstrate their understanding of experimental design by:

3.1. Writing a plan related to the question and prediction that includes: (a) A list of materials needed that specifies quantities (e.g., 250 ml water); (b) A procedure that lists significant steps sequentially and describes which variable will be manipulated or changed and which variables will remain the same ('Fair Test'); (c) An appropriate format for recording data; (d) A strategy for conducting multiple trials ('Fair Test'). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 3.1.

S5-6:4. Conducting Experiments: Students demonstrate their ability to conduct experiments by:

4.1. Choosing appropriate measurements for the task and measuring accurately. 13
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 4.1.

4.2. Collecting data and recording accurate and complete data from multiple trials. 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 4.2.

4.3. Drawing scientifically: Selecting an appropriate perspective (e.g., cross section, top view, side view) and recording precise proportions. 24
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 4.3.

S5-6:5. Representing Data and Analysis: Students demonstrate their ability to represent data by:

5.1. Determining an appropriate representation (line graph in addition to prior examples) to represent their findings accurately. 20
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 5.1.

5.2. Selecting a scale that is appropriate for range of data to be plotted, labels units, and presents data in an objective way. 20
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 5.2.

5.3. Including clearly labeled keys and symbols, when necessary. 24
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 5.3.

5.4. Using correct scientific terminology to label representations. Inquiry. 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 5.4.

S5-6:6. Representing Data and Analysis: Students demonstrate their ability to analyze data by:

6.1. Identifying relationships of variables based upon evidence. 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 6.1.

6.2. Questioning data that might not seem accurate or does not fit into the pattern of other findings. 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 6.2.

S5-6:7. Representing Data and Analysis: Students demonstrate their ability to explain data by:

7.1. Explaining data using correct scientific terminology. 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 7.1.

7.2. Using experimental results to support or refute original hypothesis. 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 7.2.

7.3. Considering all data when developing an explanation/conclusion. 15
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 7.3.

7.4. Using additional resources (e.g., books, journals, databases, interview, etc.) to strengthen an explanation. 23
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 7.4.

7.5. Identifying problems/flaws with the experimental design. 23
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 7.5.

7.6. Preparing a conclusion statement/summary. 23
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 7.6.

S5-6:8. Applying Results: Students demonstrate their ability to apply results by:

8.1. Explaining how experimental findings can be generalized to other situations. 23
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 8.1.

VT.7.9. Mathematical Understanding: Statistics and Probability Concepts: Students use statistics and probability concepts.

S5-6:34. Interdependence within Ecosystems: Students demonstrate their understanding of Energy Flow in an Ecosystem by:

34.1. Developing a model that shows how the flow of energy from the sun is transferred to organisms as food in order to sustain life. 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 34.1.

S5-6:35. Interdependence within Ecosystems: Students demonstrate their understanding of Food Webs in an Ecosystem by..

35.1. Developing a model for a food web of a local aquatic and local terrestrial environment. 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 35.1.

VT.7.11. Systems: Analysis: Students analyze and understand living and non-living systems (e.g., biological, chemical, electrical, mechanical, optical) as collections of interrelated parts and interconnected systems.

S5-6:36. Interdependence within Ecosystems: Students demonstrate their understanding of Equilibrium in an Ecosystem by:

36.1. Experimenting with a closed system, describing how an environmental change effects the system (e.g., bottle biology). 16
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 36.1.

S5-6:37. Interdependence within Ecosystems: Students demonstrate their understanding of Recycling in an ecosystem by:

37.1. Identifying the recycling role of decomposers in a variety of situations. 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 37.1.

S5-6:41. Body Systems: Students demonstrate their understanding of Human Body Systems by:

41.1. Investigating circumstances that affect more than one body system and explaining the interconnected relationship between the body systems (e.g., the effects of exercise on several interdependent body systems, such as respiratory, circulatory, digestive, nervous, skeletal systems). 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 41.1.

VT.7.12. Space, Time, and Matter: Matter, Motion, Forces, and Energy: Students understand forces and motion, the properties and composition of matter, and energy sources and transformations.

S5-6:9. Properties of Matter: Students demonstrate their understanding of the Properties of Matter by:

9.1. Investigating and explaining how the relative volume or mass of an object affects the density of the object. 12
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 9.1.

S5-6:13. Properties of Matter: Students demonstrate their understanding of the Properties of a Gas by

13.1. Measuring the mass of a gas (e.g., air in a basketball). 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 13.1.

S5-6:14. Physical Change: Students demonstrate their understanding of Physical Change by:

14.1. Predicting the effect of heating and cooling on the physical state and the mass of a substance. 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 14.1.

S5-6:15. Chemical Change: Students demonstrate their understanding of Chemical Change by:

15.1. Observing evidence of simple chemical change to identify that new substances are formed when a chemical reaction has occurred (e.g., rusted nail, vinegar combined with baking soda). 21
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 15.1.

S5-6:19. Motion: Students demonstrate their understanding of Motion by:

19.1. Measuring and calculating speed (the distance an object moves over a measured amount of time). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 19.1.

20.1. Investigating and identifying evidence of an object's inertia and explaining their observation in terms of the object's tendency to resist a change in motion. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 20.1.

S5-6:21. Force: Students demonstrate their understanding of Force by:

21.1. Investigating variables that change an object's speed, direction, or both, and identifying and describing the forces that cause the change in motion. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 21.1.

S5-6:22. Force: Students demonstrate their understanding of Gravitational force by:

22.1. Predicting the effect of gravitational forces between pairs of objects (i.e., earth and object's on the surface, earth and moon, earth and sun). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 22.1.

S5-6:23. Energy and Energy Transformation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Heat Energy by:

23.1. Identifying real world applications where heat energy is transferred and by showing the direction that the heat energy flows. 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 23.1.

S5-6:24. Energy and Energy Transformation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Electrical Energy by:

24.1. Investigating charged objects (static electricity) and describing their observations in terms of behavior of charges and equilibrium. 10
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 24.1.

S5-6:25. Energy and Energy Transformation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Magnetism by:

25.1. Identifying real world objects that demonstrate and utilize a magnetic force field acting over a distance. 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 25.1.

25.2. Distinguishing between objects affected by magnetic force and objects affected by other non-contact forces. 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 25.2.

S5-6:26. Energy and Energy Transformation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Electromagnetic Forces by:

26.1. Investigating devices that demonstrate the magnetic effects of electricity and the electric effects of moving magnets. 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 26.1.

26.2. Identifying the relationship between the device and the magnetic or electric effect it produces. 3
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 26.2.

S5-6:28. Energy and Energy Transformation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Light Energy by:

28.1. Designing demonstrations that represent the characteristics of light energy transfer. 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 28.1.

S5-6:29. Energy and Energy Transformation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Sound Energy by:

29.1. Generating a sound and identifying the path of vibration from the source to the ear. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 29.1.

VT.7.13. The Living World: Organisms, Evolution, and Interdependence: Students understand the characteristics of organisms, see patterns of similarity and differences among living organisms, understand the role of evolution, and recognize the interdependence of all systems that support life.

S5-6:30. Survival of Organisms: Students demonstrate their understanding of Structure and Function-Survival Requirements by:

30.1. Explaining that the cell, as the basic unit of life, has the same survival needs as the organism. 19
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 30.1.

30.2. Identifying and drawing individual cells seen through a microscope and recognizing that most cells are microscopic. 19
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 30.2.

30.3. Diagramming the exchange of materials through a cell membrane. 19
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 30.3.

S5-6:32. Cell and Tissue Differentiation: Students demonstrate their understanding of how Differentiation by:

32.1. Explaining the relationship between cell, tissue, organ and system. 30
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 32.1.

32.2. Observing plant or animal tissue and explaining how 'specialized' cells help to support the specialized function of tissue (e.g., muscle cells form muscle tissue, skin cells form skin tissue, nerve cells form brain tissue). 4
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 32.2.

S5-6:33. Chemical Reactions within Cells: Students demonstrate their understanding of how Energy Flow Within Cells Supports an Organism's Survival by:

33.1. Demonstrating through drawings, stories or models that cells take in food and oxygen to produce energy and send out waste materials. 20
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 33.1.

S5-6:39. Natural Selection/Evolution: Students demonstrate their understanding of Evolution/Natural Selection by:

39.1. Explaining, through engaging in simulations, how a variation in a characteristic (trait) enables an organism to survive in a changing environment. 23
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 39.1.

VT.7.14. The Living World: The Human Body: Students demonstrate understanding of the human body heredity, body systems, and individual development and understand the impact of the environment on the human body.

S5-6:40. Heredity: Students demonstrate their understanding of Human Heredity by:

40.1. Identifying that an offspring's traits are determined by combining the sex cells (female egg and male sperm) of the parents. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 40.1.

S5-6:42. Human Disease: Students demonstrate their understanding of the Patterns of Human Health/Disease by:

42.2. Connecting the specialized function of white blood cells to their location in the circulatory system. 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 42.2.

S5-6:43. Patterns of Human Development: Students demonstrate their understanding of the Patterns of Human Development by:

43.1. Drawing/diagramming/modeling the life span of humans in a timeline highlighting major points in the cycle (e.g., one cell grows into a many-celled embryo, composed of different types of cells - grows into a fetus - baby is born - grows into a toddler - grows into a child - grows into a teenager - grows into an adult). 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 43.1.

43.2. Explaining what occurs in the processes of fertilization and early embryo development (e.g., sperm + egg combine to produce a new individual). 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 43.2.

VT.7.15. The Universe, Earth, and The Environment: Theories, Systems, and Forces: Students demonstrate understanding of the earth and its environment, the solar system, and the universe in terms of the systems that characterize them, the forces that affect and shape them over time, and the theories that currently explain their evolution.

S5-6:44. Solar System: Students demonstrate their understanding of Characteristics of the Solar System by:

44.1. Creating a diagram or model of the orbit of the earth around the sun and the moon around the earth. 8
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 44.1.

S5-6:45. Scale, Distances, Star Formation, Theories, Instrumentation: Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Systems of the Universe by:

45.1. Explaining (after viewing a picture or illustration with sun/moon showing true relative size) why the sun and moon appear to be the same size when seen from the earth. 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 45.1.

45.2. Relating this phenomenon to a lunar and solar eclipses. 9
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 45.2.

S5-6:46. Earth Materials and the Rock Cycle: Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Earth Systems by:

46.1. Explaining the process of how rocks are formed (the Rock Cycle). 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 46.1.

46.2. Creating a model of the earth's structure explaining the nature of the layers. 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 46.2.

S5-6:47. Forces and Changes on the Earth's Surface: Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Earth Systems by:

47.1. Identifying examples of geologic changes on the earth's surface, where possible in the local environment (include slow and fast changes). 2
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 47.1.

47.2. Plotting locations of volcanoes and earthquakes and explaining the relationship between location and plate movement. 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 47.2.

47.3. Explaining the processes that occur when rocks are changed from one form to another. 7
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 47.3.

47.4. Determining the relative age of fossils within sedimentary rocks from their location in the strata (i.e. which fossils within a sequence are older). 14
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 47.4.

S5-6:48. Atmosphere, Water Cycle, Weather, Seasons: Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change over Time within Earth Systems by:

48.1. Diagramming, labeling and explaining the process of the water cycle (e.g., evaporation, precipitation, run-off). 5
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 48.1.

S5-6:49. Natural Resources: Students demonstrate their understanding of Processes and Change within Natural Resources by:

49.1. Identifying examples of good and poor management of natural resources. 6
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 49.1.

49.2. Explaining how overpopulation of living things can degrade an environment due to increased use of resources. 29
Suggested Titles for Vermont Science State Standard 49.2.