5-ESS3-1 lessons
Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment.
The Next Generation Science Standards code 5-ESS3-1 asks students to: “Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment.” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Earth Day Investigations: Make Your School Better Grades 4–6 · partly supports this standard
- What's in our garbage? 50–60 min
Teams wear gloves to sort one day of classroom waste into landfill, recycling and compost, weigh each pile and graph the results. They use the numbers to recommend one change to the principal or caretaker.
- Where would a new tree help most? 50–60 min
Teams measure air and ground temperature in sun and shade, on grass and on pavement, to see how much shade cools the schoolyard. They use their numbers to recommend where the school should plant a new tree.
- How much water does a dripping tap waste? 45–60 min
The class counts drips per minute from a slow-dripping tap, catches and measures the water, then scales it up to a day and a year. Students use the math to recommend how the school should report and fix drips.
- Is our classroom wasting electricity? 45–60 min
Students audit their classroom's lights and devices, check which are left on when nobody needs them, and read wattage labels to estimate the energy wasted in a school year. They finish with a poster or letter recommending one easy change.
NGSS is used as written in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, so the code 5-ESS3-1 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
More NGSS standards for Grade 5
All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province
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