Grade 5 Science

Optional Unit: Communities and Ecosystems

Unit Overview:

This unit introduces the terminology used to describe ecosystems. An analysis of the community in which the students live gives them a chance to use those terms to describe events, organisms, and objects with which they are already acquainted.

Related Units:

This unit could be used as a sequel to the Core Unit Plant Structure and Function. The Resources Core Unit deals with air, water, and soil pollution, which have an impact on the habitats of living things.

Suggested themes:

communities, ecosystems, homes, living things, relationships

Factors of scientific literacy that should be emphasized:

• A2 historic
• A3 holistic
• B1 change
• B3 orderliness
• B12 conservation
• B16 system
• B18 population
• C4 observing and describing
• C9 inferring
• C12 interpreting data
• E2 using natural environments
• F2 questioning
• F4 valuing natural environments
• G1 interest

Common Essential Learnings foundational objectives which should be emphasized:

To support students to develop a better understanding of the personal, moral, social and cultural aspect of science. (PSVS)

Science foundational and learning objectives:

1. Understand the concept of the ecosystem.
   1. Describe the habitat of a number of populations.
   2. Identify and describe the niches of the populations comprising a community.
   3. Discuss the factors which limit the population of a species.
2. Investigate and describe the ecosystem of the local community.
   1. Identify and describe the animal, plant, fungi, algae, and protist populations in the local community.
   2. Describe the niche of members of those populations.
   3. Trace the changes in the local ecosystem .