North Brookfield Elementary School
3 - 5 Science Curriculum
Life Science
Science
Gr. 3
Activities/Lesson Goals/Materials
Framework
_______________ __________________________
Gr. 4
Gr. 5
Activities/Lesson Goals/Materials
Activities/Lesson Goals/Materials
__________________________
__________________________
1. Classify plants
and animals
according to the
physical
characteristics that
they share.
1. Goal: Students will classify plants
and animals according to the physical
characteristics that they share.
Activity: Students will create a
chart to classify plants and animals
according to characteristics.
Materials: poster board, markers,
live plants and animals
1. Goal: Students will list physical
characteristics of black bears.
Activity: Read and discuss “Black
Bears” pages 36-39 in Reading Basal.
Materials: Textbook.
1. Goal: Students will classify animals
based on their similarities.
Activity: Chart the 5 kingdoms and
give characteristics.
Materials: Textbook and
worksheets.
2. Identify the
structures in plants
(leaves, roots,
flowers, stem, bark,
wood) that are
responsible for food
production, support,
water transport,
reproduction,
growth, and
protection.
2. Goal: Students will identify the
structures in plants (leaves, roots,
flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are
responsible for food production,
support, water transport, reproduction,
growth, and protection.
Activity: Students will identify
and label plants' major structures.
Materials: Live plants, magnifying
glasses, diagram of plants, checklist of
plant parts.
2. Goal: Students will identify
structure of maple trees and describe
each function.
Activity: Draw and label
structures in the maple tree together
with their functions.
Materials: Tracking Our Class
Garden and The Maple Tree leveled
readers.
2. Goal: Students will identify parts
of a flower.
Activity: Working in small groups
students will dissect a flower.
Materials: Fresh flowers, website
“The Great Plant Escape.”
3. Recognize that
plants and animals
go through
predictable life
cycles that include
birth, growth,
development,
reproduction, and
death.
3. Goal: Students will recognize that
plants and animals go through
predictable life cycles that include
birth, growth, development,
reproduction, and death.
Activity: Students will collect
tadpoles and caterpillars and observe
life cycles.
Materials: Tadpoles, caterpillars,
3. Goal: Students will identify growth
stages of a plant.
Activity: Students will draw and
label growth stages of a plant from
start to end after reading Tracking Our
Class Garden.
Materials: Leveled Reader
Tracking our Class Garden.
3. Goal: Students will observe and
record, by drawing or writing, changes
in both plants and animals during their
life cycles.
Activity: Ongoing observation of
plants and insects in the classroom and
school yard.
Materials: Plants and mealworms
in classroom. Periodic seasonal
North Brookfield Elementary School
3 - 5 Science Curriculum
Life Science
magnifying glasses, butterfly cage,
aquarium.
outside observations.
4. Describe the
major stages that
characterize the life
cycle of the frog and
butterfly as they go
through
metamorphosis.
4. Goal: Students will describe the
major stages that characterize the life
cycle of the frog and butterfly as they
go through metamorphosis.
Activity: Students will draw
pictures and use appropriate
vocabulary for life cycles.
Materials: Tadpoles, caterpillars,
magnifying glasses, butterfly cage,
aquarium, drawing papers, colored
pencils and crayons.
4. Goal: Students will describe the
life cycle of a butterfly.
Activity: Students will draw and
label the life cycle of a butterfly based
on the information from the leveled
reader.
Materials: The story, “Marvelous
Migrahan.”
4. Goal: Students will learn the
names of the stages of life cycles of
the butterfly and mealworm.
Activity: Observe and discuss the
life cycles during class time.
Materials: Caterpillars and
mealworms.
5. Differentiate
between observed
characteristics of
plants and animals
that are fully
inherited (e.g., color
of flower, shape of
leaves, color of eyes,
number of
appendages) and
characteristics that
are affected by the
climate or
environment.
5. Goal: Students will differentiate
between observed characteristics of
plants and animals that are fully
inherited (e.g., color of flower, shape
of leaves, color of eyes, number of
appendages) and characteristics that
are affected by the climate or
environment.
Activity: Students will observe
characteristics of plants depending on
location.
Materials: Field, checklist,
identification booklet, pencils,
magnifying glasses.
5. Goal: Students will list examples
of greenhouse effect on plants.
Activity: Students will make two
lists. One is the old way and the
second is the new way for doing
things in school, society, and home.
Materials: Leveled reader,
“Danger: The World is Getting Hot.”
5. Goal: Students will identify
inherited characteristics versus non
inherited characteristics.
Activity: Observations and
discussion of inherited characteristics
in people.
Materials: Text, class, family
members.
6. Give examples of
how inherited
characteristics may
change over time as
adaptations to
6. Goal: Students will give examples
of how inherited characteristics may
change over time as adaptations to
changes in the environment that
enable organisms to survive, e.g.,
6. Goal: Students will create a list of
animal adaptations.
Activity: Students will create a list
of how animals are being affected by
global warming based on the
6. Goal: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of how inherited
characteristics may change over time.
Activity: Students will read and
discuss how the peppered moth was
North Brookfield Elementary School
3 - 5 Science Curriculum
Life Science
changes in the
environment that
enable organisms to
survive, e.g., shape
of beak or feet,
placement of eyes on
head, length of neck,
shape of teeth, color.
7. Give examples of
how changes in the
environment
(drought, cold) have
caused some plants
and animals to die
or move to new
locations
(migration).
8. Describe how
organisms meet
some of their needs
in an environment
by using behaviors
(patterns of
activities) in
response to
information
(stimuli) received
from the
environment.
Recognize that some
animal behaviors
shape of beak or feet, placement of
eyes on head, length of neck, shape of
teeth, color.
Activity: Students will compare
and contrast animals and plants living
in various environments.
Materials: Venn diagrams, pencils,
reference books with various
environmental situations (e.g., deserts,
mountains), web sites.
information in the leveled reader.
Materials: Leveled reader,
“Danger: The World is Getting Hot.”
changed due to pollution.
Materials: Text, newspaper, black
construction paper.
7. Goal: Students will give examples
of how changes in the environment
(drought, cold) have caused some
plants and animals to die or move to
new locations (migration).
Activity: Students will explore the
National Geographic web site relating
polar bears to global warming.
Materials: Web sites, diagrams.
7. Goal: Students will label a map to
show pattern of whole migration.
Activity: Mapping activities that
show patterns of migration based on
text information.
Materials: Readings, Adeline’s
Whales and See Animals on the Move.
7. Goal: Students will give examples
of how environmental changes have
caused animals and plants to die.
Activity: View film on animal
migration and discuss content.
Materials: Film, personal
knowledge.
8. Goal: Students will describe how
organisms meet some of their needs in
an environment by using behaviors
(patterns of activities) in response to
information (stimuli) received from
the environment. Recognize that some
animal behaviors are instinctive (e.g.,
turtles burying their eggs), and others
are learned (e.g., humans building
fires for warmth, chimpanzees
learning how to use tools).
Activity: Students will discuss
how pets are trained to learn new
tricks vs. animal migration.
8. Goal: Students will compare and
contrast learned versus instinctive
behaviors.
Activity: Create a table of learned
and instinctive behaviors.
Materials: Readings, Adeline’s
Whales and See Animals on the Move.
8. Goal: Students will demonstrate
knowledge of how organisms respond
and adapt to their environment.
Activity: Discuss a short film on
beavers.
Materials: Film, prior knowledge,
and local animals.
North Brookfield Elementary School
3 - 5 Science Curriculum
Life Science
Materials: Journey North web site,
are instinctive (e.g.,
turtles burying their pet training books.
eggs), and others are
learned (e.g.,
humans building
fires for warmth,
chimpanzees
learning how to use
tools).
9. Recognize plant
behaviors, such as
the way seedlings’
stems grow toward
light and their roots
grow downward in
response to gravity.
Recognize that
many plants and
animals can survive
harsh environments
because of seasonal
behaviors, e.g., in
winter, some trees
shed leaves, some
animals hibernate,
and other animals
migrate.
9. Goal: Students will recognize
plant behaviors, such as the way
seedlings’ stems grow toward light
and their roots grow downward in
response to gravity. Recognize that
many plants and animals can survive
harsh environments because of
seasonal behaviors, e.g., in winter,
some trees shed leaves, some animals
hibernate, and other animals migrate.
Activity: Students will observe
growth of plants toward a light source
and study migrating birds.
Materials: Plants, heat lamp,
Journey North web site, tracking
forms for growth and migration,
journals.
9. Goal: Students will create a list of
five seasonal behaviors of plants and
animals.
Activity: Students will choose one
seasonal behavior or change of a plant
and an animal and write a detailed
description explaining why it’s
happening during that particular
season of the year.
Materials: Basal reader: “A Time
for Change.”
9. Goal: Students will recognize how
plants respond to stimuli.
Activity: Observation and
discussion of classroom plants.
Materials: Classroom plants.
10. Give examples of
how organisms can
cause changes in
their environment to
ensure survival
Explain how some
10. Goal: Students will give
examples of how organisms can cause
changes in their environment to ensure
survival. Explain how some of these
changes may affect the ecosystem.
Activity: Students will observe the
10. Goal: Students will identify John
Muir’s achievements.
Activity: Create a timeline of his
achievements.
Materials: Reading: John Muir – A
Man of the Wilderness.
10. Goal: Students provide and
discuss examples of how organisms
cause changes in the environment to
ensure their survival and how the
changes impact the ecosystem.
Activity : Small groups: provide 2
North Brookfield Elementary School
3 - 5 Science Curriculum
Life Science
of these changes
may affect the
ecosystem.
effect of beaver dams on the
environment.
Materials: Journals, web sites,
literature, walk to pond to view beaver
dam.
11. Describe how
energy derived from
the sun is used by
plants to produce
sugars
(photosynthesis) and
is transferred within
a food chain from
producers (plants)
to consumers to
decomposers.
11. Goal: Students will describe how
energy derived from the sun is used by
plants to produce sugars
(photosynthesis) and is transferred
within a food chain from producers
(plants) to consumers to decomposers.
Activity: Students will design,
build and use a compost bin.
Materials: food waste from
cafeteria, plastic barrels, leaves,
newspapers, straw mulch, journals,
pitchfork.
examples per group- list on the board
Discussion will focus on 1 how the
change helps the organism 2 is the
change helpful or harmful to the
ecosystem or neither.
Materials: Clipboards, paper, pen/
pencil, chalkboard.
11. Goal: Students will list steps
involved in photosynthesis.
Activity: Complete a diagram of
photosynthesis by labeling steps
properly.
Materials: Overhead transparency,
diagram, word bank, and markers.
11. Goal: Students will be able to
write two paragraphs explaining the
steps of photosynthesis.
Activity: Make a pre-writing
graphic organizer. Write a rough draft,
edit and write/type a final copy.
Materials: Paper, pencil, computer.