Grade 05: Science

In this unit, 'Living things: animals and life styles', you learn to group animals by diet, habitat and life cycle. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Living things: animals and life styles' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: group animals by diet, habitat and life cycle. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Group animals by diet. Herbivores eat plants (goat, camel), carnivores eat other animals (lion, falcon) and omnivores eat both (bear, human). Check the teeth: flat grinding molars suit plants, and sharp canines suit meat. Sort eight animals into three columns.
2. Step 2, Group animals by habitat. Land habitats include desert, forest and grassland. Water habitats include rivers, ponds and the sea. Some animals use both, such as frogs. Place each of your eight animals in a habitat and write one feature that fits it, such as a camel's wide feet.
3. Step 3, Learn complete life cycles. A butterfly goes through egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adult: four stages. Each stage looks very different. A frog goes through egg, tadpole, froglet and adult, and a tadpole lives in water and breathes with gills.
4. Step 4, Learn simpler life cycles. A grasshopper has egg, nymph and adult: three stages, and a nymph looks like a small adult without wings. Birds and reptiles lay eggs, while most mammals, such as cats and humans, give birth to live young and feed them milk.
5. Step 5, Put it in a table with columns Animal, Diet, Habitat, Life cycle. Example row: butterfly, herbivore (nectar), garden, egg → larva → pupa → adult. Another: lion, carnivore, grassland, born live and fed with milk. Complete six rows.
6. Step 6, Your turn: classify a frog by diet, habitat and life cycle. Answer: a carnivore, because it eats insects; it lives in water and on land; its life cycle is egg, tadpole, froglet and adult.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Group animals by diet, habitat and life cycle: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'The human body: systems', you learn to describe the skeletal, muscular, respiratory and circulatory systems. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'The human body: systems' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: describe the skeletal, muscular, respiratory and circulatory systems. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Describe the skeletal system. An adult skeleton has 206 bones. It supports the body, protects organs (the skull protects the brain and the ribs protect the heart and lungs) and gives muscles something to pull on. Joints, such as the knee and elbow, let bones move.
2. Step 2, Describe the muscular system. Muscles pull but cannot push, so they work in pairs. When the biceps in your upper arm contracts, your elbow bends; when the triceps contracts, it straightens. Make a fist, bend your arm and feel the biceps harden.
3. Step 3, Describe the respiratory system. Air goes in through the nose, down the windpipe, into two bronchi and then the lungs, ending in tiny air sacs called alveoli. There oxygen passes into the blood and carbon dioxide passes out. At rest a child breathes roughly 18 to 25 times a minute.
4. Step 4, Describe the circulatory system. The heart pumps blood around the body in blood vessels. Arteries carry blood away from the heart, and veins bring it back. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to every cell. Find your pulse at your wrist: roughly 70 to 100 beats a minute is usual at rest.
5. Step 5, Calculate heart work. At 75 beats a minute the heart beats 75 x 60 x 24 = 108,000 times a day. Then try exercise: jog on the spot for one minute and count the pulse again. Safety: stop if you feel dizzy or breathless, and sit down.
6. Step 6, Your turn: name the system that has a biceps and triceps, and one that has alveoli. Then state the heart beats in 2 hours at 75 per minute. Answer: muscular; respiratory; 75 x 120 = 9,000 beats.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe the skeletal, muscular, respiratory and circulatory systems: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Plants and reproduction', you learn to describe flower parts, pollination and seed dispersal. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Plants and reproduction' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: describe flower parts, pollination and seed dispersal. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Take a hibiscus flower and label: petals (attract insects), sepals (protect the bud), stamen made of anther and filament (male, makes pollen), and pistil made of stigma, style and ovary (female). Draw and label.
2. Step 2, Describe pollination. A bee lands on the anther, pollen sticks to its body, and it carries pollen to the stigma of another flower. Pollen moves from anther to stigma: this is pollination. Wind carries pollen of grasses.
3. Step 3, Follow fertilisation. Pollen grows a tube down the style to the ovary and joins an ovule. The ovule becomes a seed and the ovary becomes the fruit. A mango's seed is inside the fruit made from the ovary.
4. Step 4, Seed dispersal matches seed design. Maple seeds have wings and spin in wind. Coconut floats on water. Burr seeds have hooks and cling to animal fur. Pea pods burst open and shoot seeds out. Make a table of seed, method and clue.
5. Step 5, Why dispersal matters: seeds that fall right under the parent plant compete for light and water. If a plant makes 200 seeds and only the 20 carried away find space, 10 per cent survive in new places.
6. Step 6, Your turn: a seed has a fluffy parachute like a dandelion. Say how it disperses and why. Answer: by wind, since the light fluffy hairs let it float far from the parent.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe flower parts, pollination and seed dispersal: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Changes in materials', you learn to tell reversible from irreversible changes and mixtures from solutions. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Changes in materials' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: tell reversible from irreversible changes and mixtures from solutions. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Separate reversible from irreversible changes. In a reversible change the material can go back to how it was, such as ice melting to water and freezing again. In an irreversible change a new material forms and cannot go back, such as burning paper, baking dough or rusting.
2. Step 2, Test a reversible change. Put one ice cube in a cup, let it melt and note that it becomes water. Place that water in the freezer and it freezes again. Write 'melting and freezing are reversible: no new substance is made'.
3. Step 3, Test an irreversible change, carefully. Put 2 spoons of bicarbonate of soda in a tray and add 50 mL of vinegar. It fizzes and makes a gas, so a new substance has formed. Safety: wear goggles, do it with an adult, and never taste or smell closely.
4. Step 4, Tell mixtures from solutions. Sand and water make a mixture: the grains stay separate and can be filtered out. Salt in water makes a solution: the salt dissolves and seems to vanish, but it is still there. Stir 5 g of salt into 100 mL of water until clear.
5. Step 5, Get the dissolved material back. Pour the salt solution into a shallow dish and leave it in the sun for a day or two, or heat it only with an adult's help. The water evaporates and white salt crystals stay behind. Dissolving is therefore reversible, and the mass is the same: 10 g sugar and 100 g water give a 110 g solution.
6. Step 6, Your turn: classify these as reversible or irreversible, and say whether sand in water is a mixture or a solution. Egg frying, ice melting, wood burning. Answer: egg frying irreversible, ice melting reversible, wood burning irreversible; sand in water is a mixture.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Tell reversible from irreversible changes and mixtures from solutions: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Forces, gravity and simple machines', you learn to show levers, pulleys and the effect of gravity. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Forces, gravity and simple machines' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: show levers, pulleys and the effect of gravity. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Use a lever. A 1 m plank balances on a pivot at 50 cm. Put a 2 kg load 20 cm from the pivot. To balance it place a 1 kg weight at 40 cm on the other side, because 2 x 20 = 1 x 40. Load x distance equals effort x distance.
2. Step 2, Name the parts: pivot or fulcrum, load, effort. A see-saw has the pivot in the middle, a wheelbarrow has the load in the middle, and tweezers have the effort in the middle. Draw each with labels.
3. Step 3, Use a pulley. A single fixed pulley on a bar changes direction only: to lift a 1 kg bag you pull down with about 10 N force, the same as the weight, but pulling down is easier than lifting up.
4. Step 4, Gravity pulls objects toward Earth. A 1 kg mass weighs about 10 N on Earth. Drop a stone and a sheet of paper and the stone lands first because air resists the paper. Crumple the paper and both land almost together.
5. Step 5, Explain: a machine can make work easier by changing direction or force, but not by giving free energy. A longer lever arm needs less effort but a longer push distance.
6. Step 6, Your turn: a 3 kg load is 10 cm from the pivot. Where should a 1 kg effort be placed to balance? Answer: 3 x 10 = 30, so 30 cm from the pivot on the opposite side.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Show levers, pulleys and the effect of gravity: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Electricity and magnetism', you learn to use circuits and magnets and say how they are used. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Electricity and magnetism' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: use circuits and magnets and say how they are used. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Build a series circuit with two 1.5 V cells in a row (3 V total), two bulbs and a switch. Both bulbs glow equally. Unscrew one bulb and the other goes out because the loop is broken.
2. Step 2, Build a parallel circuit with the same cells, giving each bulb its own branch. Both glow brighter than in series. Unscrew one bulb and the other stays lit, which is why house lights are wired in parallel.
3. Step 3, Make an electromagnet. Wind 30 turns of insulated wire around an iron nail and connect it through a switch to two 1.5 V cells. Suppose it picks up 6 paper clips; 60 turns should pick up more. Switch off when not testing, as the wire warms.
4. Step 4, Test a bar magnet on a tray of objects. It attracts iron nails, steel pins and steel paper clips but not plastic, wood, copper or aluminium foil. Two north poles repel; a north and south pole attract.
5. Step 5, Uses: electromagnets lift scrap metal in a yard and ring doorbells, and compasses use magnets to point north. A switch in the circuit turns an electromagnet off to drop its load.
6. Step 6, Your turn: if the nail picks up 6 clips with 30 turns, how many clips would you predict with 90 turns, and why? Answer: roughly 18, because more turns make a stronger field, assuming the same supply.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Use circuits and magnets and say how they are used: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Earth, space and environment', you learn to describe the moon's phases, planets and how to protect resources. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Observe: see, touch, measure or watch a safe demonstration linked to 'Earth, space and environment' and write what you notice.
• Explain: use the key words of the unit to say what is happening and why, in a few lines.
• Use it: describe the moon's phases, planets and how to protect resources. Use a diagram, table or short calculation where it fits.
• Test and conclude: say what evidence supports your answer and what you would change.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Track moon phases for a month on a calendar. Week 1: thin crescent, then first quarter (half lit) on about day 7. Day 14 or 15: full moon. Day 22: last quarter. Day 29: new moon, almost not visible.
2. Step 2, Explain with a model. Light a lamp in a dark room and hold a ball at arm's length. Move it around your head. You see the lit part change shape because you view different amounts of the lit half. The cycle takes about 29.5 days.
3. Step 3, Order the planets from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. The first four are rocky and the last four are giants. Jupiter is the largest. Use a mnemonic of your own to remember.
4. Step 4, Protect resources with numbers. Suppose a tap left running during brushing wastes 6 L; for a family of 4 twice a day that is 4 x 2 x 6 = 48 L daily. Closing the tap saves 48 L, or 336 L a week.
5. Step 5, Other actions: reduce, reuse and recycle waste, switch off unused lights, plant trees, and use cloth bags. Each action lowers the use of water, energy or raw materials.
6. Step 6, Your turn: how many days from full moon to the next full moon, and what phase comes about 7 days after a new moon? Answer: about 29.5 days; first quarter.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Describe the moon's phases, planets and how to protect resources: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Using my five senses

Notes: Name the five senses and use them to describe a safe object. Notes: place a leaf, a smooth stone and a soft cloth in a bag; learners touch and describe each. Never taste or smell unknown things; teach children to ask first. Grades 1 and 2.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Fair tests

Notes: Describe a fair test by naming what is changed, what is measured and what stays the same. Notes: plant two seed pots, one in light and one in the dark, with equal water and soil. Learners say the one changed factor, and draw both pots after a week. Grades 3 and 4.

This course: Grade 05 Science is at this level. Its units include Living things: animals and life styles; The human body: systems; Plants and reproduction; Changes in materials and more.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Measuring and recording

Notes: Measure length, mass, time and temperature and record them in a table. Notes: a plant grows 2 cm in 4 days, which is 0.5 cm a day. Learners take three readings of 12, 14 and 13 mm, find the mean of 13, and say why repeats help. Grades 5 and 6.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Variables, graphs and density

Notes: Apply a formula and draw a graph from a fair test. Notes: density equals mass over volume; a metal block of 54 g and 20 cm3 has density 2.7 g/cm3. Learners plot mass against volume for three blocks and read the gradient. Dry the benchtop before using water. Grades 7 and 8.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Evidence, anomalies and models

Notes: Analyse data, spot an anomaly and judge how well a model fits the evidence. Notes: readings of 5.1, 5.3, 5.2 and 7.9 hold one anomaly at 7.9, so the mean of the rest is 5.2. Learners suggest a cause, repeat the trial and write a conclusion that cites the numbers. Grades 9 and 10.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Modelling and curve fitting

Notes: Apply least-squares fitting and error reasoning to link data to a model. Notes: the points (1,2.1), (2,3.9), (3,6.2), (4,7.8), (5,10.1) give slope 1.99 and intercept 0.05, with R squared 0.997. Learners explain what the intercept means and whether a straight line is right.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Study design and sample size

Notes: Evaluate and create a study with a clear hypothesis, controls, sample size and ethics approval. Notes: to detect a 5-unit difference with spread 10 at 5 per cent significance and 80 per cent power needs about 63 per group. Learners write a pre-registered plan and list the risks and consent steps.