Science

About this course

Fifth grade is the year the course starts behaving like real science rather than nature study. Your student measures mass, volume, and density and calculates D = m divided by v; works through balanced and unbalanced forces, all three of Newton's laws, and speed problems; studies heat as conduction, convection, and radiation; goes inside the earth to tectonic plates, seismic waves, mountain formation, and the ocean floor; identifies minerals by the Mohs scale; covers the atmosphere, wind, cloud types, severe weather, weather maps, and world climate zones; learns cell theory and organelles, the five kingdoms, and where fungi, bacteria, protists, and viruses fit; studies biomes, biodiversity, human impact, and conservation; adds the endocrine and lymphatic systems, immunity, and vaccines to the body work; and closes with astronomy including the life cycle of stars, light years, and tides.

Two units set this year apart. A full unit on scientific inquiry teaches the scientific method as a working procedure: forming a hypothesis, separating independent, dependent, and controlled variables, using a control group and repeated trials, recording data, graphing it, drawing conclusions, and writing a lab report, with one lesson on Christian scientists in history. A second unit covers engineering, walking through the nine-step design process from defining a problem to prototyping, testing, and redesigning, then applying it to agriculture, medicine, communication, and space technology.

There are 120 lessons in 12 units of 10, each ending with a unit review lesson, and each planned for about 30 minutes. A lesson opens with a prayer and a wonder question, then gives a labeled key-terms list, a couple of substantial paragraphs of explanation, a worked example, and a King James verse; many carry a photo or diagram inline. Every lesson ends with a ten-question multiple-choice quiz that grades itself, and the assigned homework is a short written paragraph. Listed materials are pencil, paper, and crayons, with suggested experiments that use household items such as a jar of sand and water to settle into layers, or spaghetti and tape for a tower challenge. Your student should be reading and writing independently coming in and comfortable with division and decimals, since density and speed calculations both require it. On the age of the earth, the lesson on geologic time explains relative and radiometric dating, then says plainly that the precise timeline is a matter on which sincere Christians hold a range of views.

What the course covers

• Matter, density, physical and chemical change, mixtures and solutions
• Forces, Newton's laws, simple machines, energy, and heat transfer
• Earth's layers, plate tectonics, volcanoes, minerals, rocks, and soil
• The atmosphere, severe weather, weather maps, and climate zones
• Cell theory, organelles, the five kingdoms, and microbes
• Biomes, biodiversity, human impact, and conservation
• The endocrine and lymphatic systems, immunity, and vaccines
• The scientific method, variables, data, graphs, and lab reports
• Stars, galaxies, light years, moon phases, and tides
• The engineering design process and applied technology

What your student will be able to do

• Measure mass and volume and calculate density, including by water displacement
• Design a fair test with a control group and correctly named variables
• Record data, build a graph from it, and write a lab report
• Identify a mineral using hardness and other physical properties
• Name cell organelles and sort organisms into the five kingdoms
• Work through the engineering design process from problem to tested prototype

Scope and sequence

All 12 units of Science for Grade 5, in the order they are taught.

Inside the course

These photographs appear in the lessons themselves, not just on this page. Every one is freely licensed and credited to its photographer at the foot of this page.

Every lesson, by title

All 120 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

Unit 7: Living Things: Classification · Lesson 2

Parts of a Cell Organelles

30 minutesPencilPaperCrayons

What this lesson is for

• Students will explore and observe Parts of a Cell Organelles
• Students will describe what they learned about God's creation

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Psalm 139:14

Parts of a Cell: Organelles

Inside every cell is a world of tiny specialized structures called organelles, each with a specific job to do — much like the different workers in a well-run community. God designed each organelle with extraordinary precision, and together they keep the cell alive and functioning. Learning the organelles is like learning the floor plan of the most amazing miniature factory ever built.


Key Terms: organelle — a small structure inside a cell that performs a specific function; nucleus — the control center of the cell, containing DNA; mitochondria — organelles that produce energy (ATP) for the cell; cell membrane — the flexible outer boundary controlling what enters and exits; ribosome — tiny organelle that builds proteins; chloroplast — organelle in plant cells that captures sunlight to make food; vacuole — organelle that stores water, nutrients, or waste

The cell membrane is a flexible outer boundary that controls what enters and leaves the cell — like a gatekeeper. The nucleus is the control center, containing DNA with the complete instructions for the cell. Mitochondria are the "powerhouses," converting glucose and oxygen into usable energy called ATP. Ribosomes are tiny structures that build proteins according to instructions from the nucleus. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a network of folded membranes that processes and transports materials. The Golgi apparatus packages and ships proteins to where they are needed. Vacuoles store water, nutrients, or waste. Lysosomes contain enzymes that break down waste and worn-out parts.

Example: Draw a simple oval to represent a cell. Add a large circle in the center for the nucleus. Draw bean-shaped ovals for mitochondria, small dots for ribosomes, and a large central vacuole. Label each part and write its job next to it. This diagram will help you remember every organelle and its function.

The cell operates like a thriving city: the nucleus is city hall, mitochondria are the power plants, ribosomes are the factories, and the Golgi apparatus is the post office. As Psalm 139:14 says, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" — and nowhere is that more evident than in the staggering complexity of every cell God designed.

Homework

Write a short paragraph about Parts of a cell organelles.

Note for the parent

Today's lesson covers Parts of a Cell Organelles. Estimated time: 30 minutes. Encourage independent work but be available for questions.

The first three of this lesson's 10 questions

What is the function of the nucleus in a cell?

1. It produces energy for the cell
2. It controls what enters and exits the cell
3. It is the control center, containing DNA with instructions for the cell
4. It breaks down waste materials

Show the answer

Answer: It is the control center, containing DNA with instructions for the cell

Which organelle is known as the "powerhouse" of the cell?

1. Ribosome
2. Golgi apparatus
3. Vacuole
4. Mitochondria

Show the answer

Answer: Mitochondria

What do ribosomes do?

1. Store water and nutrients
2. Build proteins using instructions from the nucleus
3. Digest waste and worn-out cell parts
4. Capture sunlight to make food

Show the answer

Answer: Build proteins using instructions from the nucleus

Another 7 questions follow in the lesson itself, each one graded the moment it is answered.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 120 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.