This unit builds toward the following NGSS Performance Expectations (PEs):

• 5-PS1-1: Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
• 5-PS3-1: Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, and motion and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
• 5-LS1-1: Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.
• 5-LS2-1: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

This unit builds towards the following Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs):

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

• Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects.

PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life

• The energy released [from] food was once energy from the Sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water).

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

• Food provides animals with the materials they need for body repair and growth and the energy they need to maintain body warmth and for motion.
• Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from air and water.

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

• The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.

LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems

• Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.

This unit intentionally develops students’ engagement in these practice elements:

Developing and Using Models

• Collaboratively develop and/or revise a model based on evidence that shows the relationships among variables for frequent and regular occurring events. (MOD-E2)
• Develop a model using an analogy, example, or abstract representation to describe a scientific principle or design solution. (MOD-E3)
• Develop and/or use models to describe and/or predict phenomena. (MOD-E4)

Engaging in Argument from Evidence 

• Compare and refine arguments based on an evaluation of the evidence presented. (ARG-E1)
• Construct and/or support an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model. (ARG-E4)

In this unit, there are opportunities to practice the following Science and Engineering Practices:

• Asking Questions and Defining Problems
• Planning & Carrying Out Investigations
• Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

This unit intentionally develops students’ engagement in these Crosscutting Concepts:

Systems and Systems Models

• 4.E1 A system is a group of related parts that make up a whole and can carry out functions its individual parts cannot. (SYS-E2)
• A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. (SYS-E2)

Energy and Matter

• Matter is made of particles. (EM-E1)
• Matter flows and cycles can be tracked in terms of the weight of the substances before and after a process occurs. The total weight of the substances does not change. This is what is meant by conservation of matter. Matter is transported into, out of, and within systems. (EM-E2)
• Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects. (EM-E3)

Scale, Proportion, Quantity

• Natural objects and/or observable phenomena exist from the very small to the immensely large or from very short to very long time periods. (SPQ-E1

In this unit, there are opportunities to practice the following Crosscutting Concepts:

• Patterns

This unit makes these connections to the Nature of Science:

• Science investigations begin with a question.
• Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world.
• Scientists use different ways to study the world.
• Scientists use drawings, sketches, and models as a way to communicate ideas.
• Scientists search for cause and effect relationships to explain natural events.
• People of diverse backgrounds are scientists and engineers.

The anchoring phenomenon for this unit is fallen trees known as nurse or nursery logs, which provide a home for many organisms in forest ecosystems, especially fallen Sitka spruce, hemlock, cedar, and Douglas fir trees in the Pacific Northwest and redwood forests in the western United States. Although fallen trees in many regions can act similarly to nurse logs by providing a home for other organisms, nurse logs are distinct in that they are often very large and therefore provide a significant amount of biomass to the forest ecosystem. Additionally, the moist and cool climate in which nurse logs are found means that they take many, many years to fully decompose, such that they facilitate the regeneration of forest ecosystems. Although they are a key part of the broader forest ecosystem in which they exist, nurse logs also serve as an example of a bounded system that involves plants, animals, and decomposers. Matter and energy move through this system as moss and plant seedlings that take root on the nurse log conduct photosynthesis and feed relationships between plants, animals, and decomposers that live in, on, and around the nurse log.  This phenomenon was chosen as the unit anchor for the following reasons:

• Fifth graders were surveyed about their interest in three possible phenomena, and students were most interested in the nurse log phenomenon. Educators from our 9 partner states also provided feedback in support of nurse logs, given the compelling local connections for students both within and outside of regions that have nurse logs (since there are aspects of nurse logs that can be found in other areas, such as moss growing on sidewalk, lichen growing on tree bark, or invertebrates using energy from food to regulate their body temperature by moving).
• Two rounds of pilot-testing the anchor lesson revealed that students’ models and questions about nurse logs aligned with the targeted disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts for this unit. During the pilot phase and field test, teachers reported high engagement with the phenomenon, with many of students’ questions corresponding with the design team’s anticipated direction for the unit.
• Nurse logs represent a manageable and bounded system for students to consider the complex ecological dynamics that are the focus of this unit’s standards, especially related to the conservation of matter and time/spatial scale. A nurse log system also encompasses producers, consumers, and decomposers that many students have some familiarity with: moss, ferns, seedlings, termites, pillbugs, and beetles.
• Consultation with a biologist (Dr. Carrie Woods, University of Puget Sound) who studies nurse logs helped to confirm the key role that nurse logs play in regenerating forests by cycling matter and energy over long timescales. Consultation with an Indigenous learning scientist (Gabriel de los Angeles, Snoqualmie Nation) from the Pacific Northwest led to the unit design team highlighting nonhuman perspectives (literally and conceptually) toward nurse logs and avoiding characterizing ecosystem components as living versus nonliving.

This unit is composed of three lesson sets, summarized in the table below.

The goal of integrating literacy within OpenSciEd units is to offer opportunities for practicing reading, writing, speaking, and listening to support science learning. Literacy is fundamental to science because reading, writing, speaking, and listening are the primary means for students to understand and communicate their science ideas. Students use oral (speaking, listening) and written (reading, writing) language to communicate their science ideas and to support their ongoing science sensemaking. Literacy integration throughout the program also helps students learn how to use their oral and written language in a way that mirrors the work of scientists and engineers. The unit teacher materials contain tables that explain the different types of books and texts that students will engage with across the unit to support their sensemaking. 

ELA standards are also integrated throughout the unit to highlight the link between literacy and science for teachers and students. Many ELA standards are incorporated into lessons as needed for specific science learning objectives and teacher guides for those lessons include explicit support for teachers and/or students around connecting to those standards. See the Unit Connections to the Common Core Standards matrix for details about where these specific ELA connection standards happen and how they are used to support the science work in those lessons. 

The goal of integrating mathematics in the OpenSciEd units is to build a strong base of knowledge to reinforce and strengthen science learning. Mathematics integration is intentional–to help the storyline along, clarify pieces of the puzzle students are figuring out, or provide students with tools to highlight, analyze, model, and interpret important patterns in the data they are exploring. Mathematical practices (MP4 and MP6) along with crosscutting concepts are employed throughout the unit to develop student understanding of science ideas and deepen science practices. In this unit, students will analyze graphs in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane to determine patterns in the growth of plants in different environments (5.G.A.1 and part of 5.G.A.2) in Lesson 4. Students will compare and add decimals to the hundredths place (5.NBT.A.3.B and part of 5.NBT.B.7) and interpret a stacked bar graph to analyze patterns in the weight of a termite colony in a closed system in Lesson 8. See the Teacher Handbook for additional support and differentiation options.

Math standards are incorporated into lessons as needed for specific science learning objectives, and teacher guides for those lessons include explicit support for teachers and/or students around connecting to those standards. See the Unit Connections to the Common Core Standards matrix for details about where these specific math standard connections happen and how they are used to support the science work in those lessons. These standards are indicated on that matrix with an asterisk (✱).

• Elaine Klein, Unit & Field Test Unit Lead, BSCS Science Learning
• Jamie Deutch Noll, Field Test Unit Lead, BSCS Science Learning
• Amy Baeder, Writer, Independent Consultant
• Amy McGreal, Writer, Northwestern University
• Gail Housman, Writer, Northwestern University
• Jonathan Leibovic, Writer, Independent Consultant
• Sarah Ridder, Writer, Independent Consultant
• Carrie Woods, Expert Consultant, University of Puget Sound
• Gabriel De Los Angeles, Expert Consultant, Independent Consultant
• Amanda Dahl, Text Development Lead, Michigan State University
• Letty Garza, CLS Unit Support, The University of Texas at Austin
• Lauren Rigby, Math & CLS Unit Support, The University of Texas at Austin
• Tara McGill, Coherence Reviewer, Independent Consultant
• Amy Belcastro, PL Designer and Coherence Reviewer, BSCS Science Learning

• Gen Zoufal, Project Manager, Northwestern University
• Stephanie Roberts, Copy Editor, Beehive Editing
• Zoey Bergstrom, Copy Editor, Independent Consultant
• Russell Leung, Copy Editor, Independent Consultant
• Chris Moraine, Graphic Designer, BSCS Science Learning
• Kelsey Edwards, Project Coordinator, Northwestern University
• Ken Roy, Safety Consultant, National Safety Consultants, LLC

An integral component of OpenSciEd’s development process is external validation of alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards by the NSTA using the EQuIP Rubric for Science. We are proud that this unit has earned the highest score and rating available and has been awarded the NSTA NGSS 3D Design Badge. You can find additional information and read this unit’s review on NSTA’s website.