Monthly Unit Updates
Math
Apply and extend understanding of comparing fractions and equivalence to new types of fractions.
Sub-Unit 1: Size and Locations of Fractions (Lessons 1–4)
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Make sense of fractions as numbers using physical representations and diagrams.
Sub-Unit 2: Equivalent Fractions (Lessons 5–10)
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Generate and identify equivalent fractions.
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Explain and justify fraction equivalence using visual representations or numerical processes.
Sub-Unit 3: Fraction Comparison (Lessons 11–15)
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Compare and order fractions with different numerators and denominators using visual representations, benchmark reasoning, or numerical processes.
Explore patterns and identify multiples, factor pairs, and prime and composite numbers.
Sub-Unit 1: Patterns, Factors, and Multiples (Lessons 1–8)
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Generate and extend shape and number patterns.
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Determine whether a number is prime or composite.
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Relate the side lengths and area of a rectangle to factors and multiples.
Sub-Unit 2: Using Factors and Multiples (Lessons 9–12)
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Apply multiplication fluency within `100` and the relationship between multiplication and division to identify factor pairs and multiples.
Science
What’s in This Unit?
Weather is one of the most pervasive phenomena humans interact with on a daily basis, and it has a profound impact on how all organisms on Earth live. The weather that impacts our daily lives results from large global patterns in the atmosphere, which meteorologists observe and track using Earth-orbiting satellites. In the role of meteorologists working for the fictional Wildlife Protection Organization (WPO), students investigate weather patterns as they solve the problem of where to establish an orangutan reserve. Students learn that orangutans live on Borneo and Sumatra—some of the hottest and rainiest places on Earth—but the development of palm oil plantations is rapidly deforesting their habitats. The students’ charge is to analyze the weather on three fictional islands in order to determine which has weather most like the locations where orangutans live and recommend one island to the WPO for the reserve. As they progress through the unit, students become increasingly adept in making sense of the data that is necessary to accurately describe the weather of a given location over time. They figure out how meteorologists collect, analyze, and represent weather data for one day, then for one month, and finally for an entire year. Students use digital modeling tools and support from the unit’s books to figure out that weather follows patterns over time and across space. Using these patterns to make predictions about the future weather on the three fictional islands serves as the predicted phenomenon for this unit. By the end of the unit, students are able to use their best evidence to support written scientific arguments for the location of the reserve.
The problem of deciding where to establish the orangutan reserve is broken down into smaller problems, with the timescale that students consider growing longer as the unit progresses.
In Chapter 1, students explore the vocabulary, tools, and strategies they will need to answer the chapter question, Which island’s weather would be best for orangutans? They also investigate how to measure temperature and precipitation through hands-on activities. By the end of the chapter, students figure out that in order to support claims that compare the weather in different locations, they need strong evidence that requires consistently and systematically measured data.
In Chapter 2, students realize that one single day of data is not enough to predict impending weather, so the question becomes Which island’s weather will continue to be best for orangutans? Students work with line plots and analyze patterns using a digital modeling tool, figuring out that a line plot showing one month of temperature data for a location is useful for finding the temperature range. Students begin to develop an understanding that they can use patterns, such as temperature range, to make predictions about the weather.
In Chapter 3, students expand the amount of data they analyze, to answer the question Over many years, which island’s weather will be best for orangutans? Students are introduced to the concept of averages and the idea that the average of a set of data summarizes the data into a single number. Through activities focused on analyzing bar graphs of average temperature and precipitation, students both grow their ability to describe and compare weather, seasons, and climate in a variety of locations around the world and practice making predictions about weather in future years.
In Chapter 4, students shift from when weather patterns occur to thinking about where different weather events happen repeatedly as they investigate the question How can the WPO prepare for natural hazards that might damage their offices? As students plot natural hazards and temperatures on maps, they discover a spatial pattern to the weather. They read to find out how people prepare for natural hazards, and then design, build, and test model hurricane-resistant structures. At the end of the unit, students reflect on how the different visual representations of weather data (graphs, maps, and tables) they’ve encountered are used to describe patterns and make weather predictions. They connect those skills to possible events in their own lives as a way to see the relevance and usefulness of what they’ve learned about weather and climate.