Grade 5 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 5 science in the Nunavut Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Iqqaqqaukkaringniq: ways to describe and improve our world through science and technology.
- Life science, physical science, and earth and space science, as in the Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes.
- Skills of inquiry and design, and links between science, technology, society and the environment.
Easy ways to practise science at home
- Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?”
- Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives.
- Look up how a household machine works, such as a bike gear, a lamp or a fridge.
- Have your child draw and label a diagram of something they just learned.
What each unit covers
Midnight Sun and Polar Night
Explains Earth's tilt, the seasons, the Arctic Circle and why far-northern places have very long days and very long nights.
Mixtures, Changes and Reactions
How matter changes state with temperature, the difference between a mixture, a physical change and a chemical reaction, and why no matter is gained or lost.
Cells: The Basic Unit of Life
Cells as the basic unit of life, what living cells need, why cells divide, specialized cells in multicellular organisms, and how organ systems work together.
Digestion & Breathing
How food travels through the digestive system and air through the respiratory system, plus reading a breathing-rate table.
Heart, Bones & Muscles
The heart and blood vessels, bones, joints, muscles and tendons, how body systems work together, and heart-rate data.
Forces, Friction and Machines
Forces as pushes, pulls and twists, how friction affects motion, and how friction makes simple machines less efficient.
Simple Machines
The six simple machines, how machines trade force for distance, compound machines, and reading data from a ramp experiment.
Weather and the Water Cycle
How the Sun, air, water and land interact to cause daily weather, the water cycle, tools for measuring weather, and why long-term forecasting is hard.
Measure, Stay Safe and Take Action
Choosing and using tools and SI units, displaying data, working safely, linking science to careers and hobbies, and thinking about actions to help the environment.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Nunavut report card guide.
Common questions
Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?” Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Nunavut Curriculum Grade 5 science units include midnight sun and polar night, mixtures, changes and reactions, cells: the basic unit of life, digestion & breathing, heart, bones & muscles, forces, friction and machines.
Free printable Grade 5 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.