Grade 5 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 5 science in the Ontario Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- A1 STEM Investigation and Communication Skills: Use a scientific research process, a scientific experimentation process, and an engineering design process to conduct investigations, following appropriate health and safety procedures
- A2 Coding and Emerging Technologies: Use coding in investigations and to model concepts, and assess the impact of coding and of emerging technologies on everyday life and in STEM-related fields
- A3 Applications, Connections, and Contributions: Demonstrate an understanding of the practical applications of science and technology, and of contributions to science and technology from people with diverse lived experiences
- B1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Analyse impacts of various social and environmental factors, human activities, and technologies on human health
- B2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of the structure and function of human body systems and interactions within and between systems
- C1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Assess the impacts on society and the environment of various processes and materials used in the manufacture of common products, and ways to mitigate negative impacts
- C2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of the properties of matter, changes of state, and physical and chemical change
- D1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Analyse social and environmental impacts of forces acting on structures, and assess ways to mitigate these impacts
- D2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of forces that act on structures, and how various structures withstand them
- E1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Assess effects of energy and resource use on society and the environment, and suggest options for conserving energy and resources
- E2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of the conservation of energy, and the forms, sources, and uses of energy and resources
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
Healthy Choices
How sleep, activity, air quality, sun, sound and food choices affect health, how technologies help or harm, and reading labels.
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.
Body Teamwork
The nervous and excretory systems, how body systems depend on each other, and which organs some common diseases and disorders affect.
Solid, Liquid, Gas
Matter as anything with mass and volume, how particles are arranged in solids, liquids and gases, and why materials are chosen for their properties.
Changes of State
Melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation at home and outdoors, and how matter absorbs or releases thermal energy when it changes state.
Physical or Chemical?
Telling a physical change from a chemical change, spotting the signs of a new substance, and how making and throwing away everyday products affects the environment.
Forces on Structures
Tension, compression, torsion and shear, loads and natural forces such as wind, snow and earthquakes, and how buildings, animals and safety gear cope with them.
Forms of Energy
Kinetic and potential energy, how energy changes from one form to another, and why some energy always escapes as heat, light or sound.
Energy Sources
Renewable and non-renewable sources, how burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change, and everyday ways to use less energy.
Natural Resources
Renewable and non-renewable resources, Earth materials we use, responsible use (including First Peoples' sustainable practices), and a school waste-audit graph.
Think Like a Scientist
Planning a fair test, working safely, choosing how to show results, the steps of engineering design, and basic coding ideas such as loops and variables.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Level 1
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Level 2
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Level 3
- Has it! Level 3 is the provincial standard. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Level 4
- 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 Ontario report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 5 child with science?
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.
What does my child learn in Grade 5 science in Ontario?
The Ontario Curriculum Grade 5 science units include healthy choices, digestion & breathing, heart, bones & muscles, body teamwork, solid, liquid, gas, changes of state.
Free printable Grade 5 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.