This Climate 5E Science Unit Plan is an inquiry-based unit where students obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world. Throughout the unit, students look at how to describe a range of an area’s typical weather conditions and the variations of those conditions. Students use the patterns to describe a region’s climate. The unit includes three parts for each of the 5E’s (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, and Evaluate) and more.

FREE UPGRADE TO GOOGLE DIGITAL RESOURCES:

• Google Slides Teacher Presentation that supports the student resources
• Google Slides Student Resources for a paperless option
• Google Form Exit Cards

Included in this Climate Science Resource

• Teacher Notes that provide an overview of the resource and explanation of the NGSS standard for Climate 3-ESS.2-2
• Common Misconceptions about the Climate
• Teaching Timeline available with four different options, including a correlation with the Third Grade Science Stations
• Vocabulary Cards to reinforce key terms of adaptations throughout the unit. These are the same vocabulary cards available in the Third Grade Science Stations
• Big Idea Posters that illustrate the main concepts students will learn
• Exit Tickets in three formats: short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice
• Google Slides Teacher Presentation that supports the student resources
• Google Slides Student Resources for a paperless option
•  Google Form Exit Cards

What is the 5E Instructional Model?

The 5E Model is student-led, with the teacher acting mainly as the facilitator. Through open-ended questions, real-life experiences, guided investigations, and research, the students gain a deep understanding of the scientific topics that are covered in the lessons. Each stage of the model serves as a foundation to the next, creating a coherent model that frames lessons, activities, and units.

Find out more about the 5E Unit Plans in this blog post.

Objectives and Timeline for Each Section of the 5E Climate Unit

Engage

Objectives:

• Students will access their prior knowledge about climate.
• Student interest in climate will be elicited.
• The teacher will be able to identify student misconceptions about climate.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (What Is This?): 15 minutes
• Part 2 (My Experiences): 15 minutes
• Part 3 (Introducing): 15 minutes

Explore

Objectives:

• Students will work together to investigate different aspects of climate. They will do this by considering expected weather patterns around the world.
• Students will gather general information about climate.
• Students will begin to think about how weather conditions are related to climate zones.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (Check It Out): 15 minutes
• Part 2 (Watch and Read This): 15 minutes
• Part 3 (You Try It): 20 minutes

Explain

Objectives:

• Students will work collaboratively to observe and discover the factors that cause climate.
• Students will listen to the teacher’s explanation about climate.
• Students will use the new information to revise their explanations about climate, the factors that cause it, and the differences between weather and climate.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (What Does It Mean?): 20 minutes
• Part 2 (What Is Climate?): 20 minutes
• Part 3 (Putting It All Together): 20 minutes

Extend

Objectives:

• Students will apply what they have learned about climate to a new situation.
• Students will deepen their understanding of climate and begin to understand how climate is mapped and used to predict weather.
• The teacher will resolve all persisting student misconceptions about climate.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (How Is the World’s Climate?): 20 minutes
• Part 2 (Show What You Know): 20 minutes
• Part 3 (Have Fun With It): 20 minutes

Evaluate

Objectives:

• Students will evaluate their own understanding of climate and its causes.
• Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the concepts and vocabulary.
• The teacher will encourage students to ask questions that could lead to future investigations.

Parts and Duration:

• Part 1 (What I Know): 15 minutes
• Part 2 (Showing Climate): 15 minutes
• Part 3 (Going Forward): 15 minutes