PBL Overview

Title:
Teacher:
Content Focus:
Project Idea:
Summary of the
issue, challenge,
investigation,
scenario, or
problem
Essential
Question:

Plants and Animals

Est. Start Date:
Duration: 4 weeks
Julie Dickson
Grade Level: 5
Ecosystems
Other subject areas to be included: ELA, Math
Ecosystems support all life on earth. Students will learn about different ecosystems and the
plants and animals that live in them. Through videos, hands-on activities, and other
investigations, students will find that plants and animals cannot live without each other and that
humans can have a huge impact on these natural ecosystems.

Content and
Skills Standards
to be addressed:
(NGSS, CCCSS
Mathematics,
Calif.)

5-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Can plants and animals live without

each other?

Driving
Question

How do people impact their

ecosystem?

5-LS2-1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals,
decomposers, and the environment
5-LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
5-LS2.B Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
5-ESS2.A Earths Systems - Earth Materials and Systems
5-PS1.A Matter and Its Interactions - Structure and Properties of Matter
5.MD.2 Represent and Interpret Data
5.G.1 Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems

CCCSS ELA
standards
Grade 5 students

RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.
RI.5.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and
differences in the point of view they represent.
RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to
locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.(5-LS2-1)
W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through
investigation of different aspects of a topic.
SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
SL.5.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using
appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak
clearly at an understandable pace.

SL.5.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in
presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes. (5-LS21)

T+A
21st Century
Skills and MPS
to be explicitly
taught and
assessed (T+A)
or that will be
encouraged (E)
by Project work
but not taught or
assessed:

MPS 1 Make sense of

problems and persevere
in solving them
MPS 2 Reason
abstractly and
quantitatively
MPS 3 Construct viable
arguments and critique
the reasoning of others
MPS 4 Model with
mathematics
MPS 5 Use appropriate
tools strategically
Group:

E
X

T+A
21st Century Skill Life and Career
Skills; initiative and self-direction,
productivity and accountability,
leadership and responsibility
21st Century Skill Learning and
Innovation Skills; communication and
collaboration, creativity and
innovation
21st Century Skill Information,
Media, and Technology Skills;
information literacy, media literacy

X
X

Diorama of an ecosystem showing all the

biotic and abiotic organisms living there.
This will include the human impact on the
ecosystem.

Culminating
Products and
Performances

Presentation Audience
Class
X
School
Community

Individual:

Essay on ecosystems and the processes

involved

Experts
Web
Other:

Project Overview
Entry event
to launch inquiry,
engage students:
Outline or
Conceptual
Flow
Include
assessment
points:
Assessment
Point

Entry Event: Video on ecosystems

Outline/Conceptual Flow:
1. Entry event video to get students interested in ecosystems
2. Research on how ecosystems differ from biomes

(NGSS 5-LS2.A

(NGSS 5-LS2.A, CCCSS ELA RI.5.1, 6, 7,

W.5.7)

3. Write about the difference and describe one of the ecosystems you researched

(CCCSS

ELA W.5.2)

4. Construct and present a diorama of your chosen ecosystem with a partner

(NGSS 5-LS2-

1, 5-ESS2.A, CCCSS ELA SL.5.1, 2, 4, 5)

5. Food chain video and game to understand the transfer of energy in ecosystems

(NGSS

5-LS2.B)

6. Create and present a food chain for the ecosystem in the diorama

(NGSS 5-LS2-1, CCCSS

ELA SL.5.1, 2, 4, 5)

Assessment
Point

7. Food chain quiz (NGSS 5-LS2.B)

8. Video, experiment, and discussion on decomposers (including producers and
consumers) (NGSS 5-LS2.A, CCCSS ELA RI.5.7, SL.5.1)
9. Nature walk around school campus for evidence of decomposers

Assessment
Point

10. Quiz on producers, consumers, and decomposers

(NGSS 5-LS2.B)

(NGSS 5-LS2.A, B)

11. Research human impact on ecosystems (NGSS 5-LS2.A, CCCSS ELA RI.5.1, 6, 7,
W.5.7)

12. Investigation of human impact on ecosystems

(NGSS 5-LS2.A, CCCSS ELA W.5.7, SL.5.1)

13. Graph impact of human activity on the local ecosystem

(NGSS 5-LS2.A, CCCSS Math 5.MD.2,

5.G.1)

14. Add the human impact to the diorama created in Week One and present
Assessment
Point

Assessments

(NGSS 5-LS2-1,

5-LS2.A, B, CCCSS Math 5.MD.2, CCCSS ELA W.5.7, SL.5.1, 2, 4)

15. Final assessment on ecosystems and their processes

Formative
Assessments
(During Project)

Quizzes/Tests

Journaling/Learning Log

Preliminary Plans/Outlines
Rough Drafts
Online Tests/Exams
Summative
Assessments
(End of Project)

Written Product(s), with

rubric

Other Products

Oral Presentation, with

rubric

Peer Evaluation

Multiple Choice/Short
Answer Test

Self-Evaluation

Essay Test

Resources
Needed

X
X

Other

On-site people,
facilities
Computers

Equipment

General classroom materials markers, poster paper, etc., shoe

boxes, paint, yarn

Materials
Community resources

Reflection

Journal/Learning Log

Focus Group

Methods

(Individual, Group,
and/or Whole
Class)

Whole-class Discussion

Survey

Fishbowl Discussion
Other

Project Teaching and Learning Guide

Knowledge and Skills Needed by Students
(to successfully complete culminating projects and to do well on summative assessments)
Student needs to be able to:
Research information on the internet.

Student needs to be able to:

Represent and interpret data on a graph

Student needs to be able to:

Collaborate/communicate with others in a pair setting

Student needs to be able to:

Investigate real-world matter and situations and apply
their knowledge of ecosystems to real-world situations

Student needs to be able to:

Give an oral presentation to the class with their partner

Student needs to be able to:

Questions to be Provided by the Project Teacher

(to successfully complete culminating products and to do well on summative assessments)
Teacher asks questions to recall facts, make
observations, or demonstrate understanding:
What is an ecosystem?
What is a biome?

Teacher asks questions to summarize, analyze,

organize, or evaluate:
What is a food chain?
What happens when you take a part out of the food
chain? Why?

Teacher asks questions to apply or relate:

Where do we see decomposers at work?
Why are they important in our everyday life?

Teacher asks questions to predict, design, or create:

How can humans impact their ecosystem?

Teacher Reflection:
How did the unit flow? What worked well? What needs to be changed for next time? What did the
students learn? What evidence do you have to support students learning?