Unit Plan 33 (Grade 5 Science): Sustainability & Conservation

Focus: Evaluate ways individuals can reduce environmental impact through sustainability and conservation choices.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Science (Earth & Human Activity)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

In this unit, students become “sustainability detectives” who investigate how individual choices affect the air, water, and land around them. They explore everyday actions—such as saving energy, reducing waste, and conserving water—and connect these habits to protecting Earth’s resources. Using short texts, videos, and simple data, students evaluate which actions make the most difference and create a personal or class conservation plan with realistic goals.

Essential Questions

• How do individual choices affect air, water, and land?
• What does it mean to live in a sustainable way and to conserve resources?
• Which everyday actions are most effective for reducing our environmental impact?
• How can we use information and evidence to decide which conservation actions to try at school or at home?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Obtain information from multiple sources (texts, videos, infographics) about individual sustainability and conservation actions.
2. Categorize actions by the resource they help protect (air, water, land) and the type of change (e.g., reduce, reuse, recycle).
3. Evaluate at least three individual actions by considering impact, effort, and feasibility for kids and families.
4. Create a Sustainability & Conservation Plan (individual or small group) that names specific actions, explains why they matter, and sets a clear goal.
5. Share one personal commitment to reduce environmental impact and explain how it connects to science ideas about resources and pollution.

Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (NGSS-Aligned)

• 5-ESS3-1 — Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can find and explain examples of how people reduce their impact on air, water, and land.
• I can compare different actions and say which ones might help the most or be easiest to try.
• I can create a simple plan that includes specific conservation actions and why they matter.
• I can explain how my choices relate to science ideas like pollution, conservation, and resources.
• I can share at least one personal action I will try to help protect Earth’s resources and environment.