Common Core Reading (CCSS):

• Informational/Nonfiction Standards R.I. 1-10 for grades 3-5

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):

Performance Expectations (PE): (Text supports students to reach PE)

• 5-PS3-1. Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
• 5-LS1-1. Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.
• 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
• 5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.

Science and Engineering Practices (SEP): (Text supports students to reach SEP)

• Use models to describe phenomena.
• Engaging in Argument from Evidence
• Developing and Using Models.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI):

• PS3.D Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life: the energy released from food (in people or animals) was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water). How can students show their understanding of how energy gets from the sun to animals/people? Are there different ways or just one way?
• LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms: food provides animals with the materials they need for body repair and growth and the energy they need to maintain warmth and for motion.
• LS2.A Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: almost all food of any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs: some animals eat plants, some animals eat the animals that eat the plants. Organisms can only survive in environments where their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one where multiple different species are able to meet their different needs in a relatively stable and connected web. New species can damage the web.
• LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems: matter cycles between all organisms, air and soil in an ecosystem. Organisms obtain gasses and water from the environment and then release waste back into the environment.

Crosscutting Concepts (CC): (Text supports students to reach CC)

• Cause and effect: Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.
• Patterns: Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation.