What Ontario grade 5 students learn in science and technology

Your child will be able to use a step-by-step scientific process to explore questions and solve problems.

Your child will be able to use a scientific process to plan and carry out experiments.

Your child will learn how to use an engineering design process, which is a step-by-step approach to solving problems, to plan, build, and test different devices, models, or systems.

Your child will understand how to stay safe during science activities by following rules, wearing the right gear, and using tools and materials properly.

Your child will be able to share what they've learned in science, using the right words and ways to present information so that different people can understand it.

Your child will be able to write and use simple computer code to explore scientific ideas and create models, learning different ways to organize and use information for various tasks.

Your child will be able to explain how coding and new technologies affect daily life, including jobs in skilled trades.

Your child will learn how science and technology are used in different jobs, including hands-on trades, to solve everyday problems.

Your child will explore how science and technology, combined with other school subjects, can help solve problems we face in the real world.

Your child will learn about how different groups of people have contributed to science and technology throughout history.

Your child will learn how different things in our world, like our surroundings and how we interact with others, can affect our health. They will also learn how to lessen the bad effects and use the good ones to stay healthy.

Your child will learn how different technologies can be both good and bad for our health and bodies, and understand that people can have different opinions about these technologies.

Your child will understand how knowing about food and nutrition can help them make good choices for their body and mind.

Your child will be able to name the different systems in the human body (like the circulatory system or the nervous system) and understand what each system generally does.

Your child will learn about the important parts of the human body, like the heart and lungs, and what they do to keep us alive and healthy.

Your child will be able to explain how different parts of the human body, like the heart and lungs, work together.

Your child will learn about different diseases and medical problems that can affect people, and which body parts or systems are impacted by them.

Your child will learn how making everyday products affects both people and the environment.

Your child will be able to understand how the materials used to make everyday products can affect the environment, and learn what people and communities can do to lessen any harm.

Your child will be able to explain that matter is anything around us that takes up space and has weight.

Your child will be able to identify and describe the characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases.

Your child will be able to explain how matter changes from one state to another (like ice melting into water) based on things they see around them.

Your child will learn that when something changes physically, like ice melting into water or playdough being squished, it's still the same stuff, just in a different form or shape.

Your child will be able to explain that a chemical change happens when substances mix and create something new, and they'll know how to spot clues that a chemical change has taken place, like a change in color or the formation of bubbles.

Your child will learn that when matter gets hotter or colder, it can change from one state (like a solid) to another (like a liquid).

Your child will understand how the unique characteristics of different materials, whether they are solids, liquids, or gases, make them suitable for specific uses. For example, they'll learn why we use strong, solid metal for building bridges, or how a gas like helium can lift a balloon.

Your child will learn how natural forces like wind, water, and earthquakes can affect buildings and other structures in our world.

Your child will learn about different ways people protect buildings and other structures from natural events like earthquakes or strong winds in cities, the countryside, and faraway places.

Your child will be able to identify and describe how forces inside a structure affect it.

Your child will be able to identify outside forces, like wind or gravity, that push or pull on a structure and understand how these forces affect it.

Your child will learn about natural forces like earthquakes or strong winds that can damage buildings and bridges. They will also learn how certain building designs and materials help structures stay strong against these forces.

Your child will learn how different body parts or features of animals and plants help keep them safe from things like strong winds or being stepped on.

Your child will learn how different types of safety equipment, like helmets or seatbelts, help protect people from injuries caused by forces, such as impacts or sudden stops.

Your child will learn how using energy and natural resources over a long time affects people and the environment, including how it contributes to climate change. They will also think of ways to lessen these negative effects.

Your child will learn how different technologies impact how much energy we use and understand ways people can use technology to save energy.

Your child will learn how First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities use their unique knowledge and traditions to protect the environment. They will also understand how these communities conserve energy and natural resources.

Your child will learn about different types of energy, like light, heat, and sound, and understand how we use them every day.

Your child will learn that energy is always present in the world and can't be made or disappear, but it can change from one type to another, like how the energy in food turns into the energy your body uses to run.

Your child will be able to explain how energy is stored, like in a stretched rubber band (potential energy), and how that stored energy changes into other forms of energy in different objects or systems.

Your child will learn that when energy changes from one type to another, some of it can escape into the surroundings as heat, light, or sound.

Your child will be able to tell the difference between energy sources that can be replaced naturally (renewable, like solar or wind power) and those that cannot (non-renewable, like oil or gas).

Your child will learn how burning fossil fuels (like gas and oil) changes the air around us and how these changes lead to climate change.