Grades 3–5 · Semester 6 · 53 readings
Look deeper into the wider world
Begin with changing lights in the sky. Follow the connected explanations through organizing and representing a shared world, keeping each small group together and taking time to understand its illustrations.
Start reading →One possible pace is 3–4 explanations a week over 16 weeks. Keep each small unit together, revisit its pictures and allow more time whenever an idea needs it.
Unit 1Changing lights in the sky2 readings ⌄
Escaping material gives comets tails; reflected sunlight makes Venus bright.
- Why does a comet grow tails near the Sun?Earth & Space
- How can Venus shine brightly without being a star?Earth & Space
Unit 2Rebuilding vessels and tracing water2 readings ⌄
Fitting fragments and connected canals reveal different kinds of historical evidence.
- How can broken pottery help reconstruct an old vessel?History & Evidence
- How did canals bring river water to ancient fields?History & Evidence
Unit 3The active brain in rest and reading2 readings ⌄
Sleep supports memory; familiar words can compete with another response.
Unit 4Air paths and moving color2 readings ⌄
Valves change a trumpet’s tube path; paper wetness changes a watercolor mark.
- How can a trumpet play different notes?Arts & Music
- Why does watercolor spread differently on wet paper?Arts & Music
Unit 5Growing through connections4 readings ⌄
Follow runners, climbing tendrils, borrowed shelters and underground recyclers to see how living things use their surroundings.
Unit 6Living surfaces and changing bodies4 readings ⌄
Explore how soft tissues, chemical samples, microscopic partners and replacement coverings help organisms live.
Unit 8Particles, cells and fibers4 readings ⌄
Look inside paint, cork, abrasives and felt to connect large-scale behavior with very small structures.
- How could egg yolk help paint stay on a picture?Arts & Music
- Why is cork so light and springy?Materials & Matter
- How does rough sandpaper make wood smoother?Everyday Life
- How can loose wool become felt without weaving?Materials & Matter
Unit 9Layers, coatings and useful tools4 readings ⌄
See how materials are joined, sealed, cut and squeezed in familiar objects.
Unit 10Shaping parts that work together5 readings ⌄
See how makers add, remove, squeeze and measure material to make useful shapes.
- How can a printer build a solid object one thin layer at a time?Machines
- How does a lathe make a round wooden spindle?Machines
- Why must a turning axle be slightly smaller than its hole?Machines
- Why can a tall support suddenly bend sideways?Machines
- How do rolling mills turn thick metal into a thin sheet?Machines
Unit 11Directing movement into useful work4 readings ⌄
Air, clay, linked arms and flowing water show four ways of controlling motion.
Unit 12Landscapes shaped by water and air4 readings ⌄
Trace drainage boundaries, spreading sediment, concentrating minerals and moisture crossing mountains.
Unit 13Marks and motion across Earth and space4 readings ⌄
Read traces left by ice, distinguish space rocks from light, and look more closely at rings and sunspots.
- How can a ridge of stones show where a glacier once ended?Earth & Space
- What is the difference between a shooting star and a meteorite?Earth & Space
- Are Saturn’s rings one enormous solid disk?Earth & Space
- Why do dark spots appear on the bright Sun?Earth & Space
Unit 14Making pictures, pages and patterns4 readings ⌄
Follow light through glass, thread through books, ink out of grooves and card instructions into cloth.
- How does a stained-glass window make a glowing picture?Arts & Music
- How does a sewn book hold many folded pages together?History & Evidence
- How can lines below a metal surface make a print?Arts & Music
- How could holes in cards tell a loom which threads to lift?History & Evidence