South Dakota Science 5-LS2-1

Science5th GradeLife Science

The Standard

Develop a model to describe the movement of matter and energy among producers, consumers, decomposers, and the environment. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS2.A, LS2.B; CCC: Systems)

South Dakota Science Standards (2024) · Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do: Students draw a model linking sunlight, plants, animals, decomposers, air, and soil. They use arrows to show matter moving among organisms and their surroundings. They show energy entering as sunlight and spreading into the surroundings as heat.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can show matter and energy moving from grass to a rabbit, then from a dead rabbit to decomposers. They can show matter returning to the air and soil, while energy does not cycle back to the sun.
Common Misconceptions: Students may say plants get their food from soil or draw sunlight as matter. They may leave decomposers out or show energy cycling back to the sun. Some reverse the arrows and draw a rabbit feeding grass.
How to Assess It: Ask students to draw the sun, grass, a rabbit, mushrooms, air, and soil. Have them use solid arrows for matter and dashed arrows for energy, including what happens after the rabbit dies.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

Use grass, rabbit, mushroom, sun, air, and soil cards; connect matter paths with blue yarn and energy paths with yellow yarn.
Ask pairs why a sun-to-grass arrow carries energy, while a dead-leaf-to-mushroom arrow carries both matter and energy.
Play arrow repair with a diagram showing sunlight feeding rabbits directly; teams redraw the path through grass and label matter and energy.
Show a compost bin photo; students trace lunch scraps to decomposers, soil, and garden plants, then mark energy spreading as heat.

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