Texas TEKS 3.5.E
The Standard
investigate the flow of energy and cycling of matter through systems
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace where energy enters, moves through, and leaves a system. They also explain how materials are reused or returned within systems such as food chains, gardens, and terrariums.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students use arrows and labels to model energy moving from the Sun to plants and animals. They identify matter that returns to soil, air, or water for reuse.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think energy cycles back to the Sun or that plants get food from soil. They may also think matter disappears when organisms eat, grow, decay, or produce waste.
How to Assess It
- Give students a picture of a plant, rabbit, fox, soil, and Sun. Ask them to draw arrows for energy and explain how matter returns to the system.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a sealed bottle terrarium, then label where water, air, nutrients, and sunlight move during one week.
Ask students to explain in writing why a dead leaf does not simply disappear from a garden.
Play an arrow-card game where teams connect the Sun, plants, animals, decomposers, soil, air, and water correctly.
Examine cafeteria food scraps and trace their matter through eating, waste, composting, soil, and new plant growth.
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Printable 3.5.E Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 3.5.E, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 6.5.E
analyze and explain how energy flows and matter cycles through systems and how energy and matter are conserved through a variety of systems;
- 5.5.E
investigate how energy flows and matter cycles through systems and how matter is conserved;
- 4.5.E
investigate how energy flows and matter cycles through systems and how matter is conserved;
- 7.5.E
analyze and explain how energy flows and matter cycles through systems and how energy and matter are conserved through a variety of systems;
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