Texas TEKS 6.5.E

Science6th GradeRecurring themes and concepts

The Standard

analyze and explain how energy flows and matter cycles through systems and how energy and matter are conserved through a variety of systems

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students trace where energy and matter move within systems such as food webs, water cycles, and machines. They use models to show that matter changes form while total matter remains, and energy transfers without being created or destroyed.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students label inputs, outputs, transfers, and stored matter or energy in a system model. They explain why matter can cycle repeatedly while energy usually moves through and leaves as heat.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think plants create matter from sunlight or that decomposers make matter disappear. They may also say energy cycles like water, rather than recognizing that energy transfers and often leaves as heat.
How to Assess It: Give students a food web with the Sun, grass, rabbit, hawk, and decomposers. Ask them to trace one carbon atom and explain what happens to the energy.

Lesson moves

Use colored beads and arrows to model carbon atoms moving among plants, animals, air, and soil while sunlight enters the system.
Ask students to explain why a dead leaf’s matter does not vanish, even when the leaf is no longer visible.
Play a card sort where students match system events to matter cycling, energy transfer, storage, or release as heat.
Analyze a compost bin by identifying matter inputs, matter outputs, energy sources, and evidence of heat transfer.

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