Fifth Grade Unit 2 – Traits

Elaborated Unit Focus

In this unit, students will learn the difference between instincts and learned behaviors. They will also distinguish
between acquired physical traits and inherited ones by comparing and contrasting.

At the end of this unit, students will debate the question “What makes you who you are?” and effectively
communicate their position using research and data that they have collected about themselves,
classmates, etc.

Role: A member of a debate team

Audience: students their age

Culminating Task Scenario: Students will choose a position as to whether inherited traits or learned behaviors have the most
influence in making someone who they are.

Product: A written essay and the debate

OR

Survival Guide Project- (See Description Below)

S5L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information showing that some characteristics of organisms are
GSE for Science inherited and other characteristics are acquired.
(standards and
elements)
a. Ask questions to compare and contrast the characteristics of instincts and learned behaviors.
b. Ask questions to compare and contrast inherited and acquired physical traits. (Clarification statement:
Punnett squares and genetics are taught in future grades.)
Cross-cutting Concepts 1. Patterns. Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and they prompt questions

Troup County Schools 2017-18

Fifth Grade Science
Quarter 1
 about relationships and the factors that influence them.

2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A
major activity of science is investigating and explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are
mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and explain events in new
contexts.

6. Structure and function. The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many
of its properties and functions.

Literacy standards
ELAGSE5RI4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant
to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
ELAGSE5RI7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an
answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
ELAGSE5RI10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies,
science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Connection to Literacy ELAGSE5W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Standards for Science
(reading and/or
ELAGSE5W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task,
writing) purpose, and audience.
ELAGSE5W7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of
different aspects of a topic.
ELAGSE5SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly
ELAGSE5SL4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts
and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Troup County Schools 2017-18

Fifth Grade Science
Quarter 1
 Instructional Activities
Phenomenon: Proboscis Monkey are excellent swimmers, yet they choose to jump across the river. Why do you think
Available
that is?Literature
In the to
video, are the monkeys demonstrating a learned behavior
Traits of Living Things, Science Support Readers or is it an instinct to jump across the river?
enhance instruction
Secondary Phenomenon:
Lesson 1: Introduction
● Provide students with pictures of various mothers and their offspring. Students will examine the photos to compare &
contrast physical traits that are similar & different (legs, eyes, ears, tail, color, body shape, head shape, fur, height)
● Have students look at the picture of the dog & puppies (or the cat/kittens) and discuss the day in the life of that animal.
FurtherEssential Questions
examine the picture of the dog and Related
and discuss Supporting/Guiding
daily activities/actions they would doQuestions
to survive (how do they find/get
food, how they interact/ where & how they sleep, etc.) Have them list at least 10 things that a dog would do during the day
Essential Question 1 1. What would happen if we all had the same characteristics (inherited and or/acquired)?
● Take that information and organize it into 2 categories: Born knowing how to do this/ Learned after birth.
● Students should 1. begin to identify
What instinct and learned behaviors even though they may not know the terms yet.
are traits/characteristics?
● Questions 2. Are there different types of characteristics?
Discuss as a class and clear up any misconceptions from the activity.
Guiding
3. How do our traits affect who we are?
Lesson 2: Demonstration
4. Are our characteristics influenced by our environment?
● Have students create a list of 20 behaviors that they do throughout the day (waking up, brushing teeth, walking, etc.) Let
● I can distinguish between traits that are inherited and acquired physical traits.
them have a discussion about which of these activities are learned and which are they born knowing how to do (instinct). If
Learning Targets ● I can compare and contrast inherited traits and acquired physical traits.
they say learned, who did they learn them from?
● I can compare and contrast instinct and learned behaviors.
● Introduce the words instincts and learned. Let them discuss what they think each word means. Thinking back to our activity
yesterday and our list today, how can we label our behaviors? Have them label each of their behaviors with an I (instinct) or
an L (learned).
● Put students into groups of two and pass out a ruler to each pair. Explain to students that they will be doing an activity
called “Ruler Catch” in which one student will drop a ruler between the thumb and forefinger of another student. The other
student will attempt to catch the ruler before it drops past their fingers. Let them try several times. After both students have
had the opportunity to “learn” how to catch the ruler, ask: What happened? Why do you think the activity got easier after
practice? What could we call Other Discussion
this behavior? and sure
(Make Formative
studentsAssessment Ideas
understand that they just learned a behavior.)
Discussion: ● (Example of an instinct)
● Debate●which
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important to a bear’s survival. Give reasons for your argument.to a learned behavior? A learned behavior to an instinct?
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FormativeLesson 3- Gallery
Assessment Ideas: Walk
● Review yesterday’s learning about instinct vs. learned behavior. Explain to students that certain animal behaviors contribute
to survival. For example, bears can adapt Troup
to harsh winters
County by hibernating,
Schools 2017-18 and humpback whales migrate from their
nurseries off the coast of Hawaii to feed in the krill-rich
Fifth Gradewaters
Science from Alaska. Explain that some of these behaviors are
instincts, or traits that the animal is born with, and some
Quarterare
1 learned behaviors, or behaviors that were taught to the
animal, often by its parent. For example, proboscis monkeys have an instinct for swimming (they never learn how to do it),
but they must learn ways to cross a crocodile-infested river safely. Humans instinctively use their voices to communicate
Acquired and Inherited Traits Game

Troup County Schools 2017-18

Fifth Grade Science
Quarter 1