Science teaches kids the importance of carefully testing out ideas in the real world, and measuring the results to draw inferences.
Science subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics require students to hone various different skills, including observation skills, meticulously recording results, and using math to represent their results in a graph.
And the good news is that there are some great science worksheets that are geared toward making science fun.
And in this article we’re going to focus solely on science worksheets aimed at 5th graders.
The 5th grade is a key time for teaching the basics of scientific concepts before the students move on to 6th grade.
Now, this may look like a fun sheet of coloring, but it’s also a sneaky way of introducing the topic of chemistry to 5th graders…
The student is required to color in fireworks on the worksheet according to their chemical makeup.
You can use it as a starting point to talk about the elements, and how different elements react together to release energy, resulting in explosions like those seen in fireworks.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
This worksheet really makes physics fun. As you know, physics encompasses the teaching of forces, movement, and motion.
And perhaps it’s displayed nowhere better than an ice rink with figure skaters…
This worksheet teaches kids about angular momentum and moment of inertia by using the example of when a figure skater tucks her arms in to accelerate during a spin.
Then they get to experience this first hand, simply by spinning around for a moment in the teacher’s chair!
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
It’s so important for kids to learn the fundamentals of the world around us, especially when it comes to something as vital to life on planet earth as water. And that’s where worksheets like this one come in.
This worksheet explains the different stages of the water cycle, defining the key parts for them.
Then underneath, there’s an easy-to-follow diagram that they have to go ahead and label, armed with the knowledge they have just unearthed.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
This is a great life science worksheet for 5th graders because it is very colorful and engaging, and because it teaches not only about the food chain in oceans, but at the same time it also teaches the concept of ecosystems, and the idea of energy being passed on through complex food chains.
The worksheet consists of pictures of ocean life, and the student is to draw arrows to demonstrate the passing on of energy.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
The sun and moon are somewhat of a constant in our lives, frequently visible to the naked eye.
Until they are not! This worksheet explains to 5th graders what exactly is going on in a solar eclipse or a lunar one.
Once they’ve read the explanation, there are a few short questions to answer to check their comprehension, and then they get to try their hand at a small experiment!
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
The use of plastic is such a contentious point at the moment, making it a key topic for discussion both in the classroom and at home.
This is an engaging worksheet that describes what plastic is, how it is manufactured, its history and about our more recent attempts to reduce plastic waste.
The students read the passage of text before answering a series of questions on it to demonstrate their comprehension and understanding.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
The history of science is rich with famous names and discoveries, but sometimes key people can get overlooked. So, every attempt must be made to change all that.
This worksheet describes the work of famous scientist Rosalind Franklin, who made an important contribution to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
The student is to read a short passage on this before answering a few short questions to verify their comprehension.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
What young kid hasn’t marveled at the flight of a paper airplane across a room? Well, you can use this idea to teach physics and aerodynamics.
This worksheet explains what makes a paper airplane so dynamic, and then the kid gets to use these principles, and have a go at making one of their very own! (Expect to see several!)
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
Love them or hate them lightning storms are a real and dramatic occurrence. Some kids get really excited about the idea, which makes for a very engaging topic.
This colorful worksheet features both pictures and interesting facts for the kids to read, explaining why we sometimes get lightning, and getting kids thinking about why it’s safer to be closer to the ground during a lightning storm.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
What could be more vital for a child to understand than the workings of their very own body.
The human body consists of several systems and organs, and this worksheet focuses on developing the vocabulary of these very systems and organs, and challenges the student to match various organs to their corresponding system.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
Before they head over to 6th grade, it’s useful for kids to learn some of the more basic terminology used in the fields of scientific inquiry.
And while they may not yet need to understand about control groups and such, there’s no harm in getting them familiar with terms such as hypothesis, experiment, data, and conclusion.
That’s where worksheets like this one come in. The definitions of these terms are provided at the top, and then underneath are some sentences and data.
The student is then tasked with applying the correct terminology to the sentences.
The terminology is not overwhelming and the worksheet is pretty straightforward.
To access this worksheet, simply click on this link. The sheet is free to download and use.
Final Thoughts
So, as you can see, there are lots of fun ways to teach science to 5th graders. And with this selection of worksheets, you’ll never be short of ideas!
Hi, my name is Helena Waters and I was a teacher for 40 years before retiring last year.
During my time as a teacher I dedicated the majority of it to making classrooms as fun as possible, with educational parties, fun activities, and low cost entertainment that made the children excited about learning.
I taught children of all ages, from preschoolers to high school students. Now, with the pandemic having uprooted everything that children once knew about school and learning, I think that the need for my ideas is bigger than ever.
That is why I created School Sparks, a place in which I can write down and share all of my ideas on how to get students excited about going to school again. I hope that you’ll find some useful within a school setting, even at home too!
