The Working Wall

Unit 2 · 2026–27 · Grade 5

Matter & Materials

Our second unit follows matter, materials and scientific inquiry. The Wonder Wall holds students' questions, the Material Library brings real samples into the discussion, and the Procedure Clothesline connects investigations with scientific writing. Weeks 1–2 are documented below. The six-week plan leads towards a Design Fair, with later weeks shown as planned. We will return to early blueprints and questions to make changes in students' thinking visible, while continuing the poster-design work begun in Trade Systems.

Central idea

Scientific inquiry helps us understand the physical world.

Lines of inquiry

  1. Attributes of matter and materials
  2. Properties of materials and their uses
  3. How scientific inquiry is conducted and recorded
Transdisciplinary theme
How the World Works
Specified concepts
Form · Causation · Function
Dates
19 Oct – 27 Nov 2026
Summative
Design Fair · planned for 25–27 Nov
Status
In progress · Week 2 of 6
  1. 1

    Week 1

    Tuning In
  2. 2

    Week 2

    Finding Out
  3. 3

    Week 3

    Sorting Out

    Planned · 2–6 Nov: fair tests, variables and the steps of a scientific report.

  4. 4

    Week 4

    Going Further

    Planned · 9–13 Nov: turn a class question into an investigation, then add results and a conclusion to the wall.

  5. 5

    Week 5

    Taking Action

    Planned · 16–20 Nov: independent experiment plans, open lab, display-board design and rehearsal.

  6. 6

    Week 6

    Design Fair & Reflection

    Planned · 23–27 Nov: reopen the first blueprints, share investigations at the Design Fair and revisit our questions.

Week 1 · 19–23 Oct

Materials, States & Questions

We began with matter and materials: describing what we could observe, exploring density, and using stickers to model particles in solids, liquids and gases. Students added real samples to the Material Library and sorted their questions under our three lines of inquiry. They also voted for Question Spotlight questions to investigate further. On the English board, scientific vocabulary sat beside classroom photographs, student explanations and the structure of a scientific report. The two walls are growing together: one holds the questions and materials, while the other supports the language needed to explain them.

Main teaching point

Look closely, describe what you notice and ask a question worth investigating.

Learning wall artifact

The Wonder Wall and Material Library

Students' questions sit beneath the lines of inquiry, with real material samples alongside them. The wall gives the class a shared place to return to those questions as the unit develops. The Sealed Blueprints box is also there: the plan is to revisit early designs near the end of the unit so students can explain how their thinking has changed.

From this week

Adding a bagged sample to the Material Library. Real materials sit alongside the class questions on the learning wall.
Solid, liquid and gas posters use stickers to represent particle arrangements, making an invisible idea visible for discussion.
Exploring density by pouring liquids into a clear cup and looking at the layers that form.
Students voted for questions to bring into further investigation. The Question Spotlight easels keep those questions in view.
The English board connects scientific vocabulary with report structure, including the difference between an aim and a hypothesis.
The word wall combines bilingual definitions, classroom photographs, particle drawings and students' own explanations and sentences.

Week 2 · 26–30 Oct

Oobleck & the Procedure Clothesline

Oobleck gave us a shared investigation to connect practical science with report writing. Students explored the mixture and tested its flow across a tray. The displayed aim asks how the amount of water affects the speed of the oobleck. Beside it, a hypothesis predicts what might happen and gives a reason. By the end of Week 2, examples from the investigation were already pinned beneath the headings on our Procedure Clothesline. Classroom photographs and handwritten work show how the report grows from something students have actually done.

Main teaching point

An aim says what we will investigate. A hypothesis predicts what will happen and explains why.

Learning wall artifact

A class example at the start of the Procedure Clothesline

The clothesline gives each part of a scientific report a place, from aim and hypothesis through to results and conclusion. Real work can be added beneath the headings as an investigation develops. The oobleck example connects the activity, the question and the writing; it gives students something concrete to refer to when planning later investigations.

From this week

Exploring the oobleck mixture together before turning the experience into scientific writing.
The flow test in action: oobleck moves across a marked tray, with a phone being used to time it.
The aim names the question being tested: how the amount of water affects the speed of the oobleck.
A student's hypothesis uses an if–then–because structure. It is a prediction to test, rather than a conclusion from the results.
The Procedure Clothesline beginning to fill with examples from the oobleck investigation under the report headings.
Bilingual cards make the scientific report structure visible, including a place to list the equipment needed.
The full clothesline leaves space for each stage of an investigation, ending with results and a conclusion. Thinking-move pennants run above it.