Grade 5 – Life Systems

Lesson Summary: Students will create an interactive story that demonstrates beneficial social/environmental factors

on human health, with a focus on strategies/factors used by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.

Curriculum Expectations: These expectations are intended to highlight the many ways in which this lesson could support

the curriculum. It is neither expected nor necessary for teachers to address all of these expectations at once. Teachers

are encouraged to select the most relevant expectations based on their unique context and intentions for the lesson.

Science & Technology

Mathematics

Language - Writing

Overall Expectations

A2. use coding in investigations and

to model concepts and assess the

impact of coding and of emerging

technologies on everyday life and in

STEM-related fields

A3. demonstrate an understanding of

the practical applications of science

and technology, and of contributions

to science and technology from

people with diverse lived experiences

B1. Analyse impacts of various social

and environmental factors, human

activities, and technologies on human

health

B2. Demonstrate an understanding of

the structure and function of human

body systems and interactions within

and between systems

Specific Expectations

A2.1 write and execute code in

investigations and when modelling

concepts, with a focus on using

different methods to store and

process data for a variety of

purposes

A2.2 identify and describe impacts of

coding and of emerging technologies

on everyday life, including skilled

trades

A3.3 analyse contributions to science

and technology from various

communities

B1.1 assess effects of a variety of

social and environmental factors on

human health, and describe ways in

which individuals can reduce the

harmful effects of these factors and

take advantage of those that are

beneficial

B1.2 evaluate beneficial and harmful

effects of various technologies on

human health and body systems,

while taking different perspectives

into consideration

Overall Expectations

C3. solve problems and create

computational representations of

mathematical situations using coding

concepts and skills

Specific Expectations

C3.1 solve problems and

create computational

representations of mathematical

situations by writing and executing

code, including code that

involves conditional statements and

other control structures

C3.2 read and alter existing code,

including code that involves

conditional statements and other

control structures, and describe how

changes to the code affect the

Overall Expectations

1. Generate, gather, and organize

ideas and information to write for an

intended purpose and audience

2. draft and revise their writing, using

a variety of informational, literary,

and graphic forms and stylistic

elements appropriate for the purpose

and audience

Specific Expectations

1.1 identify the topic, purpose,

audience, and form for writing

1.2 generate ideas about a potential

topic, using a variety of strategies and

resources

1.3 gather information to support

ideas for writing in a variety of ways

and/or from a variety of sources

1.4 sort ideas and information for

their writing in a variety of ways

1.5 identify and order main ideas and

supporting details into units that

could be used to develop a short,

simple para- graph, using graphic

organizers

1.6 determine whether the ideas and

information they have gathered are

relevant and adequate for the

purpose, and gather new material if

necessary

2.1 write short texts using a variety of

forms

2.3 use words and phrases that will

help convey their meaning as

specifically as possible

2.4 vary sentence structures and

maintain continuity by using joining

words (e.g., and, or) to combine

simple sentences and using words

that indicate time and sequence to

link sentences

2.6 identify elements of their writing

that need improvement, using

feedback from the teacher and peers,

with a focus on specific features

B1.3 explain how food literacy can

support decisions that affect physical

and mental health

B2.1 identify systems of the human

body, and describe their basic

function

B2.3 describe interrelationships

between human body systems

B2.4 identify various diseases and

medical disorders in humans and the

organs and/or body system or

systems that they affect

2.7 make revisions to improve the

content, clarity, and interest of their

written work, using several types of

strategies

3.4 use punctuation to help

communicate their intended

meaning, with a focus on the use of:

quotation marks to indicate direct

speech; commas to mark

grammatical boundaries within

sentences; capital letters and final

punctuation to mark the beginning

and end of sentences

3.8 produce pieces of published work

to meet identified criteria based on

the expectations related to content,

organization, style, use of

conventions, and use of presentation

strategies

Breaking Down the Coding Expectations in Science & Technology:

In the Grade 5 Science & Technology curriculum, there are 2 coding related expectations:

A2.1 write and execute code in investigations and when modelling concepts, with a focus on using different

methods to store and process data for a variety of purposes

A2.2 identify and describe impacts of coding and of emerging technologies on everyday life, including skilled

trades

To paraphrase these expectations and express them in plainer language, students are being asked to:

● write code to demonstrate a science-related concept, focusing on using data to influence code

● show how coding impacts our lives

Both expectations will be addressed through the project.

Learning Goals: We are learning to write code to create an animated story to teach others about beneficial social and

environmental factors on human health, with a focus on strategies used by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.

Success Criteria:

1. I can use a variety of event blocks to trigger different parts of my story

2. I can use conditionals to respond to data in my code

3. I can use the Ask () and Wait blocks to seek input from my user

4. I can share strategies for how to positively impact human health

STEM Profile:

An environmental health scientist focuses on identifying the relationships and

risks of the physical environment and the impact it has on our health. They try to

improve the public’s health by addressing these issues and putting effort into

eliminating the risks in the environment.

Sandra Steingraber is a biologist, who writes and lectures on environmental links

to cancer. She received a doctorate in biology from the University of Michigan and

went on to join the faculty at Cornell University. She wrote a book in 1997 called

Living Downstream that focuses on industrial and agricultural pollution and its

impact on our health. Sandra Steingraber is an advocate for environmental health

and has participated in many protests to raise awareness about situations that

negatively impact the environment and our health.

Like Sandra, we will use our knowledge of the body and the environment to help

others understand how to protect themselves and keep themselves healthy!

Minds On:

1. Students will have different experience levels when it comes to coding.

a. If students have never experienced coding before, please watch the “What is Coding?” video.

b. If students have experienced coding before, have a quick discussion in which students share their definition

of coding. Some responses to look for include:

i. Coding is the language that computers speak

ii. Coding is how we talk to computers or get computers to do what we want

iii. Coding is the instructions that we give to a computer

2.  Introduce the idea of a conditional, a statement that allows the computer to respond to different situations (or 
conditions) based on a certain set of criteria. There are two main types of conditionals. 
a.  If/then conditionals are only able to respond to one condition. You can create multiple conditionals to 
respond to different data, but each conditional on its own is just able to respond to one condition. Some 
real-life examples include: 
 
●  If it is raining, then bring an umbrella 
●  If you are hungry, then eat a snack 
●  If it is cold outside, then wear a sweater 
 
b.  If/then/else conditionals are slightly different. The else can be thought of as a “none of the above” option, 
similar to a multiple choice test. The else will only run if the condition for the if/then is false. Some real-
life examples include:  
 
●  If it is raining, then bring an umbrella, else leave the umbrella at home 
●  If you are hungry, then eat a snack, else don’t eat a snack 
●  If it is cold outside, then wear a sweater, else wear a t-shirt.  
 
Discussion: Can students think of other real-life examples of conditional statements?  
 
3.  Brainstorm with students to generate ideas for their animated story. Some discussion prompts include: 
o  What does it mean to be healthy? 
o  Which body systems contribute to our health? 
o  What are factors that help us maintain our health? What are factors that harm our health? 
o  What are internal and external factors that can harm our health? 
o  What strategies can we use to help protect ourselves from external harms to our health? 
 
Planning Our Project:  
 
Provide students with the animated story project planner and encourage students to create between three and four 
scenes in their story. Students should create an outline of their scenes by drawing pictures and writing a few words or 
sentences, including any dialogue that will appear on screen, and starting to plan their code, if applicable. Teachers may 
wish to provide a list of words from which to choose, a scribe, or other assistive technology to support students. 
 
Creating Our Project: 
 
Since every student’s project will be unique, there is no single, step-by-step set of instructions to follow; however, the 
information below  will support  your students in the general  process of creating  an animated  story, as  well  as key 
features that they will likely want to include. This sample code further demonstrates how the project might work and 
please note that there is code included for each of the sprites and the stage. For your reference, Scratch determines 
where to display sprites and controls movement using a Cartesian coordinate system, with (0,0) being the center of the 
screen and it may be helpful to pre-teach this concept, if it is one with which students are unfamiliar.  
 
1.  Choose or create your backdrop(s) for the project. If adding multiple backdrops, all of them can be added now or 
later on but be sure to rename your backdrops as appropriate to help keep track of them through the project.  
 
2.  Delete the cat sprite that is automatically added to your project and press the “choose a sprite“ button to select a 
new  sprite.  You  may  wish  to  add  all  sprites  that  will  be  needed  at  this  time.  Remember  that  each  sprite  is 
programmed separately, so be sure that you have selected the correct sprite before starting to write your code. 
 
3.  Your code must always start with an Event block. In this project, you will likely use the “When Green Flag Clicked“ 
block. You will also likely use the “When I Receive ()“ block, in combination with the “Broadcast ()“ block throughout 
your code to trigger events to create the appearance of interactions between your sprites. 
 
 
 
 
 

4. Some key features you may wish to use to set a “starting state” for your sprites include:

a. Use the Switch Backdrop To () block to set your starting backdrop and use the Switch Costume To () block

to set the starting costume for your sprite, if appropriate (more on this below).

b. Go To X () Y () will allow you to set a static position for your sprite. This can be used at the start of a line of

code in order to set a “starting position”

c. The Show and Hide blocks can be used intermittently throughout your code in order to have sprites appear

on screen or become “invisible” until a later time.

d. If you plan on having a sprite rotate at any point in your code, you will also want to set a starting direction

for your sprites using the Point In Direction () block.

Please note that Scratch does not automatically “reset” your sprites when you replay your code, so setting a starting

position, direction, and state of show/hide is often necessary.

5. To make your story more interactive, you may wish to use some of the following features:

a. The Say () For () Seconds block will allow you to create a “speech bubble” above a sprite for a certain

amount of time.

b. You can record your own sounds or choose from the ready made sound files in Scratch using the Sound

Editor. Use the Play Sound () Until Done block to play the desired sound clip in full.

c. The Glide () Secs To X () Y () block will allow you to have your sprite glide across the screen to a certain

coordinate. The longer the number of seconds, the slower it will move. This helps create the effect of more

realistic movements.

6. If you are using Scratch’s pre-designed sprites, you can use Costumes to create a more interesting, animated effect

on your characters. If you have designed your own sprites, you will need to create your own costumes using the

Paint Editor.

a. You can use a loop to rotate through all of the sprite costumes. Use a Repeat () block or a Forever block

and, inside of the loop, add a Wait () Seconds block. Set it to anywhere between 0.25 and 0.5 seconds (i.e.,

the shorter the time, the faster the animation will run). A setting of 0.5 seconds makes the animation fairly

realistic, without bei