5-ESS3-1: How Communities Protect the Environment
Also called NGSS 5-ESS3-1 · Topic: Earth's Systems · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 5-ESS3-1 Means in Plain English
Fifth graders research how real towns and cities use science to keep land, water and air healthy. They gather facts from several sources, such as websites, books and local experts, then pull them together to explain what a community does and why it works.
The focus is on gathering and combining information, not on designing a new fix. It builds on how people affect their surroundings (K-ESS3-3, 4-ESS3-1) and leads to designing ways to monitor and reduce human impact (MS-ESS3-3).
5-ESS3-1 I Can Statements
- I can find facts about how my community protects nature.
- I can combine information from more than one source.
- I can explain how a science idea helps protect the environment.
5-ESS3-1 Worked Example
A fact-finding project a class can run about where rain goes after it runs off the streets around school.
How does our town keep rainwater from carrying pollution off the streets and into the creek?
Set It Up: The town's stormwater web page, a children's book about watersheds, clipboards for a walk around the block, and a question chart.
- Walk the block and note every storm drain, what lies near it and any label on it.Six drains, two with a creek label
- Read the town's stormwater page to find out where the drains lead.Drains flow to the creek without treatment
- Read the book's chapter on runoff to learn what rain washes off pavement.Oil, litter, soap and lawn fertilizer
- List what the town does about it, using both sources, on the question chart.Street sweeping, drain labels, rain gardens
- Match each action to the science idea that makes it work.Rain gardens let soil and roots filter water
The town sweeps streets, labels drains and plants rain gardens so less pollution reaches the creek.
Why it works: Water flows downhill and carries what it touches, so cleaning pavement and letting soil and plant roots soak up and filter runoff keeps the creek cleaner.
Common Mistakes with 5-ESS3-1
Using only one source
A report built from a single website
Try this: Check a second source, like a book or an interview, and note where they agree and where one adds something new.
Listing actions without the science
“The town plants gardens because they look nice.”
Try this: For each action, ask what natural process it uses. Rain gardens work because soil and roots soak up and filter dirty water.
Thinking only governments can help
“Kids can't do anything about pollution.”
Try this: Look for what families and students do too, like picking up litter or never pouring paint and oil down a drain.
Where 5-ESS3-1 Fits
Practice 5-ESS3-1
Quick Check
- Why does litter on a street matter to a creek a mile away?
- How does a rain garden help keep water clean?
- Why should you check more than one source?