PROJECT LAUNCH: ALIEN CREATURE SURVIVAL CHALLENGE 5th GRADE (PBL UNIT 1 2025 / 2026)
Overview:
Fifth graders launched their Science PBL by exploring how organisms depend on ecosystems through the Alien Creature Survival Challenge. After connecting alien traits to real environments and visiting the Ciénaga de Mallorquín, students modeled energy flow and matter cycling as they built original ecosystem dioramas showcased on Exhibition Day.
Driving Question:
¿How do the sun’s energy and cycling matter keep ecosystems alive—and what happens when something changes?
Purpose of the Project:
To help students understand how ecosystems function by exploring energy flow, matter cycling, and the relationships between organisms, while developing their ability to model ecological systems and explain how changes impact the balance of nature.
Objectives of the Project:
- Understand how energy from the sun and the cycling of matter sustain ecosystems.
- Analyze how changes in an ecosystem affect organisms, interactions, and energy flow.
- Design and communicate an original ecosystem model that demonstrates scientific reasoning through food webs, matter cycles, and solutions to environmental change.
Project Launch: Alien Creature Survival Challenge
This week, our fifth graders began an exciting new science project exploring ecosystems through an imaginative “Alien Creature Survival Challenge.” Students worked in small groups to analyze fictional alien creatures with unique traits—such as Zarnok with night vision who needs dry climates, or Lunari who glides through humid environments with camouflage skin. Each team examined their creature’s characteristics, then selected and justified which Earth ecosystem would best support their alien’s survival, considering factors like food sources, climate needs, and potential environmental impacts. Through this creative entry event, students are building foundational understanding of how living things depend on their ecosystems for survival. This engaging introduction sets the stage for deeper exploration of real-world ecosystems and the delicate balance of nature in the weeks ahead.
Culminating Product
Students will create a detailed model (digital or physical) of an original ecosystem (realistic or imaginary) that includes:
Producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Energy flows from the sun through food chains/webs.
Cycling of matter (water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients) between organisms and the environment.
Recorded/written explanation that:
Predicts and explains how a change (a single variable: e.g., drought, loss of decomposers, or excess nutrients) affects energy flow and the cycling of matter.
Proposes a realistic solution (who implements it, basic steps).
Question for this week:
How do the sun’s energy and cycling matter keep ecosystems alive—and what happens when something changes?
DAY 1: Deep Dive & Introduction to the “Master Plan”
Objective: Students will identify the key components of their ecosystem and understand the core concepts of energy flow and matter cycling through a “Master Flowchart.”
DAY 2: Sketching & Prototyping the Model
Objective: Students will translate their conceptual understanding into a detailed sketch and begin the physical construction of their diorama, integrating the concepts of energy flow from the beginning.
DAY 3: Modeling Relationships & Interactions
Objective: Students will transform a simple food chain into a more complex food web and integrate decomposers to close the matter cycle visibly in their diorama.
DAY 4: Argumentation & Communication
Objective: Students will synthesize their learning by refining their ecosystem-specific Master Flowchart and constructing a written argument that answers the Essential Question.
DAY 5: Exhibition & Sense-Making
Objective: Students will communicate their scientific understanding to their peers, articulating how their diorama and flowchart represent the dynamics of an ecosystem.
