Tracing Energy Across the Okavango lets students create a first-person field-monitoring plan that tracks how sunlight becomes plant energy, impala food, and cheetah warmth.
Students create in ElementariOkavango: pick where to monitor the flood-fed green stripsThis is the project students open and build in Studio.
Pacing
1 week · 5 × 45 min
Grade
Grade 5
Coding
Beginner
Students codePlayer ActionsDragOn Page StartMove
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
How does sunlight become motion, growth, and warmth inside a cheetah?
Students will be able to
Write labels and narration for an observer’s plan
Explain how plant energy becomes motion, growth, and warmth in animals
Code click buttons to let a reader choose routes
Code a drag to reveal an animated payoff
Key vocabulary
sunlightplant biomassherbivorepredatorenergyheat
Assessment
Formative
Use the student's written evidence to check the science claim.
Summative
The finished project explains the process with evidence.
The student journey
This is a build — not a worksheet packet
Every lesson runs like the story students are about to make: read it, write it, build it, polish it, publish it. The printables scaffold each stage — the published Elementari project is the destination.
1
📖
Read
Students read a short, high-interest passage — a real-world hook, not a dry textbook definition — to spark ideas for what they'll make.
📖The Sun Runner
For much of the year, the landscape is dry. But then, a seasonal flood arrives, bringing water to the sun-baked earth. This combination of sunlight and water triggers a powerful change. A pulse of new life spreads across the plains as grass…
SourcesNational Institutes of Health (PMC)The Nature ConservancyUNESCO / Okavango Research Institute
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 8
TITLE PAGE
Static title page. No student-authored cover work or cover coding.
Key words — tap to learnOn Drag
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 8 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1TITLE PAGE~0 min
2Introduce the field observer~5 min
3Add binoculars image and record line~10 min
4Make the location choice buttons~25 min
5Describe the channel-edge scene~15 min
6Code the drag interaction~25 min
7Describe the inland-strip scene~20 min
8Write the final interpretation~10 min
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
A device per student or pair
Internet connection
A microphone (for recording or speech-trigger activities)
Headphones or speakers
Prep · about 10 min
1Print the student kits
2Assign this lesson to your students
3Skim the build steps
Teacher background
What you need to know
Plants capture sunlight and store it as chemical energy in their biomass. Herbivores eat those plants and take in that energy, and predators get energy by eating herbivores; as energy is used for movement and warmth, some of it is released as heat.
Key terms
sunlight
Light from the sun that helps plants grow.
plant biomass
The living parts of plants, like leaves and stems, that store energy from sunlight.
herbivore
An animal that eats plants, like an impala.
predator
An animal that hunts and eats other animals, like a cheetah.
energy
What living things get from food or sunlight to move, grow, and stay warm.
heat
Warmth that is released when animals use energy, for example when they sprint.
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
Vague claims without evidence →Prompt the student to point to one sentence or image in their project that supports the claim and ask, “What exact detail would a visitor record to check this claim?”
✕
Labels or choices that do not match the explanation →Ask the student to read the label aloud and then read the explanation; if they differ, have the student rewrite the shorter label so it matches the reason in one phrase.
✕
Missing connection to energy terms from the reading (sunlight, plant biomass, heat) →Have the student highlight any word from the reading in their journal entry and explain in one sentence how that word links to what they observed.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA4NGSS12 frameworks · 5 standards · DOK 2–3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
4 standards
W.5.1
Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose.
Also addressedW.5.2 · W.5.3 · L.5.6
NGSS
Next Generation Science Standards
1 standard
5-PS3-1
Use models to describe that energy in animals' food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Built to reach every learner
One lesson, three built-in paths — with accessibility baked into the materials, not bolted on afterward.
Extra support
Emerging readers & writers
Read-aloud and multilingual support in the Elementari build
Studio Compass highlights one task at a time — including the coding
Sentence frames and a word bank so it is never a blank page
On grade
The core lesson
The passage and storyboard exactly as written
Model answers and “look-fors” in the answer key
Self-check chips at every milestone
Ready for more
Extension & challenge
Challenge vocabulary and a real-world extension question
Deepen one existing page or interaction — without changing the required mechanics
A longer, evidence-based reflection prompt
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No. Coding concepts are introduced in plain language exactly when students need them, and Studio Compass confirms each milestone so students keep moving without you troubleshooting. The teacher guide walks you through the whole build, answers included.
How long does this lesson take?
About 1 week, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Students can read, write, code, and publish on Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, laptops, or desktops. All they need is a modern browser — nothing to download or install.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
This lesson includes read-to-me with synchronized highlighting, a built-in glossary, and picture-based storyboarding, with writing and coding scaffolds you can dial up or down. Students can work with guided support or more independently — and still finish the same project.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
