The 5Es framework (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) is a research-based instructional model developed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). This framework promotes inquiry-based learning and helps elementary students construct scientific understanding through active investigation and reflection.
Engage Phase
Purpose and Goals: The Engage phase captures students' attention, stimulates curiosity, and reveals prior knowledge about the scientific concept. This phase typically lasts 5-10 minutes and focuses on creating cognitive conflict or wonder that motivates learning. Students connect new experiences to what they already know and identify questions for investigation.
Key Components:
Present a phenomenon, demonstration, or discrepant event
Activate prior knowledge and preconceptions
Generate questions and predictions
Create cognitive dissonance or curiosity
Establish the learning context
Assess students' current understanding
Teacher Script Examples:
For a 4th-grade lesson on sound: "I have two identical plastic bottles here. Watch what happens when I blow across the top of each one. [Demonstrates - one bottle is empty, one is half-filled with water, creating different pitches]. Turn to your partner and discuss: Why do you think they made different sounds? What do you already know about how sounds are made?"
For a 1st-grade lesson on plant needs: "Look at these two plants I've been growing in my classroom. [Shows one healthy plant and one wilted plant]. What do you notice? What questions do you have? Think about plants you've seen at home or in your yard - what do you think plants need to stay healthy?"
For a 5th-grade lesson on mixtures and solutions: "I'm going to add this sugar to water and stir. [Demonstrates]. Now I'm going to add this sand to water and stir. [Demonstrates]. What differences do you observe? What do you think happened to the sugar? What happened to the sand?"
Suggestions for Smooth Implementation:
Choose phenomena that are visually engaging and create genuine curiosity
Allow wait time for students to observe and think before discussing
Record student questions and predictions on chart paper for later reference
Avoid explaining the science concept yet - let questions emerge naturally
Use "I notice..." and "I wonder..." sentence stems to structure observations
Ensure all students can see demonstrations clearly
Prepare for unexpected student responses and misconceptions
Explore Phase
Purpose and Goals: The Explore phase provides students with hands-on experiences to investigate scientific phenomena through guided inquiry. This phase typically lasts 20-30 minutes and emphasizes direct interaction with materials, data collection, and collaborative investigation. Students develop process skills while gathering evidence about the scientific concept.
Key Components:
Students manipulate materials and conduct investigations
Collaborative group work and scientific discourse
Data collection and observation recording
Process skills development (measuring, predicting, inferring)
Teacher facilitates rather than directs
Students test initial predictions and ideas
Teacher Script Examples:
During sound investigation: "Your job is to explore these different materials and instruments at each station. Try making sounds with the rubber bands, the drums with different amounts of rice, and the rulers hanging off the desk. Record what you observe about how the sounds change. What patterns do you notice?"
While students investigate plant needs: "Each group has four identical bean seeds. Your challenge is to design an investigation to test what plants need to grow. Look at these materials available [water, soil, light source, dark box, etc.]. What variable will your group test? Remember to keep everything else the same."
During mixture exploration: "At each station, you'll mix different materials with water. Try salt, oil, flour, and food coloring. Record your observations using both words and pictures. Which materials seem to disappear? Which ones don't? What evidence supports your thinking?"
Suggestions for Smooth Implementation:
Prepare materials in advance and organize stations efficiently
Teach and practice data collection methods before the investigation
Circulate continuously, asking open-ended questions rather than giving answers
Encourage students to record observations immediately, not just at the end
Use structured observation sheets or science notebooks to guide data collection
Set clear expectations for material use and cleanup procedures
Allow productive struggle while providing support for procedural challenges
Take photos of student work for later discussion
Explain Phase
Purpose and Goals: The Explain phase helps students make sense of their explorations by constructing explanations, introducing scientific vocabulary, and connecting observations to scientific concepts. This phase typically lasts 10-15 minutes and balances student-generated explanations with teacher guidance to ensure accurate concept development.
Key Components:
Students share observations and develop explanations
Scientific vocabulary is introduced in context
Teacher guides students toward accurate scientific understanding
Connections are made between different groups' findings
Misconceptions are addressed directly
Evidence-based reasoning is emphasized
Teacher Script Examples:
Following sound explorations: "Let's share what you discovered. I heard many groups notice that when the rubber band was tighter, the sound was higher. In science, we call the highness or lowness of sound 'pitch.' What caused the pitch to change in your investigations? Let's look at this diagram of sound waves to understand what's happening when we hear different pitches."
After plant investigations: "Each group tested something different that plants might need. Let's create a class chart of your results. [Records findings]. Based on our evidence, what can we conclude that plants need to survive? The scientific term for when plants use sunlight to make their own food is 'photosynthesis.' How does this connect to what you observed?"
Following mixture investigations: "You observed that some materials seemed to disappear in water while others didn't. When something dissolves completely in water, scientists call it a 'solution.' When it doesn't dissolve, we call it a 'mixture.' Looking at your data, which materials formed solutions? Which formed mixtures?"
Suggestions for Smooth Implementation:
Start with student explanations before introducing scientific terms
Use student language first, then connect to scientific vocabulary
Create visual models or diagrams to support verbal explanations
Address misconceptions directly using student evidence
Ask students to support claims with evidence from their investigations
Build on correct student ideas rather than dismissing incomplete thinking
Use analogies and real-world connections to strengthen understanding
Elaborate Phase
Purpose and Goals: The Elaborate phase extends learning by applying scientific concepts to new situations, making connections to real-world contexts, and deepening understanding through additional investigations. This phase typically lasts 15-20 minutes and helps students transfer their learning to broader applications and see the relevance of scientific concepts.
Key Components:
Apply learned concepts to new contexts or problems
Make connections to everyday life and other subject areas
Conduct additional investigations or design challenges
Extend thinking through research or creative applications
Connect to environmental or technological applications
Prepare for transfer to new learning situations
Teacher Script Examples:
Extending sound learning: "Now that we understand how pitch changes, let's think about musical instruments. I have pictures of a guitar, a piano, and a flute. Using what you learned about sound today, predict how each instrument might create different pitches. Then we'll test your predictions with these simple instruments I brought in."
Elaborating on plant needs: "You've discovered that plants need water, light, and air to survive. Let's think about plants in different environments. How do you think a cactus in the desert gets what it needs? What about plants that grow in dark forests? Look at these pictures and apply what you've learned to explain how these plants survive."
Extending mixture understanding: "You can separate mixtures but not solutions using filters. Let's think about this in the real world. If someone accidentally mixed salt and pepper, how could they separate them? What about if oil spilled in water? Let's design some separation challenges for other classes to solve."
Suggestions for Smooth Implementation:
Choose applications that genuinely connect to students' lives and interests
Provide opportunities for both guided and independent application
Encourage students to make predictions before testing new situations
Use cross-curricular connections when natural (reading about scientists, math in data analysis)
Offer choice in how students demonstrate their extended understanding
Document student thinking for assessment purposes
Connect to upcoming science topics when possible
Evaluate Phase
Purpose and Goals: The Evaluate phase assesses student understanding and provides opportunities for reflection on both content learning and scientific processes. This phase can be integrated throughout the lesson or concentrated at the end (10-15 minutes) and focuses on helping students demonstrate their learning while providing feedback for future instruction.
Key Components:
Assess conceptual understanding and process skills
Provide opportunities for self-assessment and reflection
Check for misconceptions that need addressing
Document student growth and learning needs
Connect learning to broader scientific understanding
Plan for future instruction based on assessment data
Teacher Script Examples:
Formative assessment during sound lesson: "Before we clean up, take two minutes to write or draw in your science notebook: How can you change the pitch of a sound? Use an example from today's investigation to support your answer. Then, rate yourself: How confident do you feel explaining pitch to a friend?"
Reflection prompt for plant lesson: "Think about our plant investigation over the past two weeks. Complete this sentence in your science journal: 'I used to think plants needed _____, but now I know they need _____ because _____.' Include evidence from our experiments."
Exit ticket for mixture lesson: "On your exit ticket, draw or describe a mixture you might find in your kitchen at home. Then write one question you still have about mixtures and solutions. We'll use your questions to plan our next investigation."
Suggestions for Smooth Implementation:
Use varied assessment formats (written, oral, visual, performance-based)
Build in student self-assessment and peer feedback opportunities
Focus evaluation on both content knowledge and scientific thinking processes
Keep assessment tasks manageable and clearly connected to learning goals
Use evaluation data to inform future lesson planning and differentiation
Celebrate growth in scientific thinking, not just correct answers
Create rubrics that students can understand and use for self-assessment
General Implementation Tips
Classroom Management: Establish clear procedures for material distribution, group work transitions, and cleanup. Practice these routines regularly so they become automatic and don't interfere with scientific thinking.
Time Flexibility: While the suggested times provide structure, be responsive to student engagement and understanding. Some explorations may need extended time, while others might move more quickly.
Safety Considerations: Always review safety procedures before investigations. Use age-appropriate materials and ensure adult supervision for any potentially hazardous activities.
Differentiation Strategies: Provide multiple ways for students to access content (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), express understanding (drawing, writing, speaking, building), and engage with varying levels of complexity within the same investigation.
Documentation: Keep science notebooks or portfolios to track student thinking over time. Photograph student work and investigations to create a visual record of learning and to support future discussions.
The 5Es framework helps elementary students develop scientific literacy by experiencing authentic scientific inquiry. Through this structure, students learn that science is about asking questions, gathering evidence, and constructing explanations based on observations - skills that serve them well beyond the science classroom.