GRADE 4 SCIENCE CURRICULUM

SCIENCE PROCESSES

Inquiry Process

Students Will:

Generate questions based on observations.

Plan and conduct simple experiments.

Use simple tools to make observations and collect data.

Construct charts and graphs from data and observations.

Inquiry Analysis and Communication

Students Will:

Answer scientific questions through analysis of information from charts and graphs.

Share ideas in collaborative groups.

Present findings of observations and investigations.

Develop research strategies and skills for information gathering and problem solving.

Reflection and Social Implications

Students Will:

Demonstrate knowledge of scientific concepts through illustrations, models, and activities.

Identify the need of evidence in scientific ideas by using data and samples.

Identify technology used in everyday life.

Describe how science and technology have advanced throughout history and across cultures.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Energy

Students Will:

Identify heat and electricity as forms of energy.

Demonstrate how temperature can be increased in a substance by adding energy.

Describe how heat is produced through electricity, rubbing, and burning.

Explain how electrical energy is transferred and changed through a simple circuit.

Create a simple electromagnet and explain the conditions necessary to make one.

Matter

Students Will:

Identify that all objects and substances have physical properties that can be measured.

Measure the weight (spring scale) and mass (balances in grams or kilograms) of objects.

Measure volumes of liquids and capacities of containers in milliliters and liters.

Compare and contrast the states (solids, liquids, gases) of matter.

Explain how matter can change from one state to another by heating and cooling.

Demonstrate magnetic field by observing patterns formed with iron fillings using a variety of magnets.

Identify objects that are good or poor conductors of heat and electricity.

LIFE SCIENCE

Organization of Living Things

Students Will:

Determine that plants require air, water, light, and a source of energy and building material for
growth and repair.

Determine that animals require air, water, and a source of energy and building material for
growth and repair.

Evolution

Students Will:

Identify individual differences (for example: color, leg length, size, wing size) in organisms of the
same kind.

Identify how variations in physical characteristics of individual organisms give them an
advantage for survival and reproduction.

Explain how behavioral characteristics (adaptation, instinct, learning, habit) of animals help
them to survive in their environment.

Ecosystems

Students Will:

Identify organisms as part of a food chain or food web.

Explain how environmental changes can produce a change in the food web.

EARTH SCIENCE

Characteristics of Objects in the Sky

Students Will:

Identify common objects in the sky, such as the sun and the moon.

Compare and contrast the characteristics of the sun, moon and Earth, including relative
distances and abilities to support life.

Patterns of Objects in the Sky

Students Will:

Describe the orbit of the Earth around the sun as it defines a year.

Explain that the spin of the Earth creates day and night.

Describe the motion of the moon around the Earth.

Describe the apparent movement of the sun and moon across the sky through day/night and the
seasons.

Fossils

Students Will:

Explain how fossils provide evidence of the history of the Earth.

Compare and contrast life forms found in fossils and organisms that exist today.