Category: Grade 4 Science

Structure, Function, and Information Processing

Unit description: In this unit, students will spend time observing plants and animals to gather evidence that organisms are living systems. They will develop an understanding that plants and animals have external and internal structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction.  Students use the concept of systems to understand that every animal has internal and external structures that allow it to take in information from the environment in which it lives, process that information, and respond in ways that increase its chances to grow, reproduce, and survive.

Download the complete Grade 4 Science Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

4-PS4-2. Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.

4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction

4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

How do we see objects?

• An object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eyes. (4-PS4-2)

How do plants and animals process information and respond to things?

• Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction. (4-LS1-1)
• Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal’s brain. Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions. (4-LS1-2)

Part I: Energy | Part II: Waves & Information

Suggested Timeframe: Winter (Jan-March)

Unit description: In Part I, Students explore how energy can be transferred by/from moving objects, sound, light, heat, or electric currents. When moving objects collide the object’s motion changes. Students learn about the different types of energy; where and how we find and use this energy. In Part II, students learn properties of waves and how we use this information to design high tech devices, and transmit digitized information.

Download the complete Grade 4 Science Unit 2 framework to customize for your own planning.

Essential Questions and Big Ideas

Part I: Energy

• Where do we find energy and how do we use it?
  • A given object possesses more energy of motion when it is moving faster. (4-PS3-1)
  • Energy can be transferred by moving objects or by sound, light, heat, or electric currents. (4-PS3-2), (4-PS3-3)
  • Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. (4-PS3-2),(4-PS3-3)
  • Energy can also be transferred by electric currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat, or light. The currents may have been produced to begin with by transforming the energy of motion into electrical energy. (4-PS3-2),(4-PS3-4)
  • When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motions. (4-PS3-3)
  • The expression “produce energy” typically refers to the conversion of stored energy into a desired form for practical use. (4-PS3-4)
  • Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, and others are not. (4-ESS3-1)
  • Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account. (secondary to 4-PS3-4)

Part II: Waves & Information

• How do we use waves in everyday life?
  • Waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface. When waves move across the surface of deep water, the water goes up and down in place; there is no net motion in the direction of the wave except when the water meets a beach.(4-PS4-1)
  • Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks). (4-PS4-1)
  • Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices, such as computers or cell phones, can receive and decode information—convert it from digitized form to voice—and vice versa. (4-PS4-3)
  • Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints. (secondary to 4-PS4-3)

Prerequisite Skills/Science & Engineering Practices

Use evidence to construct an explanation, make observations to provide evidence, ask questions and predict outcomes, apply scientific ideas to design, test and refine a device with a purpose, obtain and combine information to describe concepts, develop a model to describe patterns, generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem.

Earth’s Systems: Processes That Shape the Earth

Students learn about short and long term events/processes that shape our land.  They explore the varied shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water found on Earth.

Standards

• 4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
• 4-ESS2-1. Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.
• 4-ESS2-2: Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.

Essential Questions and Big Ideas of the Unit

• What has caused Earth’s land to change over time?
  • Local, regional, and global patterns of rock formations reveal changes over time due to earth forces, such as earthquakes. The presence and location of certain fossil types indicate the order in which rock layers were formed. (4-ESS1-1)
  • Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living organisms, and gravity break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles and move them around. (4-ESS2-1)
  • The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate the different land and water features areas of Earth. (4-ESS2-2)
  • Living things affect the physical characteristics of their regions. (4-ESS2-1)
• How can we protect ourselves from natural hazards?
  • A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Humans cannot eliminate the hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts. (4-ESS3-2)
  • Testing a solution involves investigating how well it performs under a range of likely conditions. (secondary to 4-ESS3-2)

Download the complete Grade 4 Science Unit 1 framework to customize for your own planning.