Grade Level: Grade 4

Plant and Animal Environments

Concepts
Constancy and Change

Enduring Understandings
Environments are made up of living and non-living factors.
Environments change of time.
A relationship exists between a number of environmental factors and how well organisms grow.
Organisms have ranges of tolerance for environmental factors.
Changes in the environment can be helpful or harmful to living things.
Living things can respond to and cope with change within their environment.
Living things can alter their environment.
Organisms of different kinds living together form a community.

Skills
1.   Scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations and build explanations; observing, communicating, comparing, organizing and relating.
2.   Organize information using a key and a map.
3.   How to design an experiment -- only 1 factor observed at a time.
4.   Marking scientific drawings.
5.   Reading skills for understanding nonfiction.
6.   Metric measuring -- cm, ml.
7.   Recording observations.
8.   Expository writing.

Electricity and Magnetism

Concepts
Energy Transformation

Enduring Understandings:
Magnetism can be induced when an object containing certain metals crosses into a magnetic field.
Position and motion of objects can be effected by the strength of the push or pull of the magnetic force.
Magnets and the magnetic force fields around them have observable properties.
Electricity can be static or current.
Current electricity can be transformed into light, heat, sound or motion.
The design of the circuit (series or parallel) determines the flow of electricity.
Materials are either conductors or insulators.
A closed circuit allows electricity to flow; an open circuit does not.
Current electricity flowing through a conductor can create an electromagnet.

Skills
1.   Make observations and ask questions about objects.
2.   Seek relevant information in books, magazines and electronic media.
3.   Design and conduct simple investigations.
4.   Employ simple equipment and measuring tools to gather data and extend the senses.
5.   Use data to construct reasonable explanations.
6.   Analyze, critique and communicate investigations using words, graphs and drawings.

Erosion (Earth's Surface)

Concepts
Energy in Systems

Enduring Understandings:
There are physical and chemical causes of weathering.
Vegetation affects erosion.
The speed of water affects the rate of erosion.
The type of soil in an area affects its likelihood to flooding.
Wind contributes to the rate of erosion.
Glaciers cause erosion.

Skills
1.   Make observations and ask questions about objects, organisms and the environment.
2.   Seek relevant information in books, magazines and electronic media.
3.   Design and conduct simple investigations.
4.   Employ simple equipment and measuring tools to gather data and extend the senses.
5.   Use data to construct reasonable explanations.
6.   Analyze, critique and communicate investigations using words, graphs and drawings.
7.   Read and write a variety of science-related fiction and nonfiction texts.
8.   Search the web and locate relevant science information.
9.   Use measurement tools and standard units ( e.g., centimeters, meters, grams, kilograms) to describe objects and materials.
10.  Use mathematics to analyze, interpret and present data.

Water Cycle

Concepts
Energy in Systems

Enduring Understandings:
There are major locations of water and ice on Earth.
Water levels change over time.
Temperature affects the rate of evaporation.
Evaporation occurs within the environment.
Condensation results in the formation of clouds.
Similarities and differences may exist between a chamber water cycle and a water cycle in nature.

Skills
1.   Make observations and ask questions about objects, organisms and the environment.
2.   Seek relevant information in books, magazines and electronic media.
3.   Design and conduct simple investigations.
4.   Employ simple equipment and measuring tools to gather data and extend the senses.
5.   Use data to construct reasonable explanations.
6.   Analyze, critique and communicate investigations using words, graphs and drawings.
7.   Read and write a variety of science-related fiction and nonfiction texts.
8.   Search the web and locate relevant science information.
9.   Use measurement tools and standard units ( e.g., centimeters, meters, grams, kilograms) to describe objects and materials.
10.  Use mathematics to analyze, interpret and present data.