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- Science: 4th Grade
Utah - Science: 4th Grade
Core Standards | Adopted: 2019
4.1: : Organisms Functioning in Their Environment
4.1.1: : Construct an explanation from evidence that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Emphasize how structures support an organism’s survival in its environment and how internal and external structures of plants and animals vary within the same and across multiple Utah environments. Examples of structures could include thorns on a stem to prevent predation or gills on a fish to allow it to breathe underwater.
Circulatory System
Trace the path of blood through a beating heart and the network of blood vessels that supplies blood to the body. Take blood samples from different blood vessels to observe blood cells and measure the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, sugar, and urea. 5 Minute Preview
Comparing Climates (Customary)
Compare average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed for a variety of locations across the globe. Explore the influence of latitude, proximity to oceans, elevation, and other factors on climate. Observe how animals and plants are adapted to climate and their environment. This lesson uses U.S. customary units. 5 Minute Preview
Comparing Climates (Metric)
Compare average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed for a variety of locations across the globe. Explore the influence of latitude, proximity to oceans, elevation, and other factors on climate. Observe how animals and plants are adapted to climate and their environment. This lesson uses metric units. 5 Minute Preview
Digestive System
Digestion is a complex process, involving a wide variety of organs and chemicals that work together to break down food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate wastes. But have you ever wondered what would happen if some of those organs were eliminated, or if the sequence was changed? Can the digestive system be improved? Find out by designing your own digestive system with the Digestive System Gizmo. 5 Minute Preview
Flower Pollination
Observe the steps of pollination and fertilization in flowering plants. Help with many parts of the process by dragging pollen grains to the stigma, dragging sperm to the ovules, and removing petals as the fruit begins to grow. Quiz yourself when you are done by dragging vocabulary words to the correct plant structure. 5 Minute Preview
Honeybee Hive
Explore life in the hive by meeting workers, drones, and the queen bee herself! Visit flower patches to determine the best sources of food, and then perform a waggle dance to let the other bees know where to go. Can you help the bees find enough food to save the hive? 5 Minute Preview
Senses
Everything we know about the world comes through our senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. In the Senses Gizmo, explore how stimuli are detected by specialized cells, transmitted through nerves, and processed in the brain. 5 Minute Preview
4.1.2: : Develop and use a model of a system to describe how animals receive different types of information from their environment through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information. Emphasize how animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions. Examples could include models that explain how animals sense and then respond to different aspects of their environment such as sounds, temperature, or smell.
Honeybee Hive
Explore life in the hive by meeting workers, drones, and the queen bee herself! Visit flower patches to determine the best sources of food, and then perform a waggle dance to let the other bees know where to go. Can you help the bees find enough food to save the hive? 5 Minute Preview
Senses
Everything we know about the world comes through our senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. In the Senses Gizmo, explore how stimuli are detected by specialized cells, transmitted through nerves, and processed in the brain. 5 Minute Preview
4.1.3: : Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the stability and change in organisms and environments from long ago. Emphasize using the structures of fossils to make inferences about ancient organisms. Examples of fossils and environments could include comparing a trilobite with a horseshoe crab in an ocean environment or using a fossil footprint to determine the size of a dinosaur.
Building Pangaea
In 1915, Alfred Wegener proposed that all of Earth's continents were once joined in an ancient supercontinent he called Pangaea. Wegener's idea of moving continents led to the modern theory of plate tectonics. Create your own version of Pangaea by fitting Earth's landmasses together like puzzle pieces. Use evidence from fossils, rocks, and glaciers to refine your map. 5 Minute Preview
4.1.4: : Engage in argument from evidence based on patterns in rock layers and fossils found in those layers to support an explanation that environments have changed over time. Emphasize the relationship between fossils and past environments. Examples could include tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas and rock layers with marine shell fossils found above rock layers with land plant fossils.
Erosion Rates
Explore erosion in a simulated 3D environment. Observe how the landscape evolves over time as it is shaped by the forces of flowing water. Vary the initial landscape, rock type, precipitation amount, average temperature, and vegetation and measure how each variable affects the rate of erosion and resulting landscape features. 5 Minute Preview
River Erosion
Explore how river erosion affects landscapes in the short term and over long periods of time. Describe the features of mountain streams and meandering rivers, and use a floating barrel to estimate current speed. Witness the changes that occur as mountain streams erode downward and meandering rivers erode from side to side. 5 Minute Preview
Weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rock at Earth's surface through physical or chemical means. Students will learn about the different types of mechanical and chemical weathering, then use a simulation to model the effects of weathering on different types of rocks in varying climate conditions. 5 Minute Preview
4.2: : Energy Transfer
2.1: : Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another causing the objects’ motions to change. Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electrical currents, heat, sound, or light. Devices can be designed to convert energy from one form to another.
Sled Wars
Explore acceleration, speed, momentum, and energy by sending a sled down a hill into a group of snowmen. The starting height and mass of the sled can be changed, as well as the number of snowmen. In the Two sleds scenario, observe collisions between sleds of different masses and starting heights. 5 Minute Preview
4.2.1: : Construct an explanation to describe the cause and effect relationship between the speed of an object and the energy of that object. Emphasize using qualitative descriptions of the relationship between speed and energy like fast, slow, strong, or weak. An example could include a ball that is kicked hard has more energy and travels a greater distance than a ball that is kicked softly.
Sled Wars
Explore acceleration, speed, momentum, and energy by sending a sled down a hill into a group of snowmen. The starting height and mass of the sled can be changed, as well as the number of snowmen. In the Two sleds scenario, observe collisions between sleds of different masses and starting heights. 5 Minute Preview
4.2.2: : Ask questions and make observations about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide. Emphasize that energy is transferred when objects collide and may be converted to different forms of energy. Examples could include changes in speed when one moving ball collides with another or the transfer of energy when a toy car hits a wall.
Sled Wars
Explore acceleration, speed, momentum, and energy by sending a sled down a hill into a group of snowmen. The starting height and mass of the sled can be changed, as well as the number of snowmen. In the Two sleds scenario, observe collisions between sleds of different masses and starting heights. 5 Minute Preview
4.2.3: : Plan and carry out an investigation to gather evidence from observations that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electrical currents. Examples could include sound causing objects to vibrate and electric currents being used to produce motion or light.
Circuit Builder
Create circuits using batteries, light bulbs, switches, fuses, and a variety of materials. Examine series and parallel circuits, conductors and insulators, and the effects of battery voltage. Thousands of different circuits can be built with this Gizmo. 5 Minute Preview
Conduction and Convection
Two flasks hold colored water, one yellow and the other blue. Set the starting temperature of each flask, choose a type of material to connect the flasks, and see how quickly the flasks heat up or cool down. The flasks can be connected with a hollow pipe, allowing the water in the flasks to mix, or a solid chunk that transfers heat but prevents mixing. 5 Minute Preview
Energy Conversions
Where does energy come from? How does energy get from one place to another? Find out how electrical current is generated and how living things get energy to move and grow. Trace the path of energy and see how energy is converted from one form to another. 5 Minute Preview
Heat Absorption
Shine a powerful flashlight on a variety of materials, and measure how quickly each material heats up. See how the light angle, light color, type of material, and material color affect heating. A glass cover can be added to simulate a greenhouse. 5 Minute Preview
Radiation
Use a powerful flashlight to pop a kernel of popcorn. A lens focuses light on the kernel. The temperature of the filament and the distance between the flashlight and lens can be changed. Several obstacles can be placed between the flashlight and the popcorn. 5 Minute Preview
4.2.4: : Design a device that converts energy from one form to another. Define the problem, identify criteria and constraints, develop possible solutions using models, analyze data from testing solutions, and propose modifications for optimizing a solution. Emphasize identifying the initial and final forms of energy. Examples could include solar ovens that convert light energy to heat energy or a simple alarm system that converts motion energy into sound energy.
Circuit Builder
Create circuits using batteries, light bulbs, switches, fuses, and a variety of materials. Examine series and parallel circuits, conductors and insulators, and the effects of battery voltage. Thousands of different circuits can be built with this Gizmo. 5 Minute Preview
Energy Conversions
Where does energy come from? How does energy get from one place to another? Find out how electrical current is generated and how living things get energy to move and grow. Trace the path of energy and see how energy is converted from one form to another. 5 Minute Preview
4.3: : Wave Patterns
3.1: : Waves are regular patterns of motion that transfer energy and have properties such as amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks). Waves in water can be directly observed. Light waves cause objects to be seen when light reflected from objects enters the eye. Humans use waves and other patterns to transfer information.
Waves
Observe and measure transverse, longitudinal, and combined waves on a model of a spring moved by a hand. Adjust the amplitude and frequency of the hand, and the tension and density of the spring. The speed and power of the waves is reported, and the wavelength and amplitude can be measured. 5 Minute Preview
4.3.1: : Develop and use a model to describe the regular patterns of waves. Emphasize patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength. Examples of models could include diagrams, analogies, and physical models such as water or rope.
Waves
Observe and measure transverse, longitudinal, and combined waves on a model of a spring moved by a hand. Adjust the amplitude and frequency of the hand, and the tension and density of the spring. The speed and power of the waves is reported, and the wavelength and amplitude can be measured. 5 Minute Preview
4.3.3: : Design a solution to an information transfer problem using wave patterns. Define the problem, identify criteria and constraints, develop possible solutions using models, analyze data from testing solutions, and propose modifications for optimizing a solution. Examples could include using light to transmit a message in Morse code or using lenses and mirrors to see objects that are far away.
Programmable Rover
In this introduction to coding, program a rover to explore the surface of Mars. Start by using tiles to create simple programs involving moving forward or backward, turns, jumps, loops, and picking up rock samples. Then use text instructions to optimize your code. Use your skills to program the rover to complete six challenging missions on Mars. 5 Minute Preview
Correlation last revised: 7/20/2023
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