4th Grade

What are we learning this year?

Unit 1

Energy Conversions

In this unit, you will learn how energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents or from object to object through collisions.

I can explain how the speed of an object is related to the energy of that object.
I can explain how energy can be transferred by sound, light, heat, and electricity.
I can ask and answer questions about the energy transfers that occur when two objects crash.
I can use what I know about energy to create devices that convert energy from one form to another.

Unit 2

Waves, Energy, and Information

In this unit, you will use a model of waves to describe patterns of waves in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and that waves can cause objects to move

I can create a model of waves to show patterns in amplitude and wavelength.
I can create a model of waves to show that waves can cause objects to move.
I can create a model to show that light reflecting from an object and entering the eye allows the object to be seen.
I can compare different ways that patterns are used to transfer information.

Unit 3

From Molecules to Organisims

In this unit, you will learn that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. By developing a model, they describe that an object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eye.

I can explain how the internal and external structures of plants help them survive, grow, act in certain ways, and reproduce.
I can explain how the internal and external structures of animals help them survive, grow, act in certain ways, and reproduce.
I can use a model to tell you about the ways that animals receive different types of information through their senses.
I can use a model to show that animals use their brain to process information.
I can use a model to show that animals respond to information in different ways.

Unit 4

Earth's Systems

In this unit, you will learn the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation. They apply their knowledge of natural Earth processes to generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of such processes on humans.

I can talk about changes in the Earth's landscape over time using evidence found in rock formations and fossils in rock layers.
I can discuss the ways that water, ice, wind, or plant life can change the Earth's surface.
I can make observations and measurements that show weather and/or erosion are taking place.
I can use information found on maps to discover patterns on Earth's surface.
I can describe how energy and fuel are created by natural resources.
I can give examples of how using energy and fuel can affect the environment.
I can come up with solutions to problems that some natural Earth processes, like earthquakes, volcanoes, or floods, can cause for humans.