Fourth Grade Science

STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
As a result of the activities in grade 4, all students will experience science as full inquiry. In the elementary grades, students begin to develop the physical and intellectual abilities of scientific inquiry.

Benchmark 1: All students will be involved in activities that develop skills necessary to conduct scientific inquiries.

Process Skills:

Measurement:    linear, mass, volume, temperature (celcius)

Communication:    ask questions to develop an investigation analyze investigations

Inferring:    plan and conduct simple investigations

Controlling variables:    plan and conduct simple investigations

Representing data:    analyze investigations

Experiment:    plan and conduct simple investigations

STANDARD 2: PHYSICAL SCIENCE
As a result of the activities in grade 4, all students will explore the world by observing and manipulating common objects and materials in their environment.

Benchmark 2: All students will describe the movement of objects.

              #1 Move objects by pushing, pulling, throwing, spinning, dropping, and rolling; describe the                                 motion.  Observe that a force (a push or a pull) is applied to make objects move.                                        ( Newton ’s Laws)

Benchmark 3: All students will recognize and demonstrate what makes sounds.

               #1  Discriminate between sound made by different objects.

                       (Vocal music)

STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE
As a result of the activities for grade 4, all students will develop an understanding of biological concepts through direct experience with living things, their life cycles, and their habitats.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop a knowledge of organisms in their environment.

                #1  Compare and contrast structural characteristics and functions of different organisms.

                #2  Compare basic needs of different organisms in their environment.

                       (Plant and animal adaptations)

                #3  Discuss ways humans and other organisms use their senses in their environments.

STANDARD 4: EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
As a result of the activities for grade 4, all students will observe closely the objects and materials in their environment.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop an understanding of the properties of earth materials.

                #3  Experiment with a variety of landforms.

                #4  Describe properties of many different kinds of rocks.

                #5  Observe fossils and discuss how fossils provide evidence of plants and animals that lived                                  long ago.  A fossil is a part of a once-living organism or a trace of an organism preserved                        in rock.

Benchmark 2: All students will observe and describe objects in the sky.

                #1  Observe the moon and stars.

                #2  Observe the length of shadows.

                #3  Discuss that the sun provides light and heat to maintain the temperature of the earth.

Benchmark 3: All students will develop skills necessary to describe changes in the earth and weather.

                 #1  Observe changes in the weather from day to day.

                #3  Discuss weather safety procedures.  (tornado drills)

                #1  Describe changes in the surface of the earth.  (erosion)

                #2  Observe, describe, and record daily and seasonal weather changes.                                                                        (weather boards)

STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
As a result of the activities for grade 4, all students will have a variety of educational experiences which involve science and technology. They will begin to understand the design process, which includes this general sequence: state the problem, the design, and the solution.

Benchmark 1: All students will work with a technology design.

               #1  Identify a simple design problem; design a plan, implement the plan, evaluate the results,                and communicate the results.

Benchmark 2: All students will apply their understanding about science and technology.

                #1  Discuss that science is a way of investigating questions about their world.

                #2  Invent a product to solve problems.

                #3  Work together to solve problems.

                #4  Develop an awareness that women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnic groups engage in a variety of scientific and technological work.

                #5  Investigate how scientists use tools to observe.

Benchmark 3: All students will distinguish between natural and human-made objects.

               #1  Compare, contrast, and sort human-versus natural objects.

                #2  Use appropriate tools when observing natural and human-made objects.

                #3  Ask questions about natural or human-made objects and discuss the reasoning behind their answers.

STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
As a result of the activities for grade 4, all students will demonstrate personal health and environmental practices.
A variety of experiences will be provided to understand various science-related personal and environmental challenges. This standard should be integrated with physical science, life science, and
earth & space science standards.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop an understanding of personal health.

                #1  Discuss that safety involves freedom from danger, risk, or injury. 

      (Principal, Nurse, PE teacher, assemblies)

                #2  Discuss that various foods contribute to health.  (nutrition, hygiene, fitness)

  Benchmark 2: All students will demonstrate an awareness of changes in the environment.

               #1  Define pollution.

                #2  Develop personal actions to solve pollution problems in and around the neighborhood.

                #3  Practice reducing, reusing, and recycling.

STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
As a result of the activities for grade 4, all students will experience some things about scientific inquiry and learn about people from history.
Experiences of investigating and thinking about explanations, not memorization, will provide fundamental ideas about the history and nature of science. Students will observe and compare, pose
questions, gather data and report findings. Posing questions and reporting findings are human activities that all students are able to understand. This standard should be integrated with physical science, life
science, and earth and space science standards.

Benchmark 1: All students will develop an awareness that people practice science.

                #1  Recognize that students participate in science inquiry by asking questions.

                #2  Observe, using various media, historical samples of people in science who have made                                        contributions.  (short stories, videos)  

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