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Matter and Energy
Matter and Energy
In grade 4, students observe and interpret patterns related to the transfer of matter and energy on Earth, in physical interactions, and in organisms. Students learn about energy—its motion, transfer, and conversion—in different physical contexts.
Grade 4 students interpret patterns of change over time as related to the deposition and erosion in landscape formation. They study today’s landscapes to provide evidence for past processes.
Students learn that animals’ internal and external structures support life, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
They work through the engineering design process, focusing on developing solutions by building, testing, and redesigning prototypes to fit a specific purpose.
Each domain relates to the use of matter and energy over time and for specific purposes.
What this looks like in the classroom:
Students study the physics of waves. Based on a storyline on NGSS( https://iexplorescience.com/lets-talk-trash-ngss-storyline/ ), they study about trash washed up in North Carolina, the physics of ocean waves as they meet the shoreline- longitudinal waves, transverse waves and how they propagate.(Ashley Metz)
SS1. Earth’s Place in the Universe
SS1. Earth’s Place in the Universe
4-ESS1-1. Use evidence from a given landscape that includes simple landforms and rock layers to support a claim about the role of erosion or deposition in the formation of the landscape over long periods of time.
Clarification Statements:
Examples of evidence and claims could include rock layers with shell fossils above rock layers with plant fossils and no shells, indicating a change from deposition on land to deposition in water over time; and a canyon with rock layers in the walls and a river in the bottom, indicating that a river eroded the rock over time.
Examples of simple landforms can include valleys, hills, mountains, plains, and canyons.
Focus should be on relative time.
What this looks like in the classroom:
Marine Life of New England- Students learn about species that live in the Gulf of Maine. Students looked at the nominees for the Earthshot Awards, especially Cforester, that creates deep sea kelp forests on Cassius Ledge, and did letter-writing to protect Cassius Ledge. Students also went to the New England Aquarium, had an in-school whale simulation, and learned about humpback whales.(Ashley Metz)
What this looks like in the classroom(Chat GPT):
Create a model of a mountain range using paper mache or clay. Students can research different types of mountain ranges and recreate one of their choice.
Make a diorama of a beach scene. Students can learn about different coastal landforms, such as beaches, cliffs, and coves, and create a scene that depicts these features.
Draw a cross-section of a canyon. Students can learn about how canyons are formed and draw a diagram that shows the different layers of rock and soil.
Create a model of a volcano. Students can learn about different types of volcanoes and their eruptions and create a model that shows the different layers of the volcano.
Make a 3D model of a river system such as the Aberjona river. Students can learn about the different parts of a river, including the source, tributaries, and mouth, and create a model that shows how water flows through the system
ESS2. Earth’s Systems
ESS2. Earth’s Systems
4-ESS2-1. Make observations and collect data to provide evidence that rocks, soils, and sediments are broken into smaller pieces through mechanical weathering and moved around through erosion.
Clarification Statements:
Mechanical weathering processes can include frost wedging, abrasion, and tree root wedging.
Erosion can include movement by blowing wind, flowing water, and moving ice.
State Assessment Boundary:
Chemical processes are not expected in state assessment.
What this looks like in the classroom:
Examine, identify and catagorize minerals found in the schoolyard and elsewhere
4-ESS2-2. Analyze and interpret maps of Earth’s mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, volcanoes, and earthquake epicenters to describe patterns of these features and their locations relative to boundaries between continents and oceans.
What this looks like in the classroom:
ESS3. Earth and Human Activity
ESS3. Earth and Human Activity
4-ESS3-1. Obtain information to describe that energy and fuels humans use are derived from natural resources and that some energy and fuel sources are renewable and some are not.
Clarification Statements:
Examples of renewable energy resources could include wind energy, water behind dams, tides, and sunlight.
Non-renewable energy resources are fossil fuels and nuclear materials.
What this looks like in the classroom:
Kidwind
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4-ESS3-2. Evaluate different solutions to reduce the impacts of a natural event such as an earthquake, blizzard, or flood on humans.*
Clarification Statement:
Examples of solutions could include an earthquake-resistant building or a constructed wetland to mitigate flooding.
What this looks like in the classroom:
Investigate why the recent earthquake in Turkey caused so much death and destruction.
Investigate "Climate Ready Boston"- What is Boston doing to allieviate the effects of climate change and sea-level rise?
LS1. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
LS1. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that animals and plants have internal and external structures that support their survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Clarification Statements:
Animal structures can include legs, wings, fins, feathers, trunks, claws, horns, antennae, eyes, ears, nose, heart, stomach, lung, brain, and skin.
Plant structures can include leaves, roots, stems, bark, branches, flowers, fruit, and seeds.
State Assessment Boundary:
State assessment will be limited to macroscopic structures.
What this looks like in the classroom:
PS3. Energy
PS3. Energy
4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
State Assessment Boundaries:
State assessment will be limited to analysis of kinetic energy.
Accounting for mass, quantitative measures of changes in the speed of an object, or any precise or quantitative definition of energy is not expected in state assessment.
4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
Clarification Statement:
Changes in energy can include a change in the object’s motion, position, and the generation of heat and/or sound.
State Assessment Boundary:
Analysis of forces or quantitative measurements of energy are not expected in state assessment.
4-PS3-2. Make observations to show that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Clarification Statements:
Evidence of energy being transferred can include vibrations felt a small distance from a source, a solar-powered toy that moves when placed in direct light, warming a metal object on one end and observing the other end getting warm, and a wire carrying electric energy from a battery to light a bulb.
State Assessment Boundary:
Quantitative measurements of energy are not expected in state assessment.
4-PS3-4. Apply scientific principles of energy and motion to test and refine a device that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy or uses stored energy to cause motion or produce light or sound.*
Clarification Statement:
Sources of stored energy can include water in a bucket or a weight suspended at a height, and a battery
What this looks like in the classroom:
Introduction: Begin by explaining the concept of energy and its various forms, such as sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Sound: Start with sound as an example of energy transfer. Explain that sound travels through the air and can be heard by our ears. Give examples of sound energy transfer, such as a ringing telephone, a doorbell, or music playing on a radio.
Light: Move on to light energy transfer. Explain that light travels through space and can be seen by our eyes. Give examples of light energy transfer, such as a lamp, a flashlight, or the sun.
Heat: Next, explain that heat energy is transferred when there is a difference in temperature. Heat energy moves from hotter objects to colder objects. Give examples of heat energy transfer, such as a hot stove, a cup of hot chocolate, or a warm blanket.
Electric Currents: Finally, explain that electric currents are a type of energy transfer that moves through wires or other conductive materials. Build simple electric cars.
Activity: To reinforce the concept of energy transfer, provide students with materials such as rubber bands, marbles, or toy cars and ask them to transfer energy from one object to another using sound, light, heat, or electric currents.
Students design, build, and test rubber-band vehicles or mousetrap-driven cars,
Investigate where the energy used by their family comes from, including electricity, natural gas, and gasoline.
PS4. Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
PS4. Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
4-PS4-1. Develop a model of a simple mechanical wave (including sound) to communicate that waves (a) are regular patterns of motion along which energy travels and (b) can cause objects to move.
Clarification Statement:
Examples of models could include diagrams, analogies, and physical models. State Assessment Boundary:
Interference effects, electromagnetic waves, or non-periodic waves are not expected in state assessment.
4-PS4-2. Develop a model to describe that light must reflect off an object and enter the eye for the object to be seen.
State Assessment Boundary:
Specific colors reflected and seen, the cellular mechanisms of vision, angles of incidence and reflection, or how the retina works are not expected in state assessment.
4-PS4-3. Develop and compare multiple ways to transfer information through encoding, sending, receiving, and decoding a pattern.*
Clarification Statement:
Examples of solutions could include drums sending coded information through sound waves, using a grid of 1s and 0s representing black and white to send information about a picture, and using Morse code to send text.
What this looks like in the classroom:
Have students create a binary(on/off) code using a flashlight that can send a message.
Have students send messages using Microbits.
ETS1. Engineering Design
ETS1. Engineering Design
4.3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out tests of one or more design features of a given model or prototype in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify which features need to be improved. Apply the results of tests to redesign a model or prototype.*
Clarification Statement:
• Examples of design features can include materials, size, shape, and weight.
4.3-5-ETS1-5(MA). Evaluate relevant design features that must be considered in building a model or prototype of a solution to a given design problem.*
What this looks like in the classroom:
Design, test, and improve a device to send messages using sound, light, or electricity.
Create a video game using Scratch
Design, build, test, and improves a wind-driven generator
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