Fourth Grade
Second Semester
UNIT FOUR: ENERGY: FORCE AND MOTION (4-PS3-3)
We worked on asking questions and predicting outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide. We set up lots of experiments and looked at online simulations in PhET's Collision Lab to look for patterns in the causal relationships (4-PS3-3)
We worked on making Lego Pinballs machines. We used Legos and rubber bands to create levers that would cause collisions and cause the ball to ideally follow a predictable path to create a game.
We wanted to try making some paper-coasters, (above was our inspiration) but we found it super hard to store them between lab sessions.
After using the PhET Collision Lab simulation, we were wondering how computer programmers can make accurate simulations of "bouncing" and "collisions" so we learned about the "if touching then" sensing function and the "if on end bounce" motion functions and used them to create some fun projects in Scratch.
Sample Scratch Catch/Bounce Projects
Scratch Catch/Bounce Project One
Scratch Catch/Bounce Project Two
Scratch Catch/Bounce Project Three
Fun "Station Day" exploring how force and motion are used in things we play with...HotWheels, Catapults, and Osmo Newton App. And that's a wrap to this unit!
UNIT FIVE: ENERGY: SOUND, LIGHT, HEAT, AND ELECTRICITY (4-PS3-2 & 4-PS3-4)
We began our exploration of devices that convert one form of energy to another with Snap Circuits. We made observations about how the energy is being transferred throughout the circuit. We turned the CHEMICAL ENERGY in the batteries and SOLAR/HEAT energy into ELECTRICAL energy that then converted into LIGHT, KINETIC (motion), and SOUND energy. We will apply these ideas when we begin to engineer our own devices (4-PS3-4)
Some kids wanted to know where they could get their own kits:
UNIT SIX: WAVES (4-PS4-3)
Coming Soon...
First Semester
UNIT ONE: PROCESSES THAT SHAPE THE EARTH (4-ESS2-1)
WEATHERING AND EROSION WALK AROUND THE SCHOOL GROUNDS
We found exposed roots, exposed landscape fabric, cracks in the sidewalks, pitting around the rails and in the sidewalk, as well as some efforts to stop weathering and erosion, like to use of rocks on the hill by the run-off pipe. We asked a lot of questions about why this might be happening and what we could do to lessen the effects of weathering and erosion around our school.
This was a particularly interesting discovery. The dirt under the side stairs has been eroding away. Someone has added gravel to try to slow down the process....we are wondering if that will help slow down the process. We will have to check again.
Mystery Science: Why is there sand at the beach?
We investigated the effects of rocks tumbling down a river in order to construct an explanation of small rocks and sand at the beach.
Cookie Erosion: We investigated through this model the effects of various agents of weathering (water, wind, and human).
Mystery Science: If You Floated Down a river, where would you end up?
We developed a model of the Earth's surface to make discoveries about water flow on Earth.
UNIT TWO: INFORMATION PROCESSING (4-LS1-2)
We did some studying of how the brain works and how it is part of your nervous system. We looked at mdoels and how your brain is in constant communication with the rest of your body.
Today we did stations. We tried out some reaction time games online in our fourth grade workspace. Then we created models to help understand how our brains, eyes, and hands were working as a system when played these games.
"I discovered about 150 dots is the minimum number of dots to make a specific recognizable person." - C. Close
"Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I only see science" - G Seurat.
Artists invite us to use our senses in viewing art, but what is the science behind our perception of art? Artists ask us to use our senses when we imagine textures, smells, and even tastes of what is depicted in their art. But some artists toy with our senses and manipulate our perception of what we are seeing to create art that mystifies and fascinates us.
At station two, students explored the works of Lichtenstein, Chuck Close, and Seurat. Then they worked to create their own art using only dots. We wanted to see if our brains could interpret the message of colored dots that our eyes were sending it.
At the third station, we explored books of optical illusions and read about how they work to trick our brains into seeing some wild or oscillating images. We even tried drawing some ourselves.
The Ultimate Book of Optical Illusions
UNIT THREE: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION (4-LS1-1)
Students were given information about various known skulls (cow, coyote, and squirrel). Once students understood the clues that could be revealed by the skull about a mammal's identify, they were given a "mystery mammal". They used clues such as the skull of the mystery animal, a rubber model of the feet and scat, and a pelt of the fur of the mammal as evidence to construct an argument as to the identity of their mammals. Students used teamwork and their deductive thinking powers to figure the mystery out!
