Grade 4

How do clouds differ with different weather?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items:

• Your science journal

• Drawing materials

Let's explore...

• • Observe clouds and draw the clouds in your science journal (notebook) or photograph for a computer program. What weather is happening during the day? Record in your journal the kinds of clouds and the weather associated with the cloud. Do you notice any relationship between the type of clouds and the weather?

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• differentiate among cloud types (i.e., cirrus, stratus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus clouds) and the weather associated with each (4.4 a)

What makes up the ecosystem that is around me?

How does a change in one part of the ecosystem impact other areas?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items:

• Your science journal

• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils

Let's explore...

• • Identify at least 6 plants and/or animals around your home. Draw or take a picture of each of the plants and animals and record it in your science journal. Draw lines between them to show connections and write about why you made the connection between the plants and animals that you chose. These connections may be related to food, shelter, or some other relationship. Can you make connections between all 6?

  • Look at the drawing that you made from the 6 plants and animals you identified from around your home. If you took one of the animals or plants out, what would be the impact on the other organisms you chose? Can you think of other plants and animals that should be included in your drawing? Add a picture of the sun to your drawing. How does the sun fit into your ecosystem?

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• research animals and plants in a local environment and describe interrelationships among these organisms (4.3 b)

• analyze a food web and explain how changes in one part of the food web would affect other organisms (4.3 c)

What is rotating and revolving in my neighborhood?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items:

• Your science journal

• Any toy such as a spinning top or a string tied to a small object

Let's explore...

• • Can you slowly twirl (spin) around, staying in the same spot on the floor? Be careful and don’t spin so that you get dizzy. Can you think of any toys or other objects that can twirl in a similar way? This motion is called rotation.

  • Put a chair in the center of a room. Walk around the chair in a circle. This is called a revolution. Can you think of anything that does both—rotates and revolves around something?

  • In your journal, draw a line down the middle. At the top of each column, write “Things that Rotate” on one side and “Things that Revolve” on the other side. Explore your home and neighborhood and list things you see that rotate and revolve in your science journal.

Things that Rotate Things that Revolve

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• create a model that demonstrates the differences between rotation and revolution (4.5 a)

How do the planets differ in our solar system?

Let's investigate...

Grab the following items:

• Your science journal

• Internet or book on our solar system

Let's explore...

• • There are eight planets in our solar system. Each planet has different characteristics including size, distance from the sun, temperature, number of moons, and composition. Pick one of the planets in our solar system. Research your planet using books, the internet, or television programs. What are the characteristics of your planet? How far is your planet from the sun? How does this distance impact the temperature of the planet?

  • Share your planet characteristics with others in your family. You may choose different ways to share the information including building a model, creating a picture, or creating a digital product.

  • You can find information about the planets at this website:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/overview/

Essential Knowledge and Practice (connection to the science curriculum)

• research the planets and communicate basic characteristics of each, including whether each is terrestrial or a gas giant, and its relative location in the solar system (4.5 b)