The three bundles in this Grade 4 model are characterized by the overarching theme that students can find evidence of patterns and systems throughout the natural and designed world. Each bundle also relates to energy transfer, as students begin to learn about the concept of energy in colliding objects and the role of energy in a large system early in the year, and then apply that knowledge to information transfer and to different Earth systems later in the year.

Cognitive demand increases as the year progresses, with the expectations that students will become more adept at using the Science and Engineering Practices and the Crosscutting Concepts. The instruction begins with concrete, familiar experiences and moves to more abstract learning. Note that the practices and Crosscutting Concepts described are intended as end-of-instructional unit expectations and not curricular designations – additional practices and Crosscutting Concepts are used throughout instruction in each bundle.

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Energy

• 4-PS3-1 - Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
• 4-PS3-3 - Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

Earth's Place in the Universe

• 4-ESS1-1 - Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers for changes in a landscape over time to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

Earth's Systems

• 4-ESS2-1 - Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.

Engineering Design

• 3-5 ETS1-2 - Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Energy

• 4-PS3-2 - Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

• 4-PS4-2 - Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye.
• 4-PS4-3 - Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information.

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• 4-LS1-1 - Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
• 4-LS1-2 - Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.

Engineering Design

• 3-5 ETS1-2 - Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Energy

• 4-PS3-4 - Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

• 4-PS4-1 - Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move.

Earth's Systems

• 4-ESS2-1 - Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.
• 4 ESS2-2 - Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.

Earth and Human Activity

• 4-ESS3-1 - Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
• 4-ESS3-2 - Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.