Grade 4 Science
Unit — Structure, Function and Information Processing
Essential Questions
How are waves used to transfer energy and information?
How do organisms live, grow, respond to their environment, and reproduce?
Guiding Questions
What is light?
How can one explain the varied effects that involve light?
What other forms of electromagnetic radiation are there?
How do the structures of organisms enable life’s functions?
How do organisms detect, process, and use information about the environment?
How do we know what’s around us?
How do structures support the survival of organisms?
Resources
QFT Materials
Teacher Manual
Science Notebooks
Worksheets
Sci 21 Kit
Skills
Students will:
ask questions and define problems.
develop and use models.
plan and carry out investigations.
analyze and interpret data.
use mathematics and computational thinking.
construct explanations and design solutions.
engage in arguments from evidence.
obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.
PS4.B:(4-PS4-2)
LS1.A: (4-LS1-1)
LS1.D: (4-LS1-2)
The parentheses represent the Performance Expectations that are connected to each Core Idea.
Unit — Energy
Essential Questions
How is energy transferred and conserved?
How do Earth’s surface processes and human activities affect each other?
How do engineers solve problems?
Guiding Questions
What is energy?
What is meant by conservation of energy? How is energy transferred between objects or systems?
How are forces related to energy?
How do food and fuel provide energy?
If energy is conserved, why do people say it is produced or used?
How do humans depend on Earth’s resources?
What is a design for?
What are the criteria and constraints of a successful solution?
Where does the energy come from and where does the energy go?
Resources
QFT Materials
Teacher Manual
Science Notebooks
Worksheets
Sci 21 Kit
Skills
Students will:
ask questions and define problems.
develop and use models.
plan and carry out investigations.
analyze and interpret data.
use mathematics and computational thinking.
construct explanations and design solutions.
engage in arguments from evidence.
obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.
PS3.A: (4- PS3-1) , (4-PS3-2), (4-PS3-3)
PS3.B: (4-PS3-2), (4-PS3- 3), (4-PS3-2), (4- PS3-4)
PS3.C: (4-PS3-3)
PS3.D:(4-PS3-4)
ESS3.A: (4-ESS3-1)
ETS1.A: ( 4-PS3-4)
The parentheses represent the Performance Expectations that are connected to each Core Idea.
Unit — Waves and Information
Essential Questions
How are waves used to transfer energy and information?
How do engineers solve problems?
Guiding Questions
What are the characteristic properties and behaviors of waves?
How are instruments that transmit and detect waves used to extend human senses?
How can the various proposed design solutions be compared and improved?
How are wave patterns and energy related?
Resources
Teacher Manual
Science Notebooks
Worksheets
Sci 21 Kit
Skills
Students will:
ask questions and define problems.
develop and use models.
plan and carry out investigations.
analyze and interpret data.
use mathematics and computational thinking.
construct explanations and design solutions.
engage in arguments from evidence.
obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.
PS4.A: (4-PS4-1), (4-PS4-1)
PS4.C: (4-PS4-3)
ETS1.C: (4-PS4-3)
The parentheses represent the Performance Expectations that are connected to each Core Idea.
Unit — Processes That Shape the Earth
Essential Questions
What is the universe, and what is Earth’s place in it?
How and why is Earth constantly changing?
How do Earth’s surface processes and human activities affect each other?
How do engineers solve problems?
Guiding Questions
How do people reconstruct and date events in Earth’s planetary history?
How do Earth’s major systems interact?
Why do the continents move, and what causes earthquakes and volcanoes?
How do living organisms alter Earth’s processes and structures?
How do natural hazards affect individuals and societies?
What is the process for developing potential design solutions?
How do Earth processes change its features and affect humans?
Resources
QFT Materials
Teacher Manual
Science Notebooks
Worksheets
Sci 21 Kit
Skills
Students will:
ask questions and define problems.
develop and use models.
plan and carry out investigations.
analyze and interpret data.
use mathematics and computational thinking.
construct explanations and design solutions.
engage in arguments from evidence.
obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.
ESS1.C: (4-ESS1-1)
ESS2.A: (4-ESS2-1)
ESS2.B: (4-ESS2-2)
ESS2.E: (4- ESS2-1)
ESS3.B: (4-ESS3-2)
ETS1.B: (4-ESS3-2)
The parentheses represent the Performance Expectations that are connected to each Core Idea.