Fourth Grade Science

Science Activities Manual: K-8
World Wide Web Edition (1997)

Four Components For Science Education Derived from a Unique Curricular
Concept
And National Science Education Standards Based

The content objectives and classroom connectors on this page were written by selected Tennessee teachers of science and are congruent with the CE/CE Content Topics listed for Second Grade Science. In addition, Standards and Benchmarks have been added to each classroom connector in compliance with the Four Components of Science Education derived from a unique curricular concept. The grade level presentations prepared by the CE/CE represent one of many ways the classroom connectors can be organized.


GOAL: To develop an understanding of the interdependence of all organisms and the need for conserving natural resources

  • National Science Education Standards' Content Standards, Content Topics, and Rationale

    • CE/CE Concepts and CE/CE Content Objectives Based on CE/CE Content Topics as Defined by NSES Rationale

CE/CE Content Topic B:
Electricity/Magnetism

NSES Content Standard

  • Physical Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism

    Electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, and magnetic effects.

    Electrical circuits require a complete loop through which the electrical current can pass.

    Magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of metals.

    CE/CE Concept Ba:

    • Not all matter conducts electricity.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4B1
        To understand the principles of conduction

    CE/CE Concept Bb:
    • Electric current may travel along one or more paths.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4B2
        To understand the parts of a complete circuit

    • 4B3
        To distinguish between parallel and series circuits

    CE/CE Concept Bc:
    • Magnets are fundamental parts of generators and are required to produce current electricity.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4B4
        To understand the principles of magnetism

    CE/CE Concept Bd:
    • Electricity can be harmful.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4B5
        To know and practice safety rules when using electricity

CE/CE Content Topic C:
Energy/Light/Heat/Sound

NSES Content Standard

  • Physical Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism

    Light travels in a straight line unless it strikes an object Light can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by the object.

    Heat can be produced in many ways such as burning, rubbing, and mixing chemicals. The heat can move from one object to another by conduction.

NSES Content Standard

  • Physical Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Position and motion of objects

    Vibrating objects produce sound. The pitch of the sound can be varied by changing the rate of vibration.

    CE/CE Concept C:
    • Sound, heat, and light have many properties.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4C1
        To understand the properties of sound

    • 4C2
        To understand the properties of heat

    • 4C3
        To understand the properties of light

CE/CE Content Topic E:
Animals

NSES Content Standard

  • Life Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • The characteristics of organisms

    Organisms have basic needs, which for animals are air, water, and food. -Organisms can only survive in environments in which they can meet their needs. The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms.

    Each plant or animal has different structures which serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct structures of the body for walking, holding, seeing, and talking.

    The behavior of individual organisms is influenced by internal cues such as hunger and by external cues such as an environmental change. Humans and other organisms have senses that help them detect internal and external cues.

NSES Content Standard

  • Life Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Life Cycles of organisms

    Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

    Plants and animals closely resemble their parents.

    Many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from, an individual's interactions with the environment. Inherited characteristic include the color of flowers and the number of limbs of an animal. Other features such as the ability to play a musical instrument, are learned through interactions with the environment.

NSES Content Standard

  • Life Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Organisms and their environments

    All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

    CE/CE Concept Ea:
    • Animals differ in many ways.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4E1
        To understand distinguishing characteristics of selected vertebrates and invertebrates

    • 4E2
        To understand the increasing complexity of cellular organization from cell to organism

    CE/CE Concept Eb:
    • Animals must be able to adapt to changes in order to survive.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4E3
        To understand the means and characteristics of animal adaptation

CE/CE Content Topic G:
Anatomy

NSES Content Standard

  • Life Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • The characteristics of organisms

    Each plant or animal has different structures which serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct structures of the body for walking, holding, seeing, and talking.

NSES Content Standard

  • Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Personal health

    Different substances can damage the body and how it functions. Such substances include tobacco, alcohol, over-the-counter medicines, and illicit drugs. Students should understand that some substances such as prescription drugs can be beneficial but that any substance can be harmful.

    CE/CE Concept Ga:
    • The human body is composed of sensory organs which detect heat, light, and sound.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4G1
        To understand the sensory organs and their function

    • 4G2
        To understand the proper care of sensory organs

    CE/CE Concept Gb:
    • Human beings experience the world through their senses.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4G3
        To understand the roles of exercise, sleep, cleanliness, and diet for proper growth and development

CE/CE Content Topic H:
Habitats/Ecosystems/Biomes

NSES Content Standard

  • Life Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Organisms and their environments

    All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

    An organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment, including the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical characteristics of the environment. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.

    All organisms cause changes in the environment where they live. Some of these changes are detrimental to themselves or other organisms, whereas others are beneficial.

    Humans depend on both their natural and their constructed environment. -Humans change environments in ways that can either be beneficial or detrimental for other organisms, including the humans themselves.

    CE/CE Concept H:
    • Living things perform specialized tasks in the environment.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4H1
        To understand the differences among producers, consumers, and decomposers

CE/CE Content Topic I:
Environmental Education

NSES Content Standard

  • Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Types of resources

    Resources include those things that we get from the living and nonliving environment to meet the needs and wants of a population.

    Some resources include basic materials, such as air, water, and soil; some are produced from basic resources, such as food, fuel, and building materials; and some resources are nonmaterial, such as quiet places, beauty, security, and safety.

    The supply of many resources is limited. If used, those materials can be extended through recycling and decreased use.

NSES Content Standard

  • Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Changes in environments

    Environments include the space, conditions, and factors that affect individual's and population's ability to survive and quality of life.

    Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some neither good nor bad, and some are bad. Pollution is a change in the environment that can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.

    Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly. -Students should understand the differences and consequences of changing environments in small increments over long periods of time and changes that occur in large increments in short periods.

    CE/CE Concept Ia:
    • Chemicals may be harmful to the environment.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4I1
        To understand how some chemicals may affect the environment

    CE/CE Concept Ib:
    • Environmental problems may vary from community to community.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4I2
        To understand environmental concerns within the local community

    • 4I3
        To understand how urban and rural environmental problems vary

    CE/CE Concept Ic:
    • Each individual impacts the environment.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4I4
        To understand the relationships between the individual and the environment

CE/CE Content Topic K:
Meteorology

NSES Content Standard

  • Earth and Space Science K-4

NSES Content Topic

  • Objects in the sky

    Weather can change from day to day and over the season. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, precipitation, and humidity.

    CE/CE Concept Ka:
    • Cloud formations are associated with weather conditions.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4K1
        To understand how cloud formations relate to weather conditions

    CE/CE Concept Kb:
    • Atmospheric conditions vary.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4K2
        To understand weather and the effect of changing atmospheric conditions

    • 4K3
        To understand how weather predictions are made

CE/CE Content Topic M:
Oceanography

NSES Content Standard

  • No correlation

NSES Content Topic

  • No correlation

    CE/CE Concept M:
    • Oceans are important to life on earth.

    CE/CE Content Objectives:

    • 4M1
        To understand the physical features of the oceans

    • 4M2
        To understand the relationship among ocean food chains

    • 4M3
        To understand resources provided by the oceans

    • 4M4
        To understand the movement of oceans in currents, tides, and waves



FOURTH GRADE CONTRIBUTIONS TO
SCIENCE ACTIVITIES MANUAL: K-8

World Wide Web Edition (1997)

ROLE NAME GRADE CITY/SCHOOL EDITIONS
Authors Beverly C. Bell Fourth Grade Gleason Elementary 1986
Melba Faye Bell Fourth Grade Martin Elementary 1992, 97
Terry Cupples Fourth Grade West Carroll Primary 1992, 97
Larue R. Wright Fourth Grade Union City East Side 1986, 92
Editing Maurice Houston Field Science Education CESME, CE/CE 1986, 92, 97
Sonya L. Jones Graduate Assistant CE/CE 1997
Sharon Cook Jeffries Faculty Assistant CESME 1987, 88
Mary Carolyn McLeary Faculty Assistant CESME 1986
Editing & HTML Laura A. Roberts-Fieser Graduate Assistant CE/CE 1997
Keyboarding Charlotte Castleman Secretary CE/CE 1992, 97
Diana Daniels Bennett Secretary CE/CE 1986
Mary-Lynn Reithel Typist CESME 1986



For more information please contact the CE/CE Online


This is the time this file has been accessed since 12/20/95.

The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.


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