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This curriculum is part of the Educational Program of Studies of the Rahway Public Schools.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Kevin K. Robinson, Program Supervisor of STEM

The Board acknowledges the following who contributed to the preparation of this curriculum.

Jaclyn Basso

Cynthia Zatorski

Dr. Debra Sheard, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction

Subject/Course Title: Date of Board Adoptions:

Science Revised – September 19, 2017

Grade 4

RAHWAY PUBLIC SCHOOLS CURRICULUM

UNIT OVERVIEW

Content Area: Science

Unit Title: Earth Science (Earth’s Systems & Earth and Human Activity)

Target Course/Grade Level: Grade 4

Unit Summary: This unit provides the students with four investigations that focus on the concepts that weathering by

ice, water, wind, living organisms and gravity break rocks into smaller pieces, erosion (water, ice and wind) transports

earth materials to new locations, and deposition is the result of that transport process that builds new land.

Students will be given the opportunity to conduct controlled experiments by incrementally changing specific

environmental conditions to determine the impact of changing the variables of slope and amount of water in stream

tables.

Students will interpret data from diagrams and visual representations to build explanations from evidence and make

predictions of future events.

Students develop Model Mountains and represent the landforms from different perspectives to look for change.

Approximate Length of Unit: Third Marking Period (March-June)

Primary interdisciplinary connections: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Mathematics

LEARNING TARGETS

New Jersey Student Learning Standards:

4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for

changes in a landscape over time.

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.

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.

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth

Local, regional, and global patterns of rock formations reveal changes over time due to earth forces, such as

earthquakes. The presence and location of certain fossil types indicate the order in which rock layers were

formed.

(4-ESS1-1)

ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems

Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living

organisms, and gravity break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles and move them around. (4-ESS2-

1)

ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions

The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur

in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between

continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate

the different land and water features areas of Earth. (4-ESS2-2)

ESS2.E: Biogeology

Living things affect the physical characteristics of their regions. (4-ESS2-1)

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in

multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, and others are not. (4-ESS3-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Humans

cannot eliminate the hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts. (4-ESS3-2)

ETS1.B: Designing Solutions to Engineering Problems

Testing a solution involves investigating how well it performs under a range of likely conditions.

(secondary to 4-ESS3-2)

Science and Engineering Practices:

Planning and carrying out investigations

Analyzing and interpreting data

Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Obtaining, evaluation, and communicating information

Crosscutting Concepts:

Patterns:

Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort and classify natural phenomena

Patterns of change can be used to make predictions

Cause and Effect:

Cause-and-effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change

Scale, Proportion and Quantity:

Observable phenomena exist from very short to very long time periods.

Systems and system models:

A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

Stability and Change: Change is measured in terms of differences over time and may occur at different rates. Some systems appear stable, but over long periods of time will eventually change.

Structure and Function: Substructures have shapes and parts that serve functions. Different materials have different substructures which can sometimes be observed.

Interdisciplinary Connections Standards:

ELA Literacy:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly

and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7: Interpret information presented visually; explain how the information contributes to

an understanding of the text in which it appears.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak

about the subject knowledgably.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of

different aspects of a topic.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print

and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and

research.

Mathematics:

MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

MP.4 Model with mathematics.

MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically.

4.MD.A.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb,, oz.; l,

ml; hr., min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller

unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table.

4.MD.A.2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes,

masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require

expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using

diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/4/7/

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/4/9/

4.OA.A.1 Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison, e.g., interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times

as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5. Represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication

equations.

21st Century Learning Standards:

CRP1. Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee.

CRP2. Apply appropriate academic and technical skills.

CRP4. Communicate clearly and effectively and with reason.

CRP5. Consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of decisions.

CRP6. Demonstrate creativity and innovation.

CRP7. Employ valid and reliable research strategies.

CRP8. Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

CRP9. Model integrity, ethical leadership and effective management.

CRP11. Use technology to enhance productivity.

CRP12. Work productively in teams while using cultural global competence.

Unit Understandings

Students will understand that…

identifying evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers can support an explanation for

changes in a landscape over time.

measurements and/or observations can provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by

water, ice, wind or vegetation.

analyzing and interpreting data from maps are used to describe patterns of Earth’s features.

multiple solutions can be generated and compared to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.

Unit Essential Questions

How do Earth’s major systems interact?

How do living organisms alter Earth’s processes and structures?

How do people reconstruct and date events in Earth’s planetary history?

How do Earth’s major systems interact?

Why the continents move, and what do causes earthquakes and volcanoes?

How do natural hazards affect individuals and societies?

What is the process for developing potential design solutions?

How do humans depend on Earth’s resources?

What is a design for?

What are the criteria and constraints for a successful solution?

Unit Focus Questions

What is soil?

What causes big rocks to break down into smaller rocks?

How are rocks affected by acid rain?

What’s in our schoolyard soil?

How do weathered rock pieces move from one place to another?

How does slope affect erosion and deposition?

How do floods affect erosion and deposition?

Where are erosion and deposition happening in our schoolyard?

How do fossils get in rocks and what can they tell us about the past?

How can we represent the different elevation of landforms?

How can we draw a profile of a mountain from a topographic map?

How can scientists and engineers help reduce the impacts that events like volcanic eruptions might have on

people?

What events can change the Earth’s surface quickly?

What are natural resources and what is important to know about them?

How are natural resources used to make concrete?

How do people use natural resources to make or build things?

Knowledge and Skills

Students will know…

soils can be described by their properties.

soils are composed of different kinds and amounts of earth materials and humus.

weathering is the breakdown of rocks and minerals at or near the Earth’s surface.

the physical-weathering processes of abrasion and freezing break rocks and minerals into smaller pieces.

chemical weathering occurs when exposure to water and air changes rocks and minerals into something new.

weathered rock material can be reshaped into new landforms by the slow processes of erosion and deposition.

erosion is the transport (movement) of weathered rock material (sediments) by moving water or wind.

deposition is the settling of sediments when the speed of moving water or wind declines.

the rate and volume of erosion relate directly to the amount of energy in moving water or wind.

the energy of moving water depends on the mass of water in motion and its velocity. The greater the mass and

velocity, the greater the energy.

fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago as well as clues to changes in the landscape and past

environments.

a topographic map uses contour lines to show the shape and elevation of the land.

the change in elevation between two adjacent contour lines is always uniform. The closer the contour lines, the

steeper the slope and vice versa.

a profile is a side view or cross-section representation of a landform, and can be derived from the information on

a topographic map.

the surface of Earth is constantly changing; sometimes those changes take a long time to occur and sometimes

they happen rapidly.

catastrophic events have the potential to change Earth’s surface quickly.

scientists and engineers can do things to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.

natural resources are natural materials taken from the environment and used by humans.

rocks and minerals are natural resources important for shelter and transportation.

concrete is an important building made from earth materials (limestone to make cement, sand and gravel for

aggregates, and water for mixing).

some natural resources are renewable (sunlight, air and wind, water, soil, plants, and animals) and some are

nonrenewable (minerals and fossil fuels).

alternative sources of energy include solar, wind, and geothermal energy.

scientists and engineers work together to improve the use of natural resources to make them more durable and

useful.

Vocabulary:

Investigation 1(Soils and Weathering): abrasion, acid rain, basalt, calcite, chemical reaction, chemical weathering,

clay, conglomerate, earth material, expand, freeze, granite, gravel, humus, limestone, marble, model, pebble, physical

weathering, rock, sand, sandstone, silt, soil, system, weathering

Investigation 2(Landforms): alluvial fan, basin, canyon, cast, delta, deposition, erosion, flood, floodplain, fossil,

imprint, landform, meander, mold, mountain, petrification, preserved remains, river, channel, river mouth, sediment,

shale, slope, superposition, valley

Investigation 3 (Mapping Earth’s Surface): contour interval, contour line, crust, earthquake, elevation, landslide, lava,

magma, mantle, profile, satellite, cone, sea level, topographic map, volcano

Investigation 4( Natural Resources): aggregate, cement, concrete, fossil fuel, geothermal power, natural resource,

nonrenewable resource, renewable resource, solar energy, wind power

Students will be able to…

Investigate the composition of soils from four different locations.

Use evidence from investigations to explain the effects of physical and chemical weathering.

Observe and compare local soils.

Use stream tables to investigate how the slow processes of erosion and deposition alter landforms over time.

Make predictions about stream-table investigations and compare results or the predictions.

Represent landforms in different ways to gather new information.

Make observations and interpret them to develop explanations in the way that scientists do.

Observe how earth materials are used in the community around the school.

Consider the ways people impact natural resources and how humans can conserve them.

EVIDENCE OF LEARNING

Assessment

What evidence will be collected and deemed acceptable to show that students truly “understand”?

Notebook entries, response sheets, and performance assessments throughout investigations

Investigation I-Checks

Survey/Post tests

Online Assessments

Learning Activities

What differentiated learning experiences and instruction will enable all students to achieve the desired results?

Hands- On Investigations

FOSS Kit Online Activities

Building An Argument based on a model

Recording notes

Completing graphic organizers

Reading articles connected to the content and writing about the reading

Whole class, small group, and partner discussions

Home/School Connection Activities

Interdisciplinary Extension Activities provided at the end of each investigation

Provide outside experiences to conduct FOSS related investigations

Incorporate Regional Resources and outside websites

Watch streaming videos and virtual investigations based on content

Teaching Strategies

What strategies can be taught to help all students learn the content?

Multiple-choice discussions

Multiple-choice corners

Key points

Revision with color

Review and critique anonymous student work

Line of learning

Group consensus/whiteboards

Class debate

Critical competitor

Sentence starters

Feedback notes

Response log

Conferences

Centers

Vocabulary Words: Hear it, see it, say it, write it

Create conceptual flow charts

Word Wall

Explicitly model for students how to take notes throughout an investigation

Activate prior knowledge

Use comprehensible input (content objectives, multiple exposures, visual input, supported reading, procedural

vocabulary)

Develop academic language

Provide oral practice

Revisit content with streaming videos and tutorial videos

RESOURCES

Teacher Resources:

Next Generation Science Standards (https://www.nextgenscience.org/)

FOSS Kit Energy Investigations Guide

FOSS Web Resources for the Soils, Rocks, and Landforms Module

o Interactive investigations Guide

o Resources by Investigation

o Module Summary

o Important Module Updates

o Home/School Connection

o PDF-based Investigations Guide

o Teacher Prep Videos

o FOSS map

o Module Teaching Notes

Science Notebooks

Science Resources Book

Assessment Guide

Equipment Needed:

Smart Board or Interactive White Board

Energy Kit Materials—see materials needed per investigation (See Materials Section in Teachers Guide)

Safety posters

Laptops or computers/headphones

White boards and markers

Notebook Sheets

FOSS Web Resources

Word Wall materials

Home/School Connections Materials

Library books as specified in materials section of teachers guide

Science Notebooks


Assessment Materials per Investigation

Technology Resources for Students/Parents:

Online activities

FOSS Science Resources-eBooks

Media Library

Home/school connection

Class pages

Streamed videos

Technology Resources for Teachers

FOSS web Portal(Teachers):


o Investigations guide

o Teacher-preparation video

o Interactive whiteboard resources for grades 3-5

o Focus questions

o Module updates

o Module teaching notes

o Home/school connection

o State and regional resources

o Access to FOSS developers

o Recommended books and websites

o Equipment photo cards

o Online Assessments

o Generating reports based on assessments

UNIT OVERVIEW

LEARNING TARGETS



Unit Title: Life Science - Environments


Unit Summary: This unit provides students with the opportunity to observe and describe the living and nonliving

components in terrestrial environments. They will investigate the response of Isopods to varying environmental factors.

Students will create a freshwater aquarium with different kinds of fish, plants, and other organisms where they will

monitor the environmental factors in the system and look for feeding interaction among the population. Students will

learn about the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in food chains and webs in terrestrial and aquatic

systems, including a marine ecosystem. Through an outdoor simulation, students learn how food affects a population’s

home range.

Students explore how animals receive information from their environment through their sensory system and use the

information to guide their actions.

Students will conduct controlled experiments by changing specific environmental conditions to determine the range of

tolerance for early growth of seeds and hatching of brine shrimp, and use this data to develop and use models to

understand the impact of change to the environment.

Approximate Length of Unit: Second Marking Period (November/December-February)



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.

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-PS4-2: Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eyes allows objects to be seen.


LS1.A: Structure and Function ● Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival,

behavior and reproduction. (4-LS1-1) (4-LS1-2)

LS1.D: Information Processing ● Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may then be processed by an

animal’s brain.

● Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions. (4-LS1-1) (4-LS1-2)

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience ● When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability

of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the

transformed environment, and some die. (Extended from Grade 3) (4-ESS3-1) (3-LS4-4)

LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

● Fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their

environments.

● Fossils can be compared with one another and to living organisms according to their similarities and differences.

(3-LS4-1) (3-LS4-2) (3-LS4-3) (3-LS4-4)

LS4.B: Natural Selection ● Sometimes the differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species provide advantages in

surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. (Extended from Grade 3). (4-LS1-1) (3-LS4-1) (3-LS4-2) (3-LS4-3)

(3-LS4-4)

LS4.C: Adaptation ● Changes in an organism’s habitat are sometimes beneficial to it and sometimes harmful.

● For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some

cannot survive at all. (4-LS1-1) (3-LS4-1) (3-LS4-2) (3-LS4-3) (3-LS4-4)

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans

● Scientists have identified and classified many plants and animals.

● Populations of organisms live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affect the organisms living

there.

● Humans, like all other organisms, obtain living and nonliving resources from their environments.(Extended from

Grade 3) (4-ESS3-1) (3-LS4-1) (3-LS4-2) (3-LS4-3) (3-LS4-4)

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

Energy and Fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources and their use affects the environment in

multiple ways. (Extended from Grade 3). (4-ESS3-1)

● Energy and Fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources and their use affects the environment in

multiple ways. (Extended from Grade 3). (4-ESS3-1)


● Asking questions and defining problems

● Developing and using models

● Planning and carrying out investigations

● Analyzing and interpreting data

● Constructing explanations and designing solutions

● Engaging in argument from data

● Obtaining, evaluation, and communicating information

● Using mathematics and computational thinking


Cause and Effect: ● Cause-and-effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.

Systems and System Models:

● A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.


ELA Literacy:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and

information. (4-LS1-1)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5: Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to

enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Mathematics:

4.G.A.1: Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines.

Identify these in two-dimensional figures. (4-PS4-2)

4.G.A.3: Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can

be folded across the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.











CRP12. Work productively in teams while using cultural global competence

Unit Understandings


● plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and

reproduction..

● animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and

respond to the information in different ways..

● energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment..

● analyzing and interpreting data from fossils will provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in

which they lived long ago.

● variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding

mates, and reproducing.

● when the environment changes, the types of plants and animals that live there may change.in a particular habitat.


● How do structures of organisms enable life’s functions?

● How do organisms detect, process, and use information about the environment?

● How can there be so many similarities among organisms yet so many different kinds of plants, animals, and

microorganisms?

● What is biodiversity, how do humans affect it, and how does it affect humans?

● How does genetic variation among organisms affect survival and reproduction?

● How do Earth’s surface processes and human activity affect each other?

● What evidence shows that different species are related?

Unit Focus Question

● How do mealworm structures and behaviors help them grow and survive?

● What moisture conditions do isopods prefer?

● What light conditions do isopods prefer?

● What are the characteristics of animals living in the leaf-litter environment?

● What are the environmental factors in an aquatic system?

● What are the roles of organisms in a food chain?

● How does food affect a population in its home range?

● How do animals use their sense of hearing?

● How can we find out if salinity affects brine shrimp hatching?

● How does salinity affect the hatching of brine shrimp eggs?

● Does changing the environment allow the brine shrimp eggs to hatch?

● What are some benefits of having variation within a population?

● How much water is needed for early growth of different kinds of plants?

● What is the salt tolerance of several common farm crops?

● How does mapping the plants in the schoolyard help us to investigate environmental factors?

● What are some examples of plant adaptations?



● An environment is everything living and nonliving that surrounds and influences an organism.

● A relationship exists between environmental factors and how well organisms grow.

● Animals have structures and behaviors that function to support survival, growth, and reproduction.

● Every organism has a set of preferred environmental conditions.

● Designing an investigation involves controlling the factors so that the effect of one factor can be observed.

● Isopods prefer moist, dark environments.

● Aquatic environments include living and nonliving factors (water and temperature).

● An aquatic environment can contain many different kinds of organisms that interact.

● The interaction of organisms with one another and with the nonliving environment is an ecosystem.

● Organisms interact in feeding relationships in ecosystems.

● Producers (plants, algae, phytoplankton) make their own food, which is also used by animals (consumers).

● Organisms may compete for resources in an ecosystem.

● Decomposers eat dead plant and animal materials and recycle the nutrients in the system.

● When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others move to new locations,

and some die.

● Animals communicate to warn others of danger, scare predators away, or locate others of their kind, including

family members.

● Organisms have sensory systems to gather information about their environment and act on it.

● Brine shrimp are crustaceans that live in marine or salt pond environments.

● An environmental factor is one part of an environment which can be living or nonliving.

● Organisms have ranges of tolerance for environmental factors.

● Within a range of tolerance, there are optimum conditions that produce maximum reproduction and growth.


● Brine shrimp eggs can hatch in a range of salt concentrations, but more hatch in environments with optimum salt

concentration.

● Individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an

advantage in surviving and reproducing.

● Every organism has a range of tolerance for each factor in its environment.

● Organisms have specific requirements for successful growth, development, and reproduction.

● Optimum conditions are those most favorable to an organism.

● Fossils are important evidence about extinct organisms and past environments.

● Adaptations are structures and behaviors of an organism that help it survive and reproduce.

Vocabulary:

Investigation 1 (Environmental Factors):

adult antennae behavior condition darkling beetle environment environmental factor function inference isopod larva life

cycle living mealworm molting nonliving observation organism pill bug preferred environment pupa pupate sow bug

stage structure

Investigation 2 (Ecosystems):

algae aquarium aquatic environment carnivore carrying capacity competition consumer decomposer ecosystem elodea

energy food chain food web freshwater environment herbivore home range interaction microorganism omnivore

phytoplankton population predator prey producer zooplankton

Investigation 3 (Brine Shrimp Hatching): brine shrimp concentration controlled experiment inherited trait migrate optimum range of tolerance reproduce salinity

salt lake survive thrive tolerance variation viable

Investigation 4 (Range of Tolerance):

adaptation dominant plant drought irrigate plant distribution salt-sensitive salt-tolerant


● Design an investigation so that the effect of one environmental factor can be observed.

● Determine an organism’s environmental preferences for various nonliving environmental factors to better

understand the environment in which it will survive.

● Observe and record changes in animals and their environment over time.

● Identify and describe ecosystem feeding relationships.

● Use modeling to construct representations of the natural world and make predictions.

● Conduct a scientific investigation and build explanations from evidence.

● Design an investigation to test the viability of brine shrimp eggs.

● Conduct controlled experiments with four kinds of plants to discover their range of tolerance for water and their

range of salt tolerance.

● Graph and interpret data from multiple trials from plant experiments.

Assessment


● Notebook entries, response sheets, and performance assessments throughout investigations

● Investigation I-Checks

● Survey/Post tests

● Online Assessments

Learning Activities

RESOURCES


● Hands- On Investigations

● FOSS Kit Online Activities

● Building An Argument based on a model

● Recording notes

● Completing graphic organizers

● Reading articles connected to the content and writing about the reading

● Whole class, small group, and partner discussions

● Home/School Connection Activities

● Interdisciplinary Extension Activities provided at the end of each investigation

● Provide outside experiences to conduct FOSS related investigations

● Incorporate Regional Resources and outside websites

● Watch streaming videos and virtual investigations based on content

Teaching Strategies


● Multiple-choice discussions

● Multiple-choice corners

● Key points

● Revision with color

● Review and critique anonymous student work

● Line of learning

● Group consensus/whiteboards

● Class debate

● Critical competitor

● Sentence starters

● Feedback notes

● Response log

● Conferences

● Centers

● Vocabulary Words: Hear it, see it, say it, write it

● Create conceptual flow charts

● Word Wall

● Explicitly model for students how to take notes throughout an investigation

● Activate prior knowledge

● Use comprehensible input (content objectives, multiple exposures, visual input, supported reading, procedural

vocabulary)

● Develop academic language

● Provide oral practice

● Revisit content with streaming videos and tutorial videos

Teacher Resources:

● Next Generation Science Standards (https://www.nextgenscience.org/)

● FOSS Kit Environments Investigations Guide

● FOSSWeb Resources for the Environment Module

o Interactive eInvestigations Guide


o Module Summary





o FOSSmap


● Science Notebooks

● Science Resources Book

● Assessment Guide

Equipment Needed:

● Smartboard or Interactive Whiteboard

● Environment Kit Materials—see materials needed per investigation (See Materials Section in Teachers Guide)

● Safety posters

● Laptops or computers/headphones

● White boards and markers

● Notebook Sheets

● FOSSWeb Resources

● Word Wall materials

● Home/School Connections Materials

● Library books as specified in materials section of teachers guide

● Science Notebooks

● Science Resources Book

● Assessment Materials per Investigation


● Online activities

● FOSS Science Resources-eBooks

● Media Library

● Home/school connection

● Class pages

● Streamed videos


● FOSSweb Portal(Teachers):


o Investigations eGuide



o Focus questions

o Module updates









UNIT OVERVIEW


Unit Title: Physical Science-Energy & Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer


Unit Summary: This unit exposes students to physical science dealing with energy and change. Students will investigate

electricity and magnetism as related effects and engage in engineering design while learning useful applications of

electromagnetism in everyday life. Students will explore energy transfer through waves, repeating patterns of motion that

result in sound and motion.

Approximate Length of Unit: First Marking Period (September-November)


LEARNING TARGETS


4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.

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

and electric currents.

4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

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

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.

4-PS4-2. Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.

4-PS4-3. Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information.*


PS3.A: Definitions of Energy

The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses. (4-PS3-1)

Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents. (4-PS3-

2),(4-PS3-3)

PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer

Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be

transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is

typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. (4-PS3-

2),(4-PS3-3)

Light also transfers energy from place to place. (4-PS3-2)

Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electric currents, which can then be used locally to produce

motion, sound, heat, or light. The currents may have been produced to begin with by transforming the energy of

motion into electrical energy. (4-PS3-2),(4-PS3-4)

PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces

When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects’ motions. (4-PS3-3)

PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life

The expression “produce energy” typically refers to the conversion of stored energy into a desired form for

practical use. (4-PS3-4)

ETS1.A: Defining Engineering Problems

Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a

designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals

for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how

well each takes the constraints into account. (secondary to 4-PS3-4)

PS4.A: Wave Properties

Waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface. When waves move

across the surface of deep water, the water goes up and down in place; there is no net motion in the direction of

the wave except when the water meets a beach. (Note: This grade band endpoint was moved from K–2.) (4-PS4-

1)

Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave

peaks). (4-PS4-1)

PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation

An object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eyes. (4-PS4-2)

PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation

Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices,

such as computers or cell phones, can receive and decode information—convert it from digitized form to

voice—and vice versa. (4-PS4-3)

ETS1.C: Optimizing The Design Solution

Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the

criteria and the constraints. (secondary to 4-PS4-3)


Asking questions and defining problems

Developing and using models

Planning and carrying out investigations

Analyzing and interpreting data

Constructing explanations and designing solutions

Engaging in argument from data

Obtaining, evaluation, and communicating information

Using mathematics and computational thinking


Patterns:

Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort and classify natural phenomena

Patterns of change can be used to make predictions

Patterns of change can be used as evidence to support an explanation

Cause and Effect:

Cause-and-effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change

Energy and Matter:

Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects.


ELA Literacy:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly

and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical

text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak

about the subject knowledgeably.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and

information clearly.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of

different aspects of a topic.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print

and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and

research.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5: Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to

enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Mathematics:

4.OA.A.3: Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four

operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with

a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and

estimation strategies including rounding.

4.G.A.1: Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines.

Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

4.MP.4: Model with mathematics





http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/SL/4/5/











CRP12. Work productively in teams while using cultural global competence.

Unit Understandings


the speed of an object is related to the energy of that object.

energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

a change in energy will occur when objects collide.

there are patterns in waves in terms of amplitude and wavelength.

waves can cause objects to move.

light that reflects from objects that then enters the eye allows objects to be seen.

different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which one of them best solves the problem, given the

criteria and the constraints.

possible solutions to a problems are limited by available materials and resources.

the success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution.

different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria

for success or how well each takes the constraints into account.


What are waves and what are some things they can do?

How can water, ice, wind and vegetation change the land?

What patterns of Earth’s features can be determined with the use of maps?

How do internal and external structures support the survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction of plants and

animals?

What is energy and how is it related to motion?

How is energy transferred?

How can energy be used to solve a problem?”

Unit Focus Questions

What is needed to light a bulb?

What is needed to make a complete pathway for current to flow in a circuit?

How can you light two bulbs brightly with one D-cell?

Which design is better for manufacturing long strings of lights-series or parallel?

What materials sticks to magnets?

What happens when two or more magnets interact?

What happens when a piece of iron comes close to or touches a permanent magnet?

What happens to the force of attraction between two magnets as the distance between them changes?

How can you turn a steel rivet into a magnet that turns on and off?

How does the number of winds of wire around a core affect the strength of the magnetism?

How can you reinvent the telegraph using your knowledge of energy and electromagnetism?

What do we observe that provides evidence that energy is present?

How does the starting position affect the speed of a ball rolling down a ramp?

What happens when objects collide?

How are waves involved in energy transfer?

How does light travel?

How can you make a motor run faster using solar cells?



Energy is evident whenever there is motion, electric current, sound, light, or heat. Energy can transfer from place

to place.

An electric circuit is a system that includes a complete pathway through which electric current flows from an energy source to its components.

Conductors are materials through which electric current can flow; all metals are conductors.

In a series circuit, there is a single pathway from the energy source to the components; in a parallel circuit, each

component has its own direct pathway to the energy source.

The energy of two energy sources (D-cells or solar cells) adds when they are wired in series, delivering more

energy than a single source. Two cells in parallel deliver the same energy as a single cell

Magnets interact with each other and with some materials.

Magnets stick to (attract) objects that contain iron. Iron is the only common metal that sticks to magnets.

All magnets have two poles, a north pole at one end (side) and a south pole at the other end (side). Like poles of

magnets repel each other, and opposite poles attract.

Magnets are surrounded by an invisible magnetic field, which acts through space and through most materials.

When an iron object enters a magnetic field, the field induces magnetism in the iron object, and the object

becomes a temporary magnet.

The magnetic force acting between magnets declines as the distance between them increases.

Earth has a magnetic field.

A magnetic field surrounds a wire through which electric current is flowing.

The magnetic field produced by a current-carrying wire can induce magnetism in a piece of iron or steel.

An electromagnet is made by sending electric current through an insulated wire wrapped around an iron core.

The number of winds of wire in an electromagnet coil affects the strength of the magnetism induced in the core.

The amount of electric current flowing in an electromagnet circuit affects the strength of the magnetism in the

core (more current = stronger magnetism).

A telegraph system is an electromagnet-based technology used for long-distance communication.

Energy is evident whenever there is motion, electric current, sound, light, or heat. Energy can be transferred

from place to place.

Objects in motion have energy. The faster a given object is moving, the more kinetic energy it has.

When objects collide, energy can transfer between objects, thereby changing their motion.

Kinetic energy is energy of motion; potential energy is energy of position or condition. For identical objects at

rest, the objects at higher positions have more potential energy than the objects at lower positions.

Waves are a repeating pattern of motion that transfer energy from place to place. Some electromagnetic waves

can be detected by humans (light); others can be detected by designed technologies (radio waves).

Sound energy can be represented as waves; the amplitude and frequency of the waveform represent the

properties of the energy.

Light travels in straight lines and can reflect (bounce) off surfaces. Light can refract (change direction) when it

passes from one transparent material into another.

Matter can absorb light.

An object is seen only when light from that object enters and is detected by an eye.

Solar cells are designed technologies to transfer visible light into electricity.

Vocabulary:

Investigation 1(Energy and Circuits): battery, bulb base, bulb casing, circuit, closed circuit, component, conductor,

contact point, d-cell, electric current, electricity, energy, energy source, filament, insulator, light, lightbulb, metal,

motion, motor, open circuit, parallel circuit, series circuit, shaft, short circuit, switch system, terminal, transfer wire

Investigation 2(The Force of Magnetism):attract, compass, force, gravity, induced magnetism, interact, iron, magnet,

magnetic field, magnetism, north pole, opposite, permanent magnet, pole, repel, south pole, steel, temporary magnet

Investigation 3(Electromagnets): code, coil, core, electromagnet, electromagnetism, key, rivet, telegraph

Investigation 4( Energy Transfer):collide, collision, friction, fuel, heat, kinetic energy, potential energy, sound,

stationary, transfer of energy

Investigation 5(Waves): amplitude, compression, cycle, frequency, mirror, peak, ray, reflect, reflection, refract,

refraction, solar cell, trough, wave, wavelength


Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object

Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat,

and electric currents

Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide

Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another

Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause

objects to move

Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen

Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information


Assessment


Notebook entries, response sheets, and performance assessments throughout investigations

Investigation I-Checks

Survey/Post tests

Online Assessments

Learning Activities


Hands- On Investigations

FOSS Kit Online Activities

Building An Argument based on a model

Recording notes

Completing graphic organizers

Reading articles connected to the content and writing about the reading

Whole class, small group, and partner discussions

Home/School Connection Activities

Interdisciplinary Extension Activities provided at the end of each investigation

Provide outside experiences to conduct FOSS related investigations

Incorporate Regional Resources and outside websites

Watch streaming videos and virtual investigations based on content

Teaching Strategies


Multiple-choice discussions

Multiple-choice corners

Key points

Revision with color

Review and critique anonymous student work

Line of learning

Group consensus/whiteboards

Class debate

Critical competitor

Sentence starters

Feedback notes

Response log

Conferences

Centers

Vocabulary Words: Hear it, see it, say it, write it

Create conceptual flow charts

Word Wall

Explicitly model for students how to take notes throughout an investigation

Activate prior knowledge

Use comprehensible input (content objectives, multiple exposures, visual input, supported reading, procedural

vocabulary)

Develop academic language

Provide oral practice

Revisit content with streaming videos and tutorial videos

RESOURCES

Teacher Resources:

Next Generation Science Standards (https://www.nextgenscience.org/)

FOSS Kit Energy Investigations Guide

FOSS Web Resources for the Energy Module

o Interactive eInvestigations Guide


o Module Summary





o FOSSmap


Science Notebooks


Assessment Guide

Equipment Needed:

Smart Board or Interactive White Board

Energy Kit Materials—see materials needed per investigation (See Materials Section in Teachers Guide)

Safety posters

Laptops or computers/headphones

White boards and markers

Notebook Sheets

FOSS Web Resources

Word Wall materials

Home/School Connections Materials

Library books as specified in materials section of teachers guide

Science Notebooks


Assessment Materials per Investigation


Online activities

FOSS Science Resources-eBooks

Media Library

Home/school connection

Class pages

Streamed videos


FOSSweb Portal(Teachers):


o Investigations eGuide



o Focus questions

o Module updates









ccuurrrriiccuulluumm ffoorr … · dr. debra sheard, assistant superintendent of curriculum and...

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