Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Earth and Space Science
TOPIC: Earth’s Surface
CONTENT STATEMENT 1
- Earth’s surface has specific characteristics and landforms that can be identified.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- About 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water – most is ocean.
- A small portion of the Earth’s water is freshwater found in rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
- Earth’s surface can change due to erosion and deposition of sediment and soil.
- Catastrophic events such as flooding, volcanoes, and earthquakes can create landforms.
- Erosion
- Weathering
- Sediment
- Deposition
- Landforms
- Cataclysmic Events (Catastrophic)
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Compare and contrast changes in the Earth’s surface through slow and rapid landform changing processes.
- Identify and list characteristics of various landforms.
- Demonstrate how landforms are formed through changes in the Earth’s surface.
Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Earth and Space Science
TOPIC: Earth’s Surface
CONTENT STATEMENT 2
- The surface of the Earth changes due to weathering.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- Rocks and the land’s surface change shape, size, and/or form due to water or ice movement, freeze and thaw, wind, plant growth, gases in the air, pollution, and catastrophic events.
- Ice movement refers to glaciers.
- Erosion
- Weathering
- Sediment
- Deposition
- Landforms
- Cataclysmic Events (Catastrophic)
- Dunes
- Deltas
- Glacial Striations
- Abrasion
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Describe and demonstrate how erosion changes the shape of the Earth’s landforms.
- Describe and demonstrate how weathering changes the shape of the Earth’s landforms.
Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Earth and Space Science
TOPIC: Earth’s Surface
CONTENT STATEMENT 3
- The surface of the Earth changes due to erosion and deposition.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- Water, wind, and ice physically remove and carry (erosion) rock, soil and sediment and deposit the material in a new location.
- Gravitational force affects movements of water, rock, and soil.
- Erosion
- Weathering
- Sediment
- Deposition
- Landforms
- Gravitational Force
- Dunes
- Deltas
- Glacial Striations
- Moraines
- Erratics
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Describe and demonstrate how erosion changes the shape of the Earth’s surface.
- Describe and demonstrate how gravitational force causes weathering/changes to the earth’s surface.
Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Physical Science
TOPIC: Matter and Forms of Energy
CONTENT STATEMENT 1
- All objects and substances in the natural world are composed of matter.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- Matter takes up space and has weight.
- Some forces act without touching, such as using a magnet to move an object(s) falling to the ground.
- Matter
- Weight
- Magnetism
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Describe and demonstrate how matter takes up space and weight.
- Demonstrate how magnetic force has effect on some forms of matter.
Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Physical Science
TOPIC: Matter and Forms of Energy
CONTENT STATEMENT 2
- Matter exists in different states, each of which has different properties.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- Most common states of matter are solids, liquids, and gases.
- Shape and compressibility are properties that can distinguish between the states of matter.
- The shape of a solid is independent of its container. Unless they are pushed or pulled on, solids retain their shape.
- Liquids and gases flow and take the shape of the container.
- One way to change matter from one state to another is by heating or cooling.
- Objects can be separated or sorted based on their properties.
- Matter
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gas
- Property
- Heating
- Cooling
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Define and identify characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases.
- Sort or separate objects based on the properties of the materials from which they are made.
- Demonstrate how liquids and gases flow and take the shape of their container.
- Demonstrate how matter changes from one state to another through heating or cooling.
Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Physical Science
TOPIC: Electricity, Heat, and Matter
CONTENT STATEMENT 3
- The total amount of matter is conserved when it undergoes a change.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- When an object is broken into smaller pieces, a solid is dissolved in a liquid, or matter changes state (solid, liquid, gas), the total amount of matter remains constant.
- Water changes from one state to another through heating or cooling.
- Characteristics of a simple physical change
- Characteristics of a simple chemical change
- Matter
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gas
- Property
- Physical Change
- Chemical Change
- Condensation
- Evaporation
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Observe and analyze how matter remains constant even though a solid, liquid, or gases’s shape may change.
- Investigate water changing from one form to another and possibly back.
- Differentiate between chemical and physical changes.
Grade Four
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Interconnections within Systems
Physical Science
TOPIC: Electricity, Heat, and Matter
CONTENT STATEMENT 4
- Heat results when substances burn, when certain kinds of materials rub against each other, and when electricity flows through wires.
CONCEPTS
/ VOCABULARY- Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity.
- Electricity flowing through an electric circuit produces magnetic effects in the wire.
- Electrical energy in circuits can be changed to other forms of energy, including light, heat, sound, and motion.
- Electric circuits require a complete loop through conducting materials in which an electric current can pass.
- Heat
- Electricity
- Conductor
- Circuit
- Magnetic
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:
- Define the characteristics that make metals good conductors of heat and electricity.
- Demonstrate and analyze how electricity flowing through an electric circuit produces magnetic effects in a wire.
- Demonstrate and analyze how electrical energy and circuits can be changed to other forms of energy, including light, heat, sound, and motion.
- Create an electrical circuit that includes a complete loop in which electrical current can pass through conducting materials.
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