4th Grade Science Course Syllabus

2010-2011

Teacher: Berlinda Stockdale

Subject: Science

Grade Level: 4

Prerequisite: Successful completion of 3rd grade curriculum.

Description: The 4th grade science curriculum will provide students the opportunity to think and work like scientists. Students will be provided with multiple opportunities to experience the world around them while developing scientific concepts.

Standards: (From KY’s Crosswalk Document) during this course students will:

Classify matter by specific properties

Describe change in position over time (motion) of an object & interpret data

Infer cause & effect of pushes & pulls

Explain sound

Describe & infer magnetic interactions

Describe Earth materials

Classify Earth materials & explain the properties

Describe & explain consequences of changes to the Earth’s surface

Describe weather patterns; make generalizations or predictions about weather patterns

Describe properties of objects in the sky & their movement

Identify patterns & draw conclusions about Earth-Sun system

Explain the basic needs of organisms

Compare different animal/plant functions & structures & make inferences about their relationships

Describe a variety of plant & animal life cycles

Inherited vs. learned traits

Students will describe fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago

Students will describe the basic relationships of plants & animals in an ecosystem (food chains)

Students will describe evidence of the sun providing light and heat to the Earth

Students will analyze basic electrical circuits

Students will describe the travel of light, analyze models of light, & represent the path of light as it interacts with a variety of surfaces

Identify ways that heat can be produced

Describe the movement between heat and other objects

Describe the cause & effect relationships existing between organism and their environments

Describe human interactions in their environments

Textbook Used:Houghton Mifflin Kentucky Experience Science

Required Materials: See 4th Grade Supply List

Grading Scale: Points over points, if an assignment in my class has 5 questions it is worth 5 points.

Homework Policy: I give one project, either science or social studies each six weeks. The students have class time to work on their projects, but the bulk of the project should be completed at home. I encourage each child to use items they find in nature or around the house in order to complete their projects (RECYCLE). The projects reinforce a skill or concept that we have been studying. The projects are worth MANY points and it is very important that they be completed. I rarely give worksheets for homework. The exceptions are if a student needs supplementation for a particularly difficult concept or they have been absent.

Makeup Work Policy: I have an assigned area that any missed is kept. The work will be labeled with the student’s name. It is his/her responsibility to get their makeup work from the folder.

Cheating: Any student caught cheating will receive a zero for that assignment and will not be allowed to redo the assignment for credit-this includes unit tests.

Exceptional Work: I reserve the right to give extra credit for exceptional work and thinking! 

Types of Assignments/Assessments:

Classwork

Homework Projects

Journal Entries

Quizzes

Experiments

Tests

Teacher Observations

Demonstrations

Course Outline:

  1. Properties of Matter
  2. How Matter Changes
  3. Energy Changes
  4. Electricity & Magnetism
  5. Motion & Machines
  6. Forces that Shape Earth’s Surface
  7. Using Weather Data
  8. Looking at the Universe
  9. Managing Earth’s Resources
  10. Life Cycles
  11. Responses of Living Things
  12. Parts of Ecosystems
  13. Matter & Energy in Ecosystems
  14. Adaptation and Extinction

OPEN DOOR POLICY: PLEASE COME SEE ME IF YOU NEED EXTRA HELP

PARENTS: You may contact me during planning, 10-10:45, or before or after school, but please call ahead.