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Norris School District, Curriculum
Norris School District, Curriculum | ||||||||||||
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Science
4 TEXTBOOK The New Exploring Science-Brown Book &
supplemental activity book, Blecha,
Gega, and Green, Laidlaw Brothers, 1982.
DESCRIPTION
Science 4 is required for all fourth grade students and is part of the fourth grade core curriculum. It meets five days per week for 35 minutes per session. This program is divided into four concentration areas: simple machines, the solar system, soils and life, nutrition, drugs, and alcohol. Other topics include matter and energy, weather, scientific method and soil percolation, health, and peer pressure. Students will use cooperative learning strategies to help reinforce key scientific concepts. COURSE OBJECTIVES 4.1 Unifying
Concepts and Processes 1. Students will describe parts and functions of the digestive system and how the parts affect the whole. (4.1.1) 4.2 Science as Inquiry
2.Students
will demonstrate knowledge of the vocabulary and procedures of the scientific
method through a variety of
experiments performed during the course of the units in the fourth grade
curriculum.(4.2.1) 3.Students will identify and use the methods of investigation, observation, data collection, reflection, and communication of results and conclusions during their science experiments.(4.2.1) 4.3 Physical Science
3.Students
will classify examples of matter into solids, liquids, and/or gases.
(4.3.1) 4.Students will explain how adding or taking away heat can cause matter to change.(4.3.3) 5.Students will demonstrate the difference between physical and chemical changes and give appropriate examples of each.(4.3.1) 6.Students will describe or illustrate examples of the six types of simple machines.(4.3.2) 7.Students will explain the terms force, friction, and inertia.(4.3.2) 8.Students will have an opportunity to create a compound machine by combining two or more simple machines. (4.3.2) 4.4 Life Science
9. Students will learn the parts and functions of body cells, and their role in the production of energy. (4.4.1) 10. Students will learn about the growth spurt that occurs during adolescence. (4.4.1) 9. Students will recognize inherited traits and heredity on humans and the effects of these characteristics. (4.4.2) 9.Students
will compare and contrast the prairie to other habitats such as wetlands,
forest, rain forest and polar regions.(4.4.3) 10.Students will describe the life cycle changes that occur on the prairie during the course of the four seasons.(4.4.3) 11.Students will identify a minimum of 10 plants and animals that live on a prairie.(4.4.3) 12.Students will analyze the economic value of the prairie.(4.4.3) 13.Students will state two reasons for protecting our existing prairies.(4.4.3) 4.5 Earth and Space Science
14.Students
will name important soil nutrients.(4.5.1) 15.Students will identify basic types of soils.(4.5.1) 16.Students will determine rate of drainage through various soil types. (soil percolation rates)(4.5.1) 17.Students will determine soil types through plant growth.(4.4.3) 18.Students will diagram and label the eleven components of our solar system. (nine known planets, sun, and asteroid belt).(4.5.2) 19.Students will explain the difference between a planet and a star.(4.5.2) 20.Students will illustrate two constellation groupings and be able to tell the mythological story that accompanies each constellation. (4.5.2) 21.Students will categorize the nine known planets as being either terrestrial or jovian.(4.5.2) 22.Students will analyze four ways we are dependent on the sun.(4.5.2) 4.6 Science and Technology
23.Students
will explain significant contributions in the area of technology that have been
made by men and women relating to the various areas of fourth grade
study.(4.6.1) 24.Students will use the Internet to investigate and retrieve information about recent scientific advances that have been made in the various areas of study.(4.6.2) 4.7 Social Perspectives
25. Students will identify the basic food groups, representative foods, and recommended daily servings. (4.7.1) 25. Students will be able to identify and explain how various foods and their components, carbohydrates, fats, nutrients, and proteins, contribute to health. (4.7.1) 26. Students will be able to describe how different substances, such as tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, can damage the body and alter how it functions. (4.7.1) 27. Students will formulate ways to say, “No” to drugs. (4.7.1) 28. Students will understand the relationship between their physical well-being and their mental and emotional health. (4.7.1) 27.Students
will be able to explain how population expansion is effecting the
prairie.(4.7.4) 28.Students will analyze how people affect the animals and plants of the prairie, and how life forms on the prairie affect people.(4.7.3) 29.Students will analyze the impact of space exploration on our society as we approach the 21st century.(4.6.2) 4.8 History and Nature
30.Students
will analyze how the scientific inquiry method can be used in other areas of
study.(4.2.1) 31.Students will identify ways that the scientific inquiry method might be used in their future careers.(4.8.1) 32.Students will explain how science knowledge is constantly evolving, and that new data often replaces old information.(4.8.1) WRITING ACTIVITIES 1. Students will write sentences that summarize science videos and filmstrips. 2. Students will have to explain their knowledge of science concepts on homework and in-class activity sheets. MULTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES 1. Special science videotapes will be shown frequently. Topics are viewed using actors from different cultures to solve science inquiries. 2. Different cultures are represented in the printed material that students will utilize. 3. Science pioneers from different cultures will be highlighted and studied for their achievements. |