Grade 4 Science Curriculum Standards

Written by Joanne Harriman Tuesday, 02 August 2011 11:20

Our new science curriculum is based on a multi-year review and analysis of the Curriculum Topic Study materials by our K-12 science curriculum team. The Benchmarks for Science Literacy form the basis for the benchmarks that are set for each grade level. The bold-faced standards are the MDIRSS essential standards and the standards in regular font are supporting standards. Click on the green bold-faced MDIRSS essential standards to see the unpacked version, list of resources, and corresponding performance rubric for that standard.

Scientific & Engineering Practices

Ask questions (for science) and define problems (for engineering)

Develop and use models

Plan and carry out investigations

Analyze and interpret data

Use mathematics and computational thinking

Construct explanations (for science) and design solutions (for engineering)

Engage in argument from evidence

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information

The Nature of Science

A. The Scientific Worldview

4.SCI.1A.E1. Explain that sometimes similar investigations give different results because of differences in the things being investigated, the methods used, or the circumstances in which the investigation is carried out, and sometimes just because of uncertainties in observations. It is not always easy to tell which.

4.SCI.1A.E2. Science is a process of trying to figure out how the world works by making careful observations and trying to make sense of those observations.

B. Scientific Inquiry

4.SCI.1B.E2b. One reason for following directions carefully and for keeping records of one's work is to provide information on what might have caused differences in investigations.

4.SCI.1B.E3bc. Sometimes scientists have different explanations for the same set of observations. That usually leads to their making more observations to resolve the differences.

C. The Scientific Enterprise

4.SCI.1C.E4. Many social practices and products of technology are shaped by scientific knowledge.

The Nature of Technology
A. Technology and Science
4.SCI.3A.E3. Understand that measuring instruments can be used to gather accurate information for making scientific comparisons of objects and events and for designing and constructing things that will work properly.

4.SCI.3A.E4. Understand that technology extends the ability of people to change the world: to cut, shape, or put together materials; to move things from one place to another; and to reach farther with their hands, voices, senses, and minds. The changes may be for survival needs such as food, shelter, and defense; for communication and transportation; or to gain knowledge and express ideas.

B. Design and Systems
4.SCI.3B.E1. Understand there is no perfect design. Designs that are best in one respect (safety or ease of use, for example) may be inferior in other ways (cost or appearance). Usually some features must be sacrificed to get others.

4.SCI.3B.E2. Understand that even a good design may fail. Sometimes steps can be taken ahead of time to reduce the likelihood of failure, but it cannot be entirely eliminated.

4.SCI.3B.E3. The solution to one problem may create other problems.

C. Issues in Technology
4.SCI.3C.E2. Any invention is likely to lead to other inventions. Once an invention exists, people are likely to think up ways of using it that were never imagined at first.

4.SCI.3C.E4. Explain how factors such as cost, safety, appearance, environmental impact, and what will happen if the solution fails must be considered in technological design.

4.SCI.3C.E6 Understand people have an enormous effect on the lives of other living things because of their ability to invent tools and processes.

The Physical Setting
B. The Earth

4.SCI.4B.P1. The temperature and amount of rain (or snow) tend to be high, low, or medium in the same months every year.

D. The Structure of Matter
4.SCI.4D.E2. Understand that no matter how parts of an object are assembled, the weight of the whole object is always the same as the sum of the parts; and when an object is broken into parts, the parts have the same total weight as the original object.

F. Motion
4.SCI.4F.E1a. Explain how changes in speed or direction of motion are caused by forces.
4.SCI.4F.E1bc. Recognize that the greater the force is, the greater the change in motion will be. The more massive an object is, the less effect a given force will have.
4.SCI.4F.E2. How fast things move differs greatly. Some things are so slow that their journey takes a long time; others move too fast for people to even see them.

The Living Environment
A. Diversity of Life
4.SCI.5A.E1. A great variety of kinds of living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group.
4.SCI.5A.E3. There are millions of different kinds of individual organisms that inhabit the earth at any one time—some very similar to each other, some very different.

D. Interdependence of Life
4.SCI.5D.E1. Tell why for any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals thrive, some do not live as well, and some do not survive at all.
4.SCI.5D.E2. Insects and various other organisms depend on dead plant and animal material for food.
4.SCI.5D.E3a. Observe that organisms interact with one another in various ways besides providing food.
4.SCI.5D.E3b. Many plants depend on animals for carrying their pollen to other plants or for dispersing their seeds.
4.SCI.5D.E4. Changes in an organism's habitat are sometimes beneficial to it and sometimes harmful.
4.SCI.5D.E5. Most microorganisms do not cause disease, and many are beneficial.

E. Flow of Matter and Energy
4.SCI.5E.E1. Understand almost all kinds of animals' food can be traced back to plants.
4.SCI.5E.E2. Understand some source of "fuel" is needed for all organisms to stay alive and grow.
4.SCI.5E.E3. Explain that over the whole earth, organisms are growing, dying, decaying, and new organisms are being produced by the old ones.

F. Evolution of Life
4.SCI.5F.E1. Understand individuals of the same kind differ in their characteristics, and sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.

The Human Organism
B. Human Development
4.SCI.6B.E1. It takes about nine months for a human to develop inside its mother. The developing baby is nourished by the mother, so substances she takes in will affect how well or poorly the baby develops.
4.SCI.6B.E2. Human beings live longer than most other animals, but all living things die.
4.SCI.6B.E3. In the first few years after birth, most children make remarkable gains in their physical and mental abilities that allow them to interact with others and with their environment.

C. Basic Functions
4.SCI.6C.E1a. Understand that people obtain fuel and materials for body repair and growth from food.
4.SCI.6C.E1b. Understand that the indigestible parts of food are eliminated.
4.SCI.6C.E3. Understand the skin keeps the body from drying out and protects it from harmful substances and germs.
4.SCI.6C.E4. Understand the brain gets signals from all parts of the body telling it what is going on there. The brain also sends signals to parts of the body to influence what they do.

D. Learning
4.SCI.6D.E5. Understand learning means using what one already knows to make sense out of new experiences or information, not just storing the new information in one's head.

E. Physical Health
4.SCI.6E.E1a. Food provides fuel and materials for growth and repair of body parts.

4.SCI.6E.E1b. Vitamins and minerals, present in small amounts in foods, are essential to keep everything working well.

4.SCI.6E.E2. Tobacco, alcohol, other drugs, and certain poisons in the environment—such as pesticides and lead—can harm human beings and other living things.

4.SCI.6E.E3. Some germs may keep the body from working properly. For defense against germs, the human body has tears, saliva, and skin to prevent many germs from getting into the body and special cells to fight germs that do get into the body.

4.SCI.6E.E4. There are some diseases that human beings can catch only once. After they've recovered, they don't get sick from them again. There are many diseases that can be prevented by injecting people with killed or weakened germs so that people don't catch the diseases even once.

F. Mental Health

4.SCI.6F.E1. Different individuals handle their feelings differently, and can have different feelings in the same situation.

4.SCI.6F.E4. One way to respond to a strong feeling, either pleasant or unpleasant, is to think about what caused it and then consider whether to seek out or avoid similar situations.

Human Society
C. Social Change

4.SCI.7C.E1. Although rules at home, school, church, and in the community stay mostly the same, sometimes they change. Changes in social arrangements happen because some rules do not work, new people are involved, or outside circumstances change.

4.SCI.7C.E2. Rules can sometimes be changed by getting whoever made the rules to agree to change them.

D. Social Trade-Offs

4.SCI.7D.E1. In making decisions, it helps to take time to consider the benefits and drawbacks of alternatives.

E. Political and Economic Systems

4.SCI.7E.E2. Sometimes a community decides to make certain services—such as schools, libraries, parks, mail service, and police and fire protection equally available to all its members through government agencies.

4.SCI.7E.E7. In some groups, decisions are made by and disputes settled by recognized authorities such as parents, teachers, bosses, or elected officials.

F. Social Conflict

4.SCI.7F.E1. Communicating the different points of view in a dispute is a first step in finding a satisfactory compromise.

4.SCI.7F.E2. Resolving a conflict by force rather than compromise can lead to more problems.

4.SCI.7F.E3. One person's exercise of freedom may conflict with the freedom of others. Rules can help to resolve conflicting freedoms.

4.SCI.7F.E4. If a conflict cannot be settled by compromise, it may be decided by a vote—if everyone agrees to accept the results.

The Designed World
A. Agriculture

4.SCI.8A.E1a. Some plant varieties and animal breeds have more desirable characteristics than others, but some may be more difficult or costly to grow.

4.SCI.8A.E1b. The kinds of crops that can grow in an area depend on the climate and soil.

4.SCI.8A.E1c. Irrigation and fertilizers can help crops grow in places where there is too little water or the soil is poor.

4.SCI.8A.E2. Damage to crops by rodents, weeds, or insects can be reduced by using poisons, but their use may harm other plants or animals.

4.SCI.8A.E4. Modern technology has increased the efficiency of agriculture so that fewer people are needed to work on farms than ever before.

B. Materials and Manufacturing

4.SCI.8B.E1. Naturally occurring materials such as wood, clay, cotton, and animal skins may be processed to change their properties.

4.SCI.8B.E3a. Discarded products contribute to the problem of waste disposal.
4.SCI.8B.E3b. Demonstrate that sometimes it is possible to use the materials from discarded products to make new products, but materials differ widely in the ease with which they can be recycled.
4.SCI.8B.E4. Although many things are still made by hand in some parts of the world, almost everything in the most technologically developed countries is now produced using machines that are automated. By using machinery, the time required to make a product and its cost can be greatly reduced.

C. Energy Sources and Use
4.SCI.8C.E1. Moving air and water can be used to run machines.
4.SCI.8C.E2. Sunlight is used to run many devices.

F. Health Technology
4.SCI.8F.E1. There are normal ranges for body measurements—including temperature, heart rate, and what is in the blood or urine—that help to tell when people are well.
4.SCI.8F.E2. Technology has made it possible to repair and replace some body parts.

Common Themes
A. Systems
4.SCI.11A.E1. In something that consists of many parts, the parts usually influence one another.
4.SCI.11A.E2. Something may not work well (or at all) if a part of it is missing, broken, worn out, mismatched, or misconnected.

Habits of Mind
A. Values and Attitudes
4.SCI.12A.E1. Keep clear and accurate records of investigations and observations.
4.SCI.12A.E2. Offer reasons for claims and consider reasons suggested by others.
4.SCI.12A.E3. Records of observations are helpful when trying to recall those observations later.

C. Manipulation and Observation
4.SCI.12C.E1. Choose appropriate common materials for making simple mechanical constructions and repairing things.

D. Communication Skills
4.SCI.12D.E1. Give written and oral instructions that others can follow to carry out a procedure.
4.SCI.12D.E2. Make sketches or diagrams to aid in explaining procedures or ideas.
4.SCI.12D.E7. Write a clear and accurate description of a real-world object or event.
4.SCI.12D.E8. Locate information in print and electronic resources.

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