Grade 4 Science Curriculum
Family-facing version of the grade 4 science curriculum
Goals
Our solar system is a grand place, and in fourth grade science, students learn where we fit in this solar system. Starting with their specific ecosystem, and then moving to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the planet Earth, and then finally the solar system, students examine how features of plants and animals support life. They also explore how living things interact with both living and nonliving components in their ecosystems. Throughout the elementary years, students will develop scientific skills, supported by mathematics and computational thinking, as they learn science content.
In fourth grade, students will continue to develop skills in posing questions and predicting outcomes, planning and conducting simple investigations, collecting and analyzing data, constructing explanations, and communicating information about the natural world. Students continue to use the engineering design process to apply their scientific knowledge to solve problems.
Quarterly Overview of Grade 4 Science
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Units and Details
Students will investigate and understand that:
- plants and animals have structures that distinguish them from one another and play vital roles in their ability to survive.
- organisms, including humans, interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem.
- weather conditions and phenomena affect ecosystems and can be predicted.
- Virginia has important natural resources.
Students will understand:
- Organisms are composed of parts that function as a system to carry out life processes such as obtaining energy and reproducing.
- Ecosystems and their characteristics are the result of complex interactions with Earth's system. The life process of plants and animals are interdependent and contribute to the flow of energy and cycles of matter within an ecosystem.
- Thermal energy transfer from the sun impacts air movement and weather conditions. Models constructed based on patterns in atmospheric conditions are used to predict weather.
- The atmosphere is a dynamic system and changes in conditions cause weather phenomena that may affect an ecosystem.
- Natural resources are necessary or useful to humans.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.
- Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.
- Analyze related systems.
- Analyze the interactions of various system components with one another and the input into the system .
- Demonstrate how given systems interact with one another.
- Collect and interpret weather data in the community.
- Investigate how global patterns of atmospheric movement influence weather.
- Acquire significant content knowledge through the course of solving an interdisciplinary, real-world problem.
- Assess how systems change over time based on needs, resources, and circumstances.
Students will investigate and understand that:
- that organisms, including humans, interact with one another & with the nonliving components in the ecosystem.
- that the ocean environment has characteristics.
Students will understand:
- All living organisms are part of a system and are interrelated and dependent in some way on other living and nonliving factors in their environment for survival.
- Humans have varying degrees of impact on Earth’s surface through their everyday activities. With careful planning, the impact can be controlled.
- Scientists create models to develop or clarify explanations, demonstrate relationships, and solve needs.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.
- Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.
- Acquire significant content knowledge through the course of solving an interdisciplinary, real-world problem.
- Focus on contributions that led to the development of scientific concepts, theories, and laws.
- Evaluate the credibility and accuracy of data sources and note any discrepancies among the data.
- Analyze the interactions of various system components with one another and the input into the system.
- Categorize examples of systems, explaining their reasoning.
- Analyze related systems.
- Transfer knowledge to make predictions about similar problems.
- Make predictions using data from picture, bar, and basic line graphs.
- Analyze experimental data as appropriate.
- Provide evidence and data to support a claim issue.
- Predict the impact of multiple solutions to the given problem within each system.
Students will investigate and understand that:
- the planets have characteristics and a specific place in the solar system.
- there are relationships among Earth, the moon, and the sun.
Students will understand:
- Planets rotate on their axes and revolve around the sun
- Planets have characteristics and a specific order in the solar system
- The interactions and orientations of the sun, Earth, and moon lead to patterns that are evidenced in day and night, seasons, tides, and the phases of the moon.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning above, students who receive full-time Advanced Academic (AAP Level IV) Services engage with these extensions.
- Identify a concept or “Big Idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections e.g. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc. to analyze real-world problems.
- Understand the dynamic system of earth and space.
- Investigate the interdependent nature of the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
- Investigate the cyclical nature of seasons.
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- check for understanding
- gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), fourth grade tests focus on students’ developing content knowledge and skills.
