~Science~
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Our 4th-grade Science Curriculum is based on an inquiry approach that allow students to investigate, experiment, gather data, and draw conclusions from a variety of group experiments and projects. It's an exciting year, where children study the following topics:
•Weather and weather instruments: Students will study how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail) make up the weather in a particular place and time.
•Magnetism and electricity: Children will learn to identify and classify objects and materials that are good conductors or good insulators of electricity. They also will investigate various materials to determine each material’s electrical conductivity by testing the material with a simple battery/bulb circuit.
With magnetism, 4th graders will identify and classify objects and materials that a magnet will (and will not) attract. They also will study the relationship between magnets and electricity, and make an electromagnet with a battery, insulated wire, and nail.
Students will recognize that electricity in circuits requires a complete loop through which an electrical current can pass, and that electricity can produce light, heat, and sound.
•Light and Sound: Children will learn that sound is produced by vibrating objects and requires a medium through which to travel. They will also study how light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or travels from one medium to another, and that light can be reflected, refracted, and absorbed.
•Sun, Moon, and Stars: Students will learn that the earth is part of a system called the “solar system” that includes the sun
(a star), planets, and many moons and eventually create a proportional model of the solar system starting on the school playground and extending as far as possible.
They will also recognize that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year’s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours, making connections between the rotation of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon, and stars across the sky.
In studying the moon, they will describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month and learn how to recognize the specific phases.
•Weather and weather instruments: Students will study how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail) make up the weather in a particular place and time.
•Magnetism and electricity: Children will learn to identify and classify objects and materials that are good conductors or good insulators of electricity. They also will investigate various materials to determine each material’s electrical conductivity by testing the material with a simple battery/bulb circuit.
With magnetism, 4th graders will identify and classify objects and materials that a magnet will (and will not) attract. They also will study the relationship between magnets and electricity, and make an electromagnet with a battery, insulated wire, and nail.
Students will recognize that electricity in circuits requires a complete loop through which an electrical current can pass, and that electricity can produce light, heat, and sound.
•Light and Sound: Children will learn that sound is produced by vibrating objects and requires a medium through which to travel. They will also study how light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or travels from one medium to another, and that light can be reflected, refracted, and absorbed.
•Sun, Moon, and Stars: Students will learn that the earth is part of a system called the “solar system” that includes the sun
(a star), planets, and many moons and eventually create a proportional model of the solar system starting on the school playground and extending as far as possible.
They will also recognize that the earth revolves around (orbits) the sun in a year’s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours, making connections between the rotation of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon, and stars across the sky.
In studying the moon, they will describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month and learn how to recognize the specific phases.
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