What this course is built on
This course follows the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Grade 4 science, 19 TAC §112.6. The standard has thirteen strands. Four cover how scientists work. One covers the big ideas that repeat all through science, like patterns and cause and effect. Eight cover the science itself. Every strand is taught this year.
The units are named for what the child learns, in plain words. They follow the order of the strands. A textbook is one company’s sequence. The standards are the requirement. We write the lessons to the standards.
The state asks that at least 50 percent of science time be spent investigating. That means asking questions, planning, and doing safe work with real things. That is why every lesson has a hands-on investigation and why the lessons are short on reading.
What your scientist will be able to do
- Plan a fair test that changes one thing and keeps the rest the same.
- Sort matter by its properties and tell a mixture from a solution.
- Build a closed circuit and test conductors and insulators.
- Use data to predict seasons and Moon phases.
- Explain the water cycle, weathering, erosion and deposition.
- Follow energy and matter through a food web and read an old environment from its fossils.
The year
40 lessons in nine units. Weeks are intent, not contract.
| Unit | Title | TEKS strand | Lessons | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Scientist’s Toolkit | 1 to 4 | 7 | Weeks 1 to 6 |
| 2 | Matter and Mixtures | 6 | 5 | Weeks 7 to 10 |
| 3 | Gravity, Friction and Magnets | 7 | 4 | Weeks 11 to 14 |
| 4 | Energy on the Move | 8 | 5 | Weeks 15 to 19 |
| 5 | Seasons and the Moon | 9 | 3 | Weeks 19 to 21 |
| 6 | Water, Weather and Slow Change | 10 | 5 | Weeks 22 to 26 |
| 7 | Energy and Earth Resources | 11 | 4 | Weeks 27 to 29 |
| 8 | Food Webs and the Past | 12 | 4 | Weeks 30 to 33 |
| 9 | Plants and Traits | 13 | 3 | Weeks 34 to 36 |
How a lesson works
- Try this first. A small puzzle you can tap through. It gets the thinking started.
- Today’s story. Three short paragraphs. A button reads it aloud.
- Five steps. The idea, one piece at a time.
- Hands on. A real investigation with a list of what you need.
- Three rules. The big ideas, short enough to remember.
- Poppy’s quiz. Six questions with the reason behind each answer.
- Talk about it. Two questions to say out loud or write down.
Safety
Hands-on work happens with an adult nearby. No open flame. No mixing of store-bought chemicals. No tasting of lab materials. Wear eye protection when a lesson says to. Wash hands after. Tell an adult about every spill, cut or surprise right away, however small.
Nothing is saved about your child
These pages do not ask for a name, an email or a login. Scores and answers stay on the screen and disappear when the page closes.
What to keep on the shelf
Most of the year runs on kitchen and classroom things. This is every item named in the Grade 4 investigations.
- A bar magnet
- A board for a ramp
- A clock or timer
- A coin
- A cork
- A cup of dry rice
- A cup of ice water
- A cup of ice water and a cup of warm tap water
- A few paper clips
- A grape
- A hand lens
- A handful of dry beans
- A jar with a lid
- A kitchen or classroom
- A kitchen scale or balance
- A kitchen strainer or colander
- A kitchen thermometer
- A magnet
- A metal spoon
- A notebook
- A paper clip
- A paper clip and two brass fasteners on cardboard for a switch
- A paper clip, coin, eraser, wooden pencil, plastic spoon, aluminum foil, rubber band
- A paper towel
- A parent or grandparent
- A parent or teacher
- A partner
- A pencil
- A plastic spoon
- A ramp made from a board and books
- A rubber band
- A ruler
- A ruler or tape measure
- A ruler with a groove or two rulers taped to make a track
- A shallow pan of water
- A sheet of paper
- A small cork or a leaf
- A small kitchen scale or balance
- A small steel toy car or a steel nut with a card
- A small wooden block or a book
- A sock filled with rice or sand, about the size of the ball
- A spoon
- A sunny window
- A sunny window and a shaded spot
- A tape measure
- A tennis ball
- A thermometer or a small dab of butter
- A thin, soft leaf such as lettuce
- A towel
- A tray
- A tub or large clear bowl of water
- A walk around your home or classroom
- A wooden pencil
- A wooden spoon
- Almanac or weather website data for your town
- An empty box or tub
- An eyedropper or a pebble
- Baking pan
- Baking soda
- Blue food coloring
- Books to make a slight ramp
- Books to prop it
- Books to prop one end
- Calendar
- Clay soil from outside
- Clean trash from one day
- Cold tap water
- Cooking oil
- Cup of water
- Dark closet or box
- Dark room
- Dropper
- Family photos
- Five clear cups
- Five paper clips
- Flashlight
- Flour
- Four clear jars with lids
- Globe or ball
- Gloves
- Graph paper
- Grass clippings
- Gravel
- Hand lens
- Hard candy or small stones
- Ice cubes of the same size
- Index cards
- Index cards or paper
- Large tray or pan
- Leaves or a banana peel
- Library book or school computer
- Lid with holes
- Magnifying glass
- Marker
- Marker for a sticker
- Measuring cup
- Moon chart from an almanac
- Newspaper to spread on
- Notebook
- Notebook and pencil
- Oil
- One D battery
- One flashlight bulb in a holder
- One small flashlight bulb in a holder
- Optional old photos
- Outdoor rain gauge or cup
- Paper
- Paper and pencil
- Paper towel
- Paper towels
- Pencil
- Pencil and paper
- Photos of animals and their young
- Plastic cup with a hole
- Rolling pin
- Room temperature water
- Ruler
- Ruler or tape measure
- Safety goggles if you have them
- Salt
- Salt dough or modeling clay
- Sand
- Sandpaper
- Seashell or leaf
- Several friends
- Six marbles of equal size
- Small coins or paper clips
- Small stones
- Soil
- Soil or sand
- Spoon
- Stack of copy paper
- Sugar
- Sugar cubes
- Sunny window
- Talk with an adult
- Tape
- Tape measure
- Ten small safe objects such as a spoon, nail, coin, button, rock and eraser
- Thermometer
- Three clear cups
- Three identical plastic cups
- Three pieces of insulated wire with bare ends
- Timer
- Two clear jars
- Two colored pencils
- Two jars with lids
- Two or three bean seeds in a cup of damp soil or a damp paper towel in a bag
- Two paper towels
- Two small cups of water
- Two small plants or bean seedlings
- Two stacks of books
- Two wires with bare ends
- Warm tap water
- Warm tap water in a mug
- Water
- Water spray bottle
- Wax paper
- Waxy leaf such as a magnolia or holly
- Yarn
- Poppy bag