Fourth Grade

how can we provide energy to people’s homes? (1st Edition)

15 lessons | 20 days of instruction

In 15 lessons spanning 20 class sessions, students explore how energy moves and changes, and how people obtain sources of energy and convert them for practical purposes. In the first focus question, students observe phenomena—motion, light, sound, and heat—that provide evidence of the presence of energy, and track how energy moves and changes in systems. They then observe that electrical energy moves via electric current and can be changed into other forms of energy. In the second focus question, students obtain and combine information about the advantages and disadvantages of using various natural resources to generate electricity. Students apply what they learn to identify the best energy resource solution for four real-world locations, based on criteria and constraints. In the third focus question, students obtain information about how energy gets from power plants to homes and explore simple electric circuits. They apply what they learn to design and build electric devices that serve specific purposes. In the final focus question, students engage in a two-part summative assessment. In the written assessment, students use information about a fictional family to demonstrate their understanding of energy movement and the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Students are then challenged to apply what they have learned about electrical systems to solve an engineering problem: to design, build, test, and optimize a solar-powered doorbell system for a model house.

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How can we stay safe on a changing earth? (2nd Edition)

15 lessons | 21 days of instruction

In this module, students explain phenomena and solve problems related to patterns observed in natural Earth processes, including rock formations, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and waves, that reveal information about the natural world. Students explore hazards caused by some of these processes and how we can reduce their impacts. In Lessons 1 and 2, students explain how weathering and erosion revealed very different fossils in different layers of the Grand Canyon. In Lessons 3 through 7, students explain the phenomenon of a tsunami wave occurring in Hawaii, and then Japan, on the same day. In Lessons 8 and 9, students explain the phenomenon of a ship in the pathway of that tsunami that did not experience a tall wave. In Lessons 10 through 13, students solve the problem of a town in California whose residents are worried about experiencing a mudslide after a wildfire. In the science challenge, Lessons 14 and 15, students solve a problem by developing a tool for choosing a location with lower landslide risk for a mountain-themed amusement park.

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how can animals use their senses to communicate? (2nd Edition)

15 lessons | 24 days of instruction

In this module, students explain phenomena and solve a problem related to animals using their senses and communicating. In Lessons 1 through 3, students explain the phenomenon of a cat pouncing on what appears to be grass and catching a mouse. In Lessons 4 and 5, students explain the phenomenon that hand-raised songbirds try to eat firebugs, but wild songbirds do not. In Lessons 6 through 8, students explain the phenomenon of some fiddler crabs having a large claw and wave it. In Lessons 9 through 12, students solve the problem of the Tembé people not always knowing where and when illegal logging is happening on their land. In the science challenge, Lessons 13 through 15, students explain the phenomenon of fireflies flashing in different patterns.

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how does Energy Move from one obejct to another? (2nd Edition)

15 lessons | 20 days of instruction

In this module, students investigate the transfer of energy through contact forces in collisions. In Lessons 1 through 6, students explain the phenomenon of a stationary car moving farther when it collides with a moving car that is going faster. In Lessons 7 through 10, students explain where the energy of the Space Shuttle Discovery went as it moved through Earth’s atmosphere during its return from space. In Lessons 11 through 13, students solve problems associated with astronauts returning to Earth in space capsules through biomimicry. In the science challenge, Lessons 14 and 15, students investigate and figure out why a croquet ball moves after resting against a stationary ball that is hit by a mallet.

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