4th grade Science
7 units matched to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.
Focus areas
- Weathering and erosion, Earth's systems and water, energy resources, magnets and inherited traits
- Science and engineering practices: making models and comparing solutions
- How science connects to people and communities in Minnesota and beyond
Units
Unit 1
Wind, Water & Ice
How wind, water and ice break rock down (weathering) and carry it away (erosion), slowly changing the shape of the land, and how plants and windbreaks protect soil.
Benchmark: 4E.1.2.1.1; 4E.3.2.2.1 · how wind, water and ice change the land, and ways to lessen the harm
Unit 2
Pushes, Pulls & Forces
Forces as pushes and pulls, contact and non-contact forces (gravity, magnetism, static electricity), friction, how bigger forces change motion more, and helmets and seat belts as safety devices.
Benchmark: 4P.1.1.1.1 · cause and effect in electric and magnetic pushes and pulls between objects
Unit 3
Magnet Inventions
Practices using what magnets do to solve simple design problems, such as a latch or a sorter, by setting criteria and constraints and running fair tests that change one thing at a time.
Benchmark: 4P.1.1.2.1 · solving a simple design problem with magnets
Unit 4
Traits & Variation
Practices how plants and animals inherit traits from their parents, how traits vary within a family, and how the environment can change traits like size or health.
Benchmark: 4L.4.1.1.1; 4L.4.2.1.2 · traits passed from parents, and how the environment can change them
Unit 5
Earth's Systems & Water
Practices how Earth's land, water, air and living things interact, how much of Earth's water is salty, fresh or frozen, and how communities protect water, using Minnesota's lakes and rivers as examples.
Benchmark: 4E.2.2.1.1; 4E.3.1.1.1 · how much of Earth's water is salt water, fresh water and ice, and how Earth's systems interact
Unit 6
Energy Resources
Practices how energy and fuels come from natural resources like wind, sunlight, moving water, coal, oil and gas, how using them affects the environment, and how communities choose energy, including Minnesota's wind farms.
Benchmark: 4E.4.2.1.1; 4E.4.2.2.1 · energy and fuels come from natural resources, and how communities use them
Unit 7
Rock Layers & Erosion
Practices how water, ice, wind and plants weather and erode rock, and how rock layers and fossils show how a landscape changed, with examples from Minnesota's river valleys and the North Shore.
Benchmark: 4E.1.2.1.1; 4E.3.2.1.1 · weathering and erosion, and what rock layers and fossils tell us about change
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