BiologyGrade 4

Biol

ogy

BiologyGrade 4

Grade 4 Science - Biology

Big Idea

Content

Teaching Science:

The Art of our Professional Practice

Core competencies are at the centre of the redesigned curriculum. We invite

you to look to the competencies and what we know as wise practice (AFL, inquiry,

Aboriginal Ways of Knowing) to artfully design learning opportunities for our

students.

This science kit was created by SD 71

educators. Within these pages you will find

hands-on experiments, activities, lesson

ideas, web links, and place-based

experiences to engage the curiosity of our

learners.

Area of Learning: SCIENCE Grade 4

BIG IDEAS

All living things and their environment

are interdependent. (Questions to support inquiry with students: How do living things sense,

respond, and adapt to stimuli in their environment? What evidence

is there of interdependence between living and non-living

things in ecosystems?)

Matter has mass, takes up space,

and can change phase. (Questions to support inquiry with students: How can you explore the phases

of matter? How does matter change phases? How does

heating and cooling affect phase changes?)

Energy comes in a variety of forms that can be transferred

from one object to another. (Questions to support inquiry with

students: What is energy input and energy output? What is energy conservation? What is

the relationship between energy input, output, and conservation?)

The motion of Earth and the moon cause observable patterns that affect

living and non-living systems. (Questions to

support inquiry with students: How do seasons and tides

affect living and non-living things? What changes are caused by the movements of

Earth and the moon?)

Learning Standards

Curricular Competencies Content

Students are expected to be able to do the following:

Questioning and predicting (Order is a pattern that can be recognized as having levels—big to small, simple to complex—or being a process with a sequence of steps. Key questions about order: How is order apparent in the adaptations of forest animals in BC? How does the order of seasons impact local plants and animals?)

Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world

Observe objects and events in familiar contexts

Identify questions about familiar objects and events that can be investigated scientifically

Make predictions based on prior knowledge

Planning and conducting

Suggest ways to plan and conduct an inquiry to find answers to their questions

Consider ethical responsibilities when deciding how to conduct an experiment

Safely use appropriate tools to make observations and measurements, using formal measurements and digital technology as appropriate

Make observations about living and non-living things in the local environment

Collect simple data

Processing and analyzing data and information

Experience and interpret the local environment

Sort and classify data and information using drawings or provided tables

Use tables, simple bar graphs, or other formats to represent data and show simple patterns and trends

Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings

Evaluating

Students are expected to know the following:

the ways organisms in ecosystems sense and respond (structures and functions of the body parts associated with each of the

five senses) to their environment (environment interdependence and adaptation: structural (eg., how plants adapt in the desert) and behavioural adaptations (e.g., migration); responses to changes in habitat (eg., ecosystem, watershed); Aboriginal worldview with respect to the environment (e.g., the interconnectedness of all things and the responsibility to care for them))

solids, liquids, and gases as matter

the effect of temperature (solids, liquids, and gases change with heating (eg., boiling point, melting point [melting chocolate]) and cooling (eg., freezing point [making ice cream]), and these

physical changes are reversible) on pressure in a gas

energy: — has various forms (10 forms of energy —

light, sound, thermal, elastic, nuclear, chemical, magnetic,

Make simple inferences based on their results and prior knowledge

Reflect on whether an investigation was a fair test

Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of evidence

Identify some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions

mechanical, gravitational, and electrical)

— is conserved (the law of conservation of energy — energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be changed)

devices that transform energy (devices that transform energy change input energy into a different output energy (eg., glow stick [chemical to light], wind-up toy [elastic to mechanical], flashlight [electrical to light]).)

local changes caused by Earth’s axis, rotation, and orbit (Earth’s axis, rotation, and orbit cause changes locally: day and night: animals are nocturnal (active at night) and diurnal (active during day); annual seasons: plants and animals respond to the seasons (drop leaves, change colour); phases of the moon, tides, etc.; tides: affect living organisms)

features of biomes (biomes are regions grouped by similar temperature and precipitation (eg., climate: long-term weather patterns); terrestrial biomes; aquatic/marine biomes)

the relationship between the sun and the moon (the relationship between the sun and the moon; local Aboriginal teachings and stories about the sun and the moon; traditional teachings and stories about the sun and the moon)

Area of Learning: SCIENCE Grade 4

Learning Standards (continued)

Curricular Competencies Content

Applying and innovating

Contribute to care for self, others, school, and neighbourhood through individual or collaborative approaches

Co-operatively design projects

Transfer and apply learning to new situations

Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving

Communicating

Represent and communicate ideas and findings in a variety of ways, such as diagrams and simple reports, using digital technologies as appropriate

Express and reflect on personal or shared experiences of place

Cheryl.Adebar@sd71.bc.ca

Big Idea :_____________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________ (Understand)

Criteria: Curricular Competency (Do) DS GS I Evidence and date accomplished: Teacher (initials)

I can

I can

I can

I can

Criteria: Science Content (Know) DS GS I Evidence and date accomplished: Teacher (initials)

I can

I can

I can

Student Voice:

Teacher Feedback:

DS GS I Teacher

With Direct Support

With Guided Support

Independently Teacher initials for

verification

Criteria- Teacher and student assessment

Core Competencies (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and social

responsibility): I can

Legend

* Student assessment

√ Teacher assessment

Cheryl.Adebar@sd71.bc.ca

Student Name ____________________________ Learning Map - Grade Science

Big Idea : ________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________ (Understand)

Criteria for Successful Learner Traits/ Core Competencies

Student Reflections:

I can

I can

Criteria for Curricular Competency (Do) DS GS I Evidence and date accomplished: Teacher (initials)

I can

I can

I can

I can

Criteria: Science Content (Know) DS GS I Evidence and date accomplished: Teacher (initials)

I can

I can

I can

Student Voice:

The Successful Learner Trait that I used the most was _________________________________ when

I_______________________________________________________________________________________________.

To improve an inquiry project next time, I will __________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________.

Teacher Feedback:

DS GS I Teacher

With Direct Support

With Guided Support

Independently Teacher initials for

verification

Criteria- Teacher and student assessment

Legend

* Student assessment

√ Teacher assessment

Images by

Nelson Wesley

Arden Elementary,

S.D. 71 (2016)

Coast Salish

Prince Rupert

… direct support … guided support … independent …applying innovatively

Name(s): Date:

STRIVING FOR SUCCESS

…applying innovatively!

…independent

…guided support

…direct support

TASK TO COMPLETE:

Criteria:

Self Assessment:

TEACHER Assessment Comments:

Suggested Ways to Engage Students in Science Inquiry:

Share and discuss the driving inquiry questions: How do living things sense, respond and adapt to stimuli in their environment? What evidence is there of interdependence between living and nonliving things in an ecosystem?

Establishing a need to know: Engage student interest/curiosity with the YouTube clip, “You and Your Five Senses” – Jiminy Cricket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFHX_5eBJ1U

Possible inquiries to explore: Check out http://geog.uvic.ca/viwilds/iw.html VI-Wilds Vancouver Island Wilderness and Historical Conservation for information about Vancouver Island Wildlife. Find out about Mason Bees through the Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers http://cvgss.org/mason-bees/ Voice and choice: Students could choose a particular sense to explore in-depth. Students could research a particular organism whose survival in their environment depends on that particular sense.

Suggested Ways to Embed Assessment for Learning Strategies:

Share clear learning targets. Examples – I can identify questions to answer or problems to solve through inquiry. I can participate in investigations to answer my questions. I can describe how the brain helps us create images from what we observe.

Ask and invite deep thinking questions. Is there improvement when viewing the world with two eyes? Would a one-eyed animal have depth perception? If you place your hands over your ears, you can not hear as well. Why do you think this is? What senses do you use when crossing a busy road?

Peer and self- assessment: provide opportunities for learners to represent their understanding of the five senses or of their particular inquiry – how one organism relies on a particular sense for survival.

Co-constructing ideas: What are our 5 senses and what do they tell us? What foods have you tried that taste good to you? What foods do you think taste bad? How do you know without eating them? Do other animals use their sense of taste? What parts of the body help us feel and touch?

Suggested Ways to Weave Aboriginal Ways of Knowing within this unit:

Discuss and explore the Aboriginal Worldview with respect to the environment (the interconnectedness of all things and the responsibility to care for them.)

Read and discuss the story “Voices from the Wild” (found in this kit) Read David Suzuki’s “Salmon Forest Read and explore the story “How do Animals Help Plants Reproduce?”

Access a 76 page pdf that shares Human Body Systems lessons from an Aboriginal perspective, Google –

Human Body An Integrated Science Learning Unit for Yukon ... www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/crystal/YukonResources/Human Body Sys… · PDF file - p.66-69

Web links for Biology Grade 4

Science World: Senses - this website offers great information and activities for exploring the 5 senses.

http://www.scienceworld.ca/resources/units/senses

Your body does some amazing things, so why not put it to the test? Experiments for exploring the 5

senses for kids (some will require help from an adult).

http://kidshealth.org/kid/closet/experiments/experiment_main.html

You and Your Five 5 Senses Jiminy Cricket (video 7:58)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFHX_5eBJ1U

Five Senses: Facts

http://idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/senses/facts.cfm

10 Unusual Animal Senses

http://listverse.com/2013/04/13/10-unusual-animal-senses/

Amazing Animal Senses

Some animals have developed amazing adaptations to their environments. Many different types of energy

exist in the environment, some of which humans cannot detect. Here are some examples of how some

animals sense the outside world and the anatomical structures that allow them to do so.

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/amaze.html

Find out about Mason Bees through the Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers website

http://cvgss.org/mason-bees/

Keeping Mason Bees: 10 Expert Beekeeping Tips

https://www.parentmap.com/article/keeping-mason-bees-10-expert-tips-for-families

How do Dragonflies see the World? Animal Super Senses (video 4:13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5XUdvBO_TE

Ant communication: Do Ants use Smell to Talk? (video 2:04)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s16f2fmkEw

Bat Sense (video - 3:08)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZxLUNHEmPw

Cool Facts about Earthworms (video 1:12)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1tWYmoKNFw

Amazing Facts about Bald Eagles (video 2:36)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Qh3Il411M

See like a Snake (video 2:54)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYxiffT7izY

Suggested Resources

Human Body

An Integrated Science Learning Unit for Yukon Grade 5 Students

Centre for Youth, Research, Science Teaching and Learning

University of Manitoba

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

November 2012

Source: Human Body - An Integrated Science Learning Unit for Yukon Grade 5 Students. A fabulous resource that offers Human Body Systems lessons and activities with an Aboriginal perspective.

http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/crystal/YukonResources/Human%20Body%20Systems%20for%20Students.pdf

P. 66- 69: Exploring Our Senses.

The following 5 Senses lessons/activities are available from Science World:

https://www.scienceworld.ca/resources/

Suggested Resources

Source: Understanding the Human Body- Understanding the Senses.

Description: This nonfiction resource provides engaging text features, facts and information about the five senses. Includes Try this and Investigate as suggestions for activities and experiments.

Source:Animal Adaptations - Senses.

Description: Explore the extraordinary senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste of a variety of animals.

An electronic copy of this teacher guide can be found on Learn71 athttps://portal.sd71.bc.ca/group/wyhzgr4/Pages/default.aspx

Contributors: Cheryl Adebar, Thea Black, Noah Burdett, Doug David, Kara Dawson, Colleen Devlin, Allan Douglas, Gerald Fussell, Nora Harwijne, Sarah Heselgrave, Debra Lovett, Kim Marks, Gail Martingale, Dale Mellish, Heather Mercier, Jane Rondow, Teri Ingram, Debbie Nelson, Joan Pearce, Stewart Savard, Laura Street, Lynn Swi�, Carol Walters.

School District No. 71 (Comox Valley) grants permission for teachers to use these resources for educational purposes.

Published July 2016