The science curriculum focuses on life sciences, earth sciences, and physical sciences.  The life sciences will include plants, animals, cells, adaptations, and ecosystems.  The earth sciences include earth's layers, earthquakes and volcanoes, and planets and the solar system.  Finally, the physical sciences (which are the most abstract and challenging for the fourth grade mind) concentrate on matter, heat energy, electricity, magnetism, motion, and simple machines. 

Each lesson usually includes a hands on investigation and discussing the lesson in the book as we read it aloud.  In addition to the information learned, the students will learn and apply strategies such as making observation and inferences and drawing conclusions.  Making inferences and drawing conclusions are foreign skills the students and many of them struggle with it, but practice makes perfect, so we will be applying these skills throughout the year.  Students will also identify variables in experiments, be able to plan and conduct a simple investigation, and gather, record, and communicate data in their investigations.



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Last Updated February 2006