This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 4th grade Science content.

This resource accompanies our Rethink 4th Grade Science course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

After reading several stories by Sandra Markle, and researching a landform of choice, students will make a list of adaptations that an animal living in that environment would need such as, fur, wings, claws, sharp teeth etc. Then using recycled materials such as paper rolls and craft materials such as wiggly eyes and pom poms, create a new animal.

This is a multi-day culminating activity based on unit 2 of the 4th grade Wonders curriculum. Students will work in groups to research a chosen animal off of a given list. After researching the animal, they will create a visual using four nonfiction text features to describe the animal. Students will connect a Makey Makey to their presentation and record audio describing each section. After projects are complete, students will participate in a gallery walk. A rubric accompanies this activity so teachers have guidelines on how to assess student work.

In this short video, join Emily and Emma from the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh to take a look at some birds and learn about how we can observe all kinds of wildlife in our everyday lives.

Water is a limited resource that we use over and over again. The idea is to teach the science behind the water cycle, where water comes from and is located on the Earth. After research and developing and understanding of conservation students will create a water tower that will collect and store rainwater. Students will also create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on water conservation.

Students will design a device using Spheros or Sphero Minis and recyclables to help clean trash out of waterways.

Cleanopolis VR is a game that students can play to learn more about the environment and fight against climate change. The game does not have to be played with 3D technology, but it will enhance the experience. Cleanopolis has both an Android and iOS version.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science created this resource as part of an online workshop series, but you are welcome to use or modify it for your classroom. It includes a video and written directions for creating nature journals and tips for incorporating them into your classroom. For information on taking any the Nature Neighborhood online workshops for CEUs or EE credit, visit: https://naturalsciences.org/learn/educators/online-workshops.

Students will research on the computer. Students will create a poster about their Australian animal. This lesson was developed by Sara Kull as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will read through a nonfiction text picking out key ideas and details. Students will create their own note taking sheet using boxes and bullets based on teacher modeling. This lesson was developed by Sara Kull as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will create a presentation about their Australian animal based on their research. Students will present their research to peers and adults. This lesson was developed by Sara Kull as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will investigate ways to save animals around the world and create a written opinion piece to share their thoughts and ideas to save the animals. Students will be able to choose a structure that best supports their opinion. They will use correct grammar and spelling to write clear sentences and draft an opinion piece. Optional:  Students will take action by adopting an animal through the World Wildlife Foundation. This lesson was developed by Sara Kull as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

In this lesson students review the concept of the 4 R's and what they have done, and can do, to make the world a more beautiful place. Students will explore how nature sets a good recycling example by analyzing earthworms. As a culminating project, students will make a mini-compost bin to take home. A unit post-assessment is conducted using the pie graph or anchor charts from the first lesson in the unit. This lesson was developed by Lee Ann Smith as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.

This lesson begins by following up to the previous lesson in which students were instructed to politely refuse one single-use item. Students will observe how one community in South America makes something wonderful from trash. Students will learn the importance of reducing their trash by actively participating in a trash-sorting activity, and demonstrate the ability to reuse trash by making a "trash to treasure" product. This lesson was developed by Lee Ann Smith as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.

Students will investigate how they can adapt their behavior to live in changing habitats. The students have been discovering and researching how animals adapt to their environments in various ways. Students will now play a role in how they can adapt their behaviors in order to make an impact on the habitat in which they live. In earlier lessons they had learned about the disappearing honeybees and the polar bears adaptation to severe conditions. Students will now have to solve a problem within their own habitat. The students will become part of a team in which they will complete a Problem Based Learning activity (PBL). In this PBL they will have to solve the "phone book problem". Students will become part of a team to clean up the mess of old and unused phone books. They will identify and collaborate what to do with them through the PBL. This lesson was developed by Victoria James as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Student will research an animal they are assigned from Australia using an informational rubric. The students will research their animal using the guide given by teachers. They will investigate the information and take notes regarding their animal. They will use the computer to research and learn about their animal in its habitat and ecosystem. Students will identify environmental changes, adaptations, and behaviors that enable animals (including humans) to survive in changing habitats. They will communicate their ideas in writing using a rubric before they construct a Google Slideshow representing their findings. This lesson was developed by Victoria James as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.            

Students will investigate how an animal has adapted in nature by the way an ecosystem presents itself. Students will investigate the world's ecosystems and identify what attributes are helpful in order to survive. Students will read nonfiction text chosen by their teacher about polar bears. They will understand what attributes the animal needs in order to survive successfully within the ecosystem it resides. During which time students will recognize the importance of having a balanced ecosystem and how protecting the balance is important for sustaining life. Students will also brainstorm ways in which the changing ecosystem may be harmful to the polar bear and how the polar bear could adapt to sustain life. This lesson was developed by Victoria James as part of their completion of the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge program. This lesson plan has been vetted at the local and state level for standards alignment, Global Education focus, and content accuracy.