The NGSS in Massachusetts

4-ESS Earth and Space Sciences

• 4-ESS1 Earth's Place in the Universe

  • 4-ESS1-1 Use evidence from a given landscape that includes simple landforms and rock layers to support a claim about the role of erosion or deposition in the formation of the landscape over long periods of time.

    • Interpret evidence from fossils in rock layers (4-T.5)

• 4-ESS2 Earth's Systems

  • 4-ESS2-1 Make observations and collect data to provide evidence that rocks, soils, and sediments are broken into smaller pieces through mechanical weathering and moved around through erosion by water, ice, wind, and vegetation.

    • Changes to Earth's surface: erosion (4-S.1)

  • 4-ESS2-2 Analyze and interpret maps of Earth's mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, volcanoes, and earthquake epicenters to describe patterns of these features and their locations relative to boundaries between continents and oceans.

    • Read a topographic map (4-V.4)
    • Select parts of a topographic map (4-V.5)

• 4-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

  • 4-ESS3-1 Obtain information to describe that energy and fuels humans use are derived from natural resources and that some energy and fuel sources are renewable and some are not.

    • Evaluate natural energy sources (4-R.1)

  • 4-ESS3-2 Evaluate different solutions to reduce the impacts of a natural event such as an earthquake, blizzard, or flood on humans.

    • Evaluate multiple design solutions to prevent flooding (4-X.1)
    • Identify the best design solution to prevent hurricane damage (4-X.2)

4-LS Life Science

• 4-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

  • 4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that animals and plants have internal and external structures that support their survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

    • Classify fruits and vegetables as plant parts (5-L.1)
    • Identify plant parts and their functions (5-L.2)

4-PS Physical Science

• 4-PS3 Energy

  • 4-PS3-1 Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.

  • 4-PS3-2 Make observations to show that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

    • Predict heat flow (4-D.1)
    • Predict temperature changes (4-D.2)

  • 4-PS3-3 Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

  • 4-PS3-4 Apply scientific principles of energy and motion to test and refine a device that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy or uses stored energy to cause motion or produce light or sound.

    • Energy transformation (4-I.1)

• 4-PS4 Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

  • 4-PS4-1 Develop a model of a simple mechanical wave (including sound) to communicate that waves (a) are regular patterns of motion along which energy travels, and (b) can cause objects to move.

    • Compare amplitudes and wavelengths of waves (4-G.4)

  • 4-PS4-2 Develop a model to describe that light must reflect off an object and enter the eye for the object to be seen.

  • 4-PS4-3 Develop and compare multiple ways to transfer information through encoding, sending, receiving, and decoding a pattern.

    • Energy transformation (4-I.1)

4-ETS Technology/Engineering

• 4-ETS1 Engineering Design

  • 4.3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out tests of one or more design features of a given model or prototype in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify which features need to be improved. Apply the results of tests to redesign a model or prototype.

  • 4.3-5-ETS1-5(MA) Evaluate relevant design features that must be considered in building a model or prototype of a solution to a given design problem.