STC Grade Four Units . . . . . . . . Students learn about what animals need to survive, the primary parts of their anatomical structure, and the ways in which they are suited for life in a particular environment. Students create and maintain individual logs in which they record their observations of each animal over time. These observations focus on animal behavior, including methods for food getting, movement, and protection. They also conduct an animal research project and decide how they will present their findings to the class.
Students create hills, build dams, and grow vegetation.
Miniature valleys, waterfalls, and canyons form in the stream tables as water flows over the soil. Students begin to appreciate the vastness of stream systems by creating aerial diagrams of their stream table results. The stream table also serves as a basis for investigations of the water cycle. Through observing the model, manipulating certain parts of it, and testing interactions under various conditions, students discover how water changes the shape of land and how land formations, in turn, affect the flow of water. They apply the concepts they have learned to photographs of land and water on earth.