Older Resources. The resources have not yet been aligned with the 2009 revised K–12 science TEKS.

Snapshots and TEKS-Based Activity Starters: Grade 4 Science

Snapshots are ideas for classroom activities that address the intent of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science. Snapshots may cover part of a TEKS statement, but not necessarily the whole statement. Snapshots represent one way, out of many possible ways, of addressing specific TEKS statements.

Each TEKS-Based Activity Starter is designed to be a nucleus of a lesson that focuses on a particular TEKS. These activity starters should be customized and enriched to fit your student population.

Assessments are multiple-choice items aligned to science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

The TEKS for Science listed here are from Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science. Subchapter A. Elementary. §112.6. Science, Grade 4. (a) Introduction and (b) Knowledge and skills. The elementary TEKS for Science can be viewed and downloaded on the Texas Education Agency website or purchased in book form through our online catalog.

(a) Introduction.

(1) In Grade 4, the study of science includes planning and implementing field and laboratory investigations using scientific methods, analyzing information, making informed decisions, and using tools such as compasses to collect information. Students also use computers and information technology tools to support scientific investigations.

(2) As students learn science skills, they identify components and processes of the natural world including properties of soil, effects of the oceans on land, and the role of the Sun as our major source of energy. In addition, students identify the physical properties of matter and observe the addition or reduction of heat as an example of what can cause changes in states of matter.

(3) Students learn the roles of living and nonliving components of simple systems and investigate differences between learned characteristics and inherited traits. They learn that adaptations of organisms that lived in the past may have increased some species' ability to survive.

(4) Science is a way of learning about the natural world. Students should know how science has built a vast body of changing and increasing knowledge described by physical, mathematical, and conceptual models, and also should know that science may not answer all questions.

(5) A system is a collection of cycles, structures, and processes that interact. Students should understand a whole in terms of its components and how these components relate to each other and to the whole. All systems have basic properties that can be described in terms of space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy occur in systems and can be observed and measured as patterns. These patterns help to predict what will happen next and can change over time.

(6) Investigations are used to learn about the natural world. Students should understand that certain types of questions can be answered by investigations, and that methods, models, and conclusions built from these investigations change as new observations are made. Models of objects and events are tools for understanding the natural world and can show how systems work. They have limitations and based on new discoveries are constantly being modified to more closely reflect the natural world.

(b) Knowledge and skills.

(4.1) Scientific processes. The student conducts field and laboratory investigations following home and school safety procedures and environmentally appropriate and ethical practices.

The student is expected to:

  1. demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory investigations; and
  2. make wise choices in the use and conservation of resources and the disposal or recycling of materials.
(4.2) Scientific processes. The student uses scientific inquiry methods during field and laboratory investigations.

The student is expected to:

  1. plan and implement descriptive investigations including asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting and using equipment and technology;
  2. collect information by observing and measuring;
  3. analyze and interpret information to construct reasonable explanations from direct and indirect evidence;
  4. communicate valid conclusions; and
  5. construct simple graphs, tables, maps, and charts to organize, examine and evaluate information.
(4.3) Scientific processes. The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions.

The student is expected to:

  1. analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information;
  2. draw inferences based on information related to promotional materials for products and services;
  3. represent the natural world using models and identify their limitations;
  4. evaluate the impact of research on scientific thought, society, and the environment; and
  5. connect Grade 4 science concepts with the history of science and contributions of scientists.
(4.4) Scientific processes. The student knows how to use a variety of tools and methods to conduct science inquiry.

The student is expected to:

  1. collect and analyze information using tools including calculators, safety goggles, microscopes, cameras, sound recorders, computers, hand lenses, rulers, thermometers, meter sticks, timing devices, balances, and compasses; and
  2. demonstrate that repeated investigations may increase the reliability of results.
(4.5) Science concepts. The student knows that complex systems may not work if some parts are removed.

The student is expected to:

  1. identify and describe the roles of some organisms in living systems such as plants in a schoolyard, and parts in nonliving systems such as a light bulb in a circuit; and
    Snapshot:
    • Have students observe a picture of an ecosystem such as a rainforest, desert, or any Texas ecosystem and identify the components of the ecosystem. Have students brainstorm about what would happen to the ecosystem if parts of it were removed.
    TEKS-Based Activity Starter:
  2. predict and draw conclusions about what happens when part of a system is removed.
    Snapshot:
    • Predict, test, and draw conclusions about the removal of a part from a circuit made with wires, battery, light bulb, and socket.
(4.6) Science concepts. The student knows that change can create recognizable patterns.

The student is expected to:

  1. identify patterns of change such as in weather, metamorphosis, and objects in the sky;
    Snapshot:
    • Identify patterns of change in weather by collecting data about seasonal changes in temperature for the different regions of Texas.
    TEKS-Based Activity Starter:
  2. illustrate that certain characteristics of an object can remain constant even when the object is rotated like a spinning top, translated like a skater moving in a straight line, or reflected on a smooth surface; and
    Snapshot:
    • Observe a coin to see if it stays the same or remains constant in the following situations: spinning the coin on its edge (rotation); pushing the coin in a straight line (translation); and observing the reflected image of a coin on a shiny surface (reflection).
  3. use reflections to verify that a natural object has symmetry.
    Snapshot:
    • Use mirrors to check for symmetry of natural objects.
(4.7) Science concepts. The student knows that matter has physical properties.

The student is expected to:

  1. observe and record changes in the states of matter caused by the addition or reduction of heat; and
    Snapshot:
    • Place an ice cube in an aluminum pan and set it on a hot plate. Time how long it takes for the ice to change from a solid to a liquid to a gas.
  2. conduct tests, compare data, and draw conclusions about physical properties of matter including states of matter, conduction, density, and buoyancy.
    Snapshot:
    • Conduct a test to show how the position of a raw egg in its shell changes in a container of fresh water when salt is added to the water to the point of saturation.
(4.8) Science concepts. The student knows that adaptations may increase the survival of members of a species.

The student is expected to:

  1. identify characteristics that allow members within a species to survive and reproduce;
    TEKS-Based Activity Starters:
  2. compare adaptive characteristics of various species; and
    Snapshot:
    • Compare adaptations in various species of reptiles by researching characteristics of body parts, coloration, and behaviors.
    TEKS-Based Activity Starters:
  3. identify the kinds of species that lived in the past and compare them to existing species.
    Snapshot:
    • Research prehistoric animals and relate them to modern-day animals that can be considered their counterparts, such as mammoth/elephant, sabertoothed tiger/tiger, and others.
(4.9) Science concepts. The student knows that many likenesses between offspring and parents are inherited or learned.

The student is expected to:

  1. distinguish between inherited traits and learned characteristics; and
    Snapshot:
    • Research domestic and wild cats. Have students create a T-chart to distinguish inherited traits from learned characteristics.
  2. identify and provide examples of inherited traits and learned characteristics.
(4.10) Science concepts. The student knows that certain past events affect present and future events.

The student is expected to:

  1. identify and observe effects of events that require time for changes to be noticeable including growth, erosion, dissolving, weathering, and flow; and
    Snapshot:
    • Identify visible weathering on outside objects like old stone buildings or statues.
  2. draw conclusions about "what happened before" using fossils or charts and tables.
(4.11) Science concepts. The student knows that the natural world includes earth materials and objects in the sky.

The student is expected to:

  1. test properties of soils including texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support life;
    Snapshot:
    • Measure the volume of water that flows through soil samples in a filter system.
    TEKS-Based Activity Starter:
  2. summarize the effects of the oceans on land; and
    Snapshot:
    • Research the effects of erosion on the Texas coastline.
  3. identify the Sun as the major source of energy for the Earth and understand its role in the growth of plants, in the creation of winds, and in the water cycle.
    Snapshot:
    • Experiment to determine the role of the sun in the growth of plants by observing small potted plants. Cover some of the small potted plants with large paper bags and leave the other plants uncovered. Place the specimens in the same sunny area and water all with the same amount of water by adding water to a bottom standing tray. Check growth and record results every day for two weeks.