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Fourth Grade Science Resources
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Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
This video segment from IdahoPTV's Science Trek describes the sun, the center of the solar system, the planets, and asteroid belt of the solar system. It explains why earth is in a favorable spot for life, and the importance of gravity in keeping planets in their orbits. Learn how the planets are alike and different.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars and planets.
Georgia Standard: S4E1
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
In this activity, students will learn their place in the solar system among the sun, moon and other planets. They will discuss how the movement of the Earth and moon cause daylight and moonlight.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars and planets.
Georgia Standard: S4E1
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video
Examines the sources of the moon's light. The moon reflects the light from the sun. Different parts of the moon are lit up at different times depending on the position of the sun which results in the phases of the moon.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars and planets.
Georgia Standard: S4E1
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive
Relate observable Moon patterns to motions within the Earth–Sun–Moon system using this digital model from Astronomy Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Linked Earth and space perspectives enable students to recognize cause-and-effect relationships. They can also visualize the spatial and time scales of phenomena such as the Moon’s apparent path in the sky and the Moon’s appearance in the day sky and night sky.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to model the effects of the position and motion of the Earth and the moon in relation to the sun as observed from the Earth.
Georgia Standard: S4E2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
Create a musical instrument in minutes that can be used for a wide range of explorations into the science of sound! Students will discover the connection between vibrations and sounds.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how sound is produced and changed and how sound and/or light can be used to communicate.
Georgia Standard: S4P2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
All sound is made up of vibrations (rapid back-and-forth movement), which produce sound waves that travel through the air to our ears. When you play a kazoo, air carries the sound waves from your mouth down the tube, making the waxed paper vibrate. You can feel those vibrations if you touch the waxed paper. With this "Fetch!" activity, make an instrument that anyone can play - a kazoo - and get the buzz on sound vibrations!
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how sound is produced and changed and how sound and/or light can be used to communicate.
Georgia Standard: S4P2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
Sound vibrations travel through liquids, gases (like air), and solids (like the string in this activity). Sliding your fingers along the string creates friction (rubbing and sticking). This causes the string to vibrate. The vibrations travel up the string to the cup, which acts like a speaker and amplifies them (makes them sound louder). But why does the wet string work better than the dry string? The wet string made your fingers stick and rub more, causing more vibrations and more sound. In this "Fetch!" activity, turn an ordinary cup and string into a screeching, squawking sound machine.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how sound is produced and changed and how sound and/or light can be used to communicate.
Georgia Standard: S4P2
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
In this video, two ZOOM cast members create drums of different sizes, shapes, materials, and tensions of their drums, and compare the results. The construction of a drum—the materials it is made of, its size and shape, and the tension of its top, or drumhead—all affect how the drum sounds.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how sound is produced and changed and how sound and/or light can be used to communicate.
Georgia Standard: S4P2
Design Squad Nation: Balance Magic
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
Find out how the center of gravity of a sculpture can be adjusted to make a cool balance toy. Explore the design process in this activity from Design Squad Nation.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
Rev up this monster wheel to race it, or do freestyle tricks with it. Explore the design process and forces in this activity from Design Squad Nation.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
Build a cardboard crane and see how heavy a load it can lift, in this activity from Design Squad Nation.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
A lever is a bar that's attached to a pivot (turning point) called a fulcrum. You use a lever when you flush a toilet, paddle a boat, or cut with scissors - they're everywhere! Some are good at moving something heavy. A crowbar, for example, can pry open a door that's stuck. Levers can also make something move fast. A baseball bat hitting a ball, for instance, or a catapult hurling a stone. In this "Fetch!" activity, create a Jumping Jack puppet with levers and string. Then make it dance!
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
A catapult is a device used to hurl an object. It uses a simple machine called a lever (the spoon and craft stick), which is attached to a stationary point called a fulcrum (the cardboard tube), to help move a load (the marshmallow). Your catapult is powered by the rubber band. When you pull back on the lever, potential energy is stored in the rubber band. When you let go, the potential energy is transferred to the lever and turned into the energy of motion (or kinetic energy), and the marshmallow is flung forward. Download this "Fetch!" PDF, and build a catapult using a lever, and power it with a rubber band!
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Activity
Experiment with simple machines in this SciGirls activity where students design and create their own moving sculpture. Machines help us get work done; some are complex, with lots of moving parts, and others are simple. Cams are one example of a simple machine. They are like gears, but have no teeth and come in lots of different shapes. We use them to convert rotating motion (such as turning a crank) into back and forth motion (such as waving an arm). You'll find cams in everyday objects such as cars, music boxes, wooden automata, and toys.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive
How do you get a glove and a ball up to your tree house? One answer is to use a pulley. A pulley is a simple machine. In this original KET interactive, children learn about the basic workings of three simple machines.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Video with Support Materials
In this video segment from Cyberchase, Jackie, Matt, and Inez try to move a stack of slabs blocking a doorway. They decide to use a long board as a lever, but they soon realize they need a longer board in order to move the heavy slabs. The problem is that they are not sure exactly how long the lever should be. Since they do not have the time to try out levers of varying lengths, Inez decides to construct a scale model. While testing their model levers, they learn about the relationship between the length of a lever and its lifting capability.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.
Georgia Standard: S4P3
Source: PBS Learning Media
Resource Type: Interactive
In this lesson, students play a series of online games in which they model how the plants and animals in an ecosystem depend on one another. The GSE does not expect students to identify different types of consumers, but those terms are used in these games.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Georgia Standard: S4L1
Source: Ignite My Future
Resource Type: Document
Explore solutions to help the public identify invasive species from native ones by creating an electronic field guide that can recognize distinctive patterns and features. *Choose "graphic arts" in the Subject drop down menu .*
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Georgia Standard: S4L1
Source: Georgia Aquarium
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Students will learn the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a California sea lion’s community and how complex a food web can be.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Georgia Standard: S4L1
Source: Georgia Aquarium
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Students will identify variables that impact our schoolyard creek and ultimately our watershed.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Georgia Standard: S4L1
Source: Georgia Aquarium
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Students will be able to describe the diversity and interdependence of organisms within various habitats of a watershed.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Georgia Standard: S4L1
Source: Georgia Aquarium
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Students will describe what pollution is, identify sources of non-point source pollution and learn how humans will affect the environment and its influence on the plants and animals that share it with us.
Skill: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Georgia Standard: S4L1