Return to flip book view

4th Grade Science

Page 1

Page 2

1 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONCISE CURRICULUM Science and ELA Including Additional STEM Activities 4th grade

Page 3

2 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Table of Contents UNIT I: EARTH SCIENCE THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND WEATHER: I. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information, to compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars, and planets. (S4E1) II. 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. (S4E2) III. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to demonstrate the water cycle. (S4E3) IV. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to predict weather events and infer weather patterns using weather charts/maps and collected weather data. (S4E4)

Page 4

3 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA UNIT II: PHYSICAL SCIENCE LIGHT AND SOUND/FORCE AND MOTION I. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the nature of light and how light interacts with objects. (S4P1) II. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how sound is produced and changed and how sound and/or light can be used to communicate. (S4P2) III. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces. (S4P3) UNIT III: LIFE SCIENCE ECOSYSTEMS AND ADAPTATIONS I. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem. (S4L1)

Page 5

4 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 6

Lesson 1: Stars and Planets (S4E1a) 5 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GEORGIA SCIENCE STANDARDS UNIT I: EARTH SCIENCE THE SOLAR SYSTEM I. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information, to compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars, and planets. (S4E1) a. Ask questions to compare and contrast technological advances that have changed the amount and type of information on distant objects in the sky. b. Construct an argument on why some stars (including the Earth’s sun) appear to be larger or brighter than other stars. c. Construct an explanation of the difference between stars and planets in the sky. d. Evaluate strengths and limitations of models in our solar system in describing relative size, order, appearance, and composition of planets and the sun. Essential Question: What can we see in the night sky? II. 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. (S4E2) a. Develop a model to support an explanation of why the length of day and night change throughout the year. b. Develop a model based on observations to describe the repeating patterns of the phase of the moon (new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, and full). c. Construct an explanation of how the Earth’s orbit, with its consistent tilt affects seasonal changes. Essential Question: How do the Earth and moon move? Essential Question: What is the solar system?

Page 7

Lesson 1: Stars and Planets (S4E1a) 6 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) On Earth we gaze at the stars in the sky above us. gaze means: A) hold B) collect C) look Galaxies A galaxy is a giant collection of stars. A galaxy is held together by a very strong force that we call gravity. Scientists believe that there are billions of galaxies in the universe. Each galaxy contains large balls of burning gas called stars. Some galaxies contain smaller bodies known as planets. When a galaxy contains planets that move around a star, it is known as a solar system. Stars One thing you may have noticed about stars is that they are not all the same color. There are red stars, blue stars, white stars, and yellow stars. A star’s temperature is what makes a star a certain color. Very hot stars are usually blue in color. Red stars are much cooler than other stars because they are so old. They have burned up much of the hydrogen gas that gives them energy. Our sun is in the middle: not too hot and not too cold. The star that we call the sun is a medium-hot, yellow-white star. Constellations Sometimes you can see patterns when you look up at the stars. These patterns are called constellations. A very popular constellation is the Big Dipper. Of course there isn’t a real dipper in the sky. It, like all constellations, is a way of grouping the stars. Ancient people imagined that groups of stars were connected by lines that formed animals or people. These shapes came from their stories called myths. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. A ________________ is a giant collection of stars. 2. A star’s _________________ is what makes it a certain color. 3. Patterns of stars are called ___________________.

Page 8

Lesson 1: Stars and Planets (S4E1a) 7 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What holds galaxies together?________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What gives stars their color? ________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Name a popular constellation seen in the night sky. _______ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS Think about a constellation you can see in the night sky. Think about the name of the constellation. Why do you think it was given its name? Explain your answer. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 9

Lesson 1: Stars and Planets (S4E1a) 8 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA COMPARE AND CONTRAST TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES Ask questions to compare and contrast technological advances that have changed the amount and type of information on distant objects in the sky. (S4E1a) Type of Technology: ___________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Type of Technology: ___________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 10

Lesson 1: Stars and Planets (S4E1a) 9 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Each huge galaxy contains burning balls of gas called stars. *What does the galaxy do? _______________ (verb) *What words modify galaxy? _____ and ________ (adjectives) SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Simple or Compound: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that can stand alone. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Put S if the sentence is simple, put C if the sentence is compound. Insert commas where needed before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. There are billions of stars in our galaxy and they are not all the same color. _________ 2. A constellation is a collection of stars. __________ 3. Blue stars are hot, red stars are cool and yellow stars are in the middle. __________ 4. Our sun is a huge star but it is not the biggest. ________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION (4.L.V.1) MULTIPLE MEANING WORD STUDY Some words sound the same, spelled the same but have different meanings. Choose the correct definition for each sentence below. star: (A) giant balls of hot gas in the universe star: (B) highly popular athlete or performer 1. The musician’s talent made her a star in her hometown. ______ 2. The star of the play recited his lines perfectly. _______ 3. The sun is a star that is the center of our solar system. ______ 4. The brightest star in the night sky is called Sirius. ______

Page 11

Lesson 2: Stars and Planets (S4E1c) 10 Copyright © 2016 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Ancient Greeks called the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn “wandering stars”. wandering means: A) moving B) colorful C) exploding The Sun Our sun is a burning sphere of gases. The star we call the sun is enormous. It is over 600,000 miles across. It’s the largest object in our entire solar system. Our solar system is made up of the sun, the nine planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. Planets are large round objects that move around a star. Even though the planets are very large, the sun is bigger than all the planets put together. Stars Stars are fixed objects and do not move. Stars only appear to move because Earth is spinning on its axis. As Earth spins, the stars look as though they are traveling east to west across the night sky. It is this spinning that makes the sun appear to “rise” in the east and “set” in the west. Only Earth is moving. Ancient Greeks saw five objects in their night sky and noticed that they moved faster than the other stars. The Greeks named these objects “wandering stars” because they seemed to move differently than other stars. We now know that these five “stars” were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and not stars at all. Stars don’t move, and planets do. Planets Each planet in our solar system is in orbit around the sun. There are eight planets and eight different orbits. Some planets make their trip around the sun very quickly. The planets close to the sun have a shorter orbit, so they make the trip much faster. Those planets further away from the sun can take decades to make just one orbit. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Our ____________ is a burning sphere of gases. 2. Stars are ________________ objects and do not move. 3. Each planet in our solar system is in ____________ around the sun.

Page 12

Lesson 2: Stars and Planets (S4E1c) 11 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What makes stars look as though they are moving? _______ __________________________________________________ 2. Explain why the planets have a different orbit time around the sun. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Describe the characteristics of the sun. ________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Why does the sun appear to “rise” in the east and set in the west? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Research: Research the planets and their different orbits around the sun. Tell about which one has the shortest orbit around the sun and which one has the longest orbit around the sun. Explain why the orbits are different. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 13

Lesson 2: Stars and Planets (S4E1c) 12 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONSTRUCTING AN EXPLANATION Construct an explanation of the difference between stars and planets in the sky. (S4E1c) Characteristics of stars: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Characteristics of planets: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 14

Lesson 2: Stars and Planets (S4E1c) 13 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were not stars at all. (6 nouns) 2. The star we call the sun is enormous. (2 nouns) PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Planets (revolve) around the sun. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. Stars (appear) at night. ______________/_______________/_______________ 3. The Greeks (name) the planets. ______________/_______________/_______________ 4. People (look) at the sky. ______________/_______________/_______________

Page 15

Lesson 3: Stars and Planets (S4E1a & b) 14 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Planets orbit the sun. They move around the sun continuously. orbit means: A) scanning B) holding C) circling Planets and Stars When you look up into the night sky, you can see hundreds or even thousands of stars. Since planets are much closer than stars, they look like they are the same size, but they aren’t. Planets in our solar system are much smaller than stars and don’t produce their own light, but they seem to glow. The planets, like our moon, reflect the light of the sun, so it looks like they are glowing. Since planets are orbiting the sun, they are in a different place every night, but stars stay in the same place. Constellations If you have ever looked up and seen the Big Dipper, then you have seen a constellation. These groups of stars appear to be in different places in the night sky from month to month, but since stars don’t move, we know that something else is causing the constellations to look like they’ve moved. Since the planets all revolve around the sun, and Earth is a planet, then that would explain why stars appear to be moving. As Earth travels around the sun, we see the sky and the stars from different places. Astronomers It is easy enough to see stars in the sky, but to study the stars and the planets people use telescopes. When astronomers study stars or planets, they use very powerful telescopes to help them see details that you cannot see with your eyes alone. Astronomers can tell whether a planet is near or far, large or small, and even what it is made of. Scientists also use telescopes to study stars so that they can learn more about our universe. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. The planets ______________ the light of the sun. 2. As ____________ travels around the sun, we see the sky and ____________ from different places.

Page 16

Lesson 3: Stars and Planets (S4E1a & b) 15 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Why do planets look like they are glowing? _____________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why do the stars in the sky appear to be moving? ________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Why do astronomers use telescopes? __________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Why do scientists want to learn more about our universe? __ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ INFERENCE: Explain the statement below: “Scientists also use telescopes to study stars so that they can learn more about our universe.” _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 17

Lesson 3: Stars and Planets (S4E1a & b) 16 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONSTRUCTING AN ARGUMENT Construct an argument on why some stars (including the Earth’s sun) appear to be larger or brighter than other stars. (S4E1b) __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 18

Lesson 3: Stars and Planets (S4E1a & b) 17 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence below. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Planets in our solar system are much smaller than stars. (3n) (2p) 2. Scientists use telescopes to study stars. (3 nouns) 3. Astronomers study stars and planets. (3 nouns) (1c) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the cause. Planets in our solar system are much smaller than stars and don’t produce their own light, but they seem to glow. The planets, like our moon, reflect the light of the sun, so it looks like they are glowing. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ (What causes the planets to glow?) EFFECT: The planets in our solar system seem to glow. ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION (4.L.V.1) SYNONYM AND ANTONYM STUDY A synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word. An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning. Circle the word below that means the SAME as revolve. A) move B) slide C) rotate D) flip

Page 19

Lesson 4: Solar System (S4E1d) 18 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Of the eight major planets in the solar system, Mercury is now the smallest and is about the same size as Earth’s moon. major means: A) circular B) light C) main The Planets There are eight (8) major planets in our solar system. Pluto, now called a “Dwarf Planet”, was once the ninth, but some scientists argued that Pluto was too small to be considered a real planet. If you began at the sun and traveled into space you would pass Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune before finally reaching smaller Pluto. Of the eight major planets in the solar system, Mercury is now the smallest and is about the same size as earth’s moon. The planet Jupiter is much larger than any other planet but is still tiny compared to our sun. Jupiter is more than ten times as wide as Earth. That means that you could line up ten Earths side-by-side and they still wouldn’t be as wide as Jupiter. Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system and is known as “The Queen of Planets.” Saturn is a planet that seems different from the rest because it has rings around it. The third largest planet, Uranus, also has faint rings around it as well, but they are hard to see from Earth. Stormy Neptune is a swirling ball of hot gases and is the fourth largest planet. All four of these huge planets are known as “Gas Giants” because they are made almost entirely of gases. Gas giants don’t produce their own energy, so they cannot be considered stars. The four smaller planets are all made of rocks and minerals. Mercury is the smallest of these while Earth is the largest. Venus was once known as “Earth’s Twin” because it is about the same size as Earth, but scientists tell us that Venus is nothing like Earth. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system because of the thick poisonous clouds that surround it and trap the heat. Finally, there is the planet that is closest to Earth: Mars. Mars is known as the “Red Planet” because of its reddish colored soil. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. There are _______________ major plants in our Solar System. 2. _______________ is the second largest planet. 3. ________________ is the smallest planet.

Page 20

Lesson 4: Solar System (S4E1d) 19 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What planet is the largest in our solar system? The smallest? __________________________________________________ 2. Name the planets that are “Gas Giants.” Why are they called this? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. List the planets in order from smallest to largest. ________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Now list them in order from the sun. ___________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ EVALUATING STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS Evaluate strengths and limitations of models of our solar systems in describing relative size, order, appearance, and composition of planets and the sun. (S4E1d) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 21

Lesson 4: Solar System (S4E1d) 20 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system. (3 nouns) (1p) * What is the linking verb? ____________(MASTERED) 2. Neptune is a swirling ball of hot gases. (3 nouns) (1p) *What is the linking verb? _____________(MASTERED) SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Sentence Fragments do not express a complete thought. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Change each fragments below into complete sentences. 1. the second largest planet in our solar system ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. a swirling ball of hot gases ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 3. made of rocks and minerals ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 22

EXPERIMENTS PAGE (S4E1) 21 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! Try putting a coin on the right side of a table. Now, walk to the other side of the table and notice that the coin appears to be on your left. The coin didn’t move...you did. Stars don’t move...the planets do. Planets Activities: List all terrestrial planets: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ List all Gas Giants: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ List the planets in order from smallest to largest: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 23

Lesson 5: Length of Day and Night (S4E2a) 22 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Once the planet has brought us back into view of the sun, we are again in daylight and the planet has made one complete rotation. view means: A) sight B) around C) sky The Sun You’ve probably heard that each morning the sun rises and then sets in the evening. Since we know that the sun is a star and doesn’t move, then we must understand how the sun appears to travel across the sky. Earth, like all the planets in the solar system, is revolving around the sun. While Earth travels around the sun, it is also rotating. This spinning of Earth is what causes us to have daytime and nighttime. Day and Night Because Earth is a sphere, only half of our planet can face the sun at any given time. The half of the planet that is facing the sun is said to be having daytime. At the same time, the dark side of the planet is enjoying nighttime. As the planet spins on its axis, it slowly moves us from night into day and then from day to night. The length of the day is affected by the Earth’s tilt as it revolves around the sun. In Georgia we see the sun appear to rise in the eastern sky, but what is really happening is that as Earth turns, we can see more and more of the sun. As our part of the planet slowly turns to face the sun we can watch as the sun looks higher and higher in the daytime sky. After a long day of enjoying the sun’s rays, it is time for night. The planet continues to turn and moves us out of sight of the sun. At first, we notice that the sun looks lower in the sky. This is evening and it’s beginning to get dark. As we turn away from the sun, the sky gets darker, and nighttime falls over Georgia. One rotation of Earth takes 24 hours, and that is one day on Earth. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. While Earth is _________________ around the sun, it is also rotating. 2. Only ____________ of our planet can face the sun at one time.

Page 24

Lesson 5: Length of Day and Night (S4E2a) 23 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What causes us to have daytime and nighttime? __________ __________________________________________________ 2. How do we move from day to night and night to day? _____ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ WRITING AN EXPLANATION Do you think we need day and night? Explain your answer. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ What do you think it would be like to live in a part of the world where it was dark or “night” for almost 24 hours of a day? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 25

Lesson 5: Length of Day and Night (S4E2a) 24 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE: Why are you able to play outside longer before it gets dark in the summertime than you are in the wintertime? Is this the same for children who live in the Southern Hemisphere? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 26

Lesson 5: Length of Day and Night (S4E2a) 25 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence below. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Earth revolves around the sun. (2 nouns) (1p) *What does Earth do? _______________ (verb) 2. People see the sun rise in the sky. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do the people do? ___________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the cause-and-effect. The spinning of Earth is what causes us to have daytime and nighttime. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ EFFECT: _________________________________________________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM AND ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) A synonym is a word that means the same. An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning. Circle the word below that DOES NOT mean the same as rotate. A) turn B) view C) twirl D) spin

Page 27

Lesson 6: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 26 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) About once per month the moon seems to disappear; we cannot see it at all. disappear means: A) rotate B) revolve C) vanish Daytime and Nighttime The planets rotate and because they rotate, they have day and night. Our moon also rotates, so does the moon have daytime and nighttime? Well, the answer is yes AND no. Because of the speed that the moon revolves around Earth, half of the moon is always facing the sun, and the other half is always facing away from the sun. The dark side of the moon is always dark, so why does it look like the moon is all lit up one night and then only half lit just a few nights later? These shapes that the moon has are called phases. Phases of the Moon The phases of the moon are caused by where the moon is and how we see the moon from Earth. It takes the moon 29 days to make one trip around Earth. About once per month the moon seems to disappear; we cannot see it at all. This phase of the moon is called the new moon. The new moon happens because the moon is between Earth and the sun. All the sun’s light is shining on the side of the moon facing away from us, but as the moon revolves around Earth, and Earth rotates on its axis, we start to see a little bit of that daytime side of the moon. A day or so after the new moon, we can see a small portion of the lit side of the moon. This phase of the moon is called the waxing crescent. This phase looks like a fingernail. Over the next week, we see a bit more of the lit side of the moon every night. It looks like the lit part of the moon is growing bigger, or waxing, but it is the same size. We are just able to see more of it as the moon moves around Earth. After about seven nights we can see half (½) of the lit side of the moon, and this is referred to as the first quarter half-moon. Now the moon’s trip around Earth is one-fourth of the way complete. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Half of the ____________ is always facing the sun. 2. It takes the moon ______ days to make one trip around Earth.

Page 28

Lesson 6: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 27 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Does the moon have daytime and nighttime? ____________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. How long does it take the moon to make one trip around Earth? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. How long does it take to see half of the lit side of the moon? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What happens in the “new” moon phase? ______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What happens during the waxing crescent? _____________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 29

Lesson 6: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 28 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA MAKING OBSERVATIONS Draw the type of moon you see over the next three nights. What phase is the moon in? Draw the type of moon for three nights of the next week. What phase is the moon in? Draw the type of moon for three nights of the next week. What phase is the moon in?

Page 30

Lesson 6: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 29 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the cause-and-effect. It looks like the lit part of the moon is growing bigger, because we are able to see more of it as the moon moves around Earth. CAUSE: ____________________________________________ EFFECT: ___________________________________________ GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. The moon revolves around Earth. (2 nouns) (1p) *What does the moon do? ____________ (verb) 2. The shapes of the moon are called phases. (3 nouns) (1p) *What is the verb phrase? ____________ PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. The moon (revolve) around Earth. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. The moon (look) bigger throughout the month. ______________/_______________/_______________

Page 31

Lesson 7: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 30 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) The gibbous cycle of the moon’s phases occurs when the moon is more than half full, but less than completely full. completely means: A) entirely B) partially C) slowly Phases of the Moon The moon is just over seven days into its journey around Earth, and we can see more and more of the lit side of the moon. During the first quarter half-moon we saw the right side of the moon lit up. Now, as we slowly see more of the lit portion of the moon, it appears that the moon is becoming swollen. The moon is entering the waxing gibbous phase. The gibbous cycle of the moon’s phases occurs when the moon is more than half full, but less than completely full. During the next seven nights we can see almost all the lit side of the moon. Finally, after about 14 days we can see the entire lit side of the moon. During a full moon the moon has moved so that it is exactly opposite of where it was during the new moon. Earth is now between the moon and the sun, but because the moon is not even with Earth the sun’s light shines completely on the moon. The light from the sun is reflected off the moon and makes our night a little brighter. Because the moon’s journey around Earth takes about one month, we usually only see a full moon once per month, but there are times when there are two full moons in one month. We say that this second full moon is a blue moon. It is very rare to have two full moons in one month, so the name blue moon has come to mean anything that rarely happens. After just one night the moon begins to show its dark side to us, and the full moon appears to begin shrinking. During the first half of its orbit the right side of the moon looked as though it was growing. Now the right side is growing dark, and the lit side of the moon is on the left. This happens because the moon is on the opposite side of Earth, and we get a different view of it. Since the moon is no longer full, but not quite half full, we again call this phase the gibbous phase. Because the moon is now waning, the next 7 days will be the moon’s waning gibbous phase. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. The _______________ cycle of the moon is when the moon is more than half full. 2. When the moon is ______________ it is shrinking.

Page 32

Lesson 7: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 31 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What happens when the moon appears to be swollen? _____ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Explain what happens during a full moon. _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Why does the moon look like it is growing? _____________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Think About It! One night Yuri was playing kickball with his friends. When he came inside the house, he discovered he had lost his house key out of his pocket. He went back outside to find his key, but it was so dark he could not see. Later that month, he went outside, and he was able to find his key by the light of the full moon. What happened between the time when Yuri could not see outside and when he was able to see by the light of the full moon? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 33

Lesson 7: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 32 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA DEVELOPING A MODEL Develop a model based on observations to describe the repeating patterns of the phases of the moon (new, crescent, quarter, gibbous, and full). (S4E2b) List the steps you took to make your model. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Draw a picture of the model you made.

Page 34

Lesson 7: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 33 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. The moon journeys around Earth. (2 nouns) (1p) *What does the moon do? _________ (verb) 2. The journey around Earth takes about one month. (3 nouns) (2p) *What does the journey do? __________ (verb) 3. The second moon is a blue moon. (2 nouns) * There are two adjectives. ______________ and _____________ SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Simple or Compound: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that can stand alone. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Put S if the sentence is simple, put C if the sentence is compound. Insert commas where needed before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. The moon is entering the waxing gibbous phase. ____________ 2. Earth is now between the moon and the sun but because the moon is not even with Earth the sun’s light shines completely on the moon. ________________ 3. It is very rare to have two full moons in one month. ___________

Page 35

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 34 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Now the moon appears to be shrinking, but it has just moved to where we can only see a portion of that lit side. We cannot see all that lit side. portion means: A) whole B) part C) side Phases of the Moon The moon is half-full again after about 21 nights. We have seen the moon appear to grow from completely dark to completely lit. Now the moon appears to be shrinking, but it has moved to where we can only see a portion of that lit side. During the third quarter half- moon we see the left half of the moon’s lit side. One more revolution around Earth and the moon is three quarters (¾) complete. In the seven nights following the third quarter half-moon, we can see less and less of the lit side of the moon and more of its dark side. The shape of the moon begins to look like it did during the first seven nights of its orbit. This crescent shape, however, is waning now and will eventually be out of our sight completely. Since the moon appears to be crescent-shaped and waning, we call this phase the waning crescent. The moon will be referred to as a waning crescent for the next seven nights until we see nothing but its dark side again. In about 29 days the moon completes a revolution around Earth and gives us quite a show. We have seen the many faces of the moon. Each night brings with it a different view of the moon, and these views result in the phases that we have talked about. We have gone from a new moon where none of the lit side is visible, to the waxing crescent, followed by the first quarter half-moon. We’ve watched as the right half of the moon seems to become swollen (gibbous) and spreads closer and closer to the left side of the moon. Then, for one night, we see the entire lit portion of the moon, and then that full moon begins to wane. Eventually we will only see the dark side of the moon, but that too only lasts one night before it begins all over again. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. During the third quarter half-moon we see the ______ half of the moon’s lit side. 2. In about _______ days the moon completes a ______________ around Earth.

Page 36

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 35 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Why does the moon appear to be shrinking? ____________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2. Why do we call this phase of the moon the waning crescent? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. List and describe the phases of the moon in order beginning with the new moon. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 37

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 36 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Think About It! What do you think about when you look up at night and see each different phase of the moon? Are people on the other side of the world seeing the same thing that you see each night? Explain. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 38

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 37 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Simple or Compound: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that can stand alone. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Put S if the sentence is simple, put C if the sentence is compound. Insert commas where needed before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. We have seen the moon appear to grow from completely dark to completely lit. ________________ 2. In about 29 days the moon completes one revolution around Earth and the moon has given us quite a show. ________________ 3. We have seen the many faces of the moon. _________________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM AND ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) A synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word. An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word wane. Give synonyms for: wane ____________/___________/___________ Give antonyms for: wane ___________/___________/___________ Circle the word below is a SYNONYM of the word wane. A) circular B) diminish C) longer D) wax Circle the word below that is an ANTONYM of the word wane. A) circular B) diminish C) longer D) wax

Page 39

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 38 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 40

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 39 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 41

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 40 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Describe and Draw each moon phase. The Phases of the Moon Describe (in your own words) the different phases of the moon. (Don’t peek at the previous two pages) Also draw a picture (from memory) of each of the different phases. 1. New Moon: _________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. Waxing Crescent: ___________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. 1st Quarter Half Moon: ________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 4. Waxing Gibbous: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 5. Full Moon :_________________________________________

Page 42

Lesson 8: Phases of the Moon (S4E2b) 41 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 6. Waning Gibbous: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 7. 3rd Quarter Half Moon: _______________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 8. Waning Crescent: ___________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Draw and label the eight phases of the moon below from memory.

Page 43

Lesson 9: Seasonal Changes (S4E2c) 42 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Earth has an imaginary line running through it from the North Pole to the South Pole. This line cannot be seen by anyone. imaginary means: A) real B) pretend C) straight Earth’s Axis Earth has an imaginary line running through it from the North Pole to the South Pole. This line is called the axis. The axis of Earth is slightly tilted. It is this tilt and the revolution of Earth around the sun that causes the seasons. The tilt of Earth’s axis is only 23 ½ degrees, but it has a huge effect on all life on the planet. During the 365 days that it takes the earth to revolve around the sun, Earth experiences four seasons: summer, fall, winter, and spring. These seasons are what allow life to be so successful on Earth since it doesn’t stay too hot or too cold for a long period of time. Hemispheres Earth is divided into two hemispheres. The Northern Hemisphere is the part of the planet north of the equator and the Southern Hemisphere is the part of the planet south of the equator. Beginning around June 21 of each year, Earth’s axis causes the Northern Hemisphere to tilt toward the sun. This is the beginning of summer, and the Northern Hemisphere receives more hours of daylight, shorter nights, and much warmer weather. While the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. While the Northern Hemisphere enjoys summertime, the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing winter. In other words, summertime in Georgia is wintertime in Australia. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Earth has an _________________ line running through it from the ____________ Pole to the ___________ Pole. 2. Earth is ______________ into two hemispheres.

Page 44

Lesson 9: Seasonal Changes (S4E2c) 43 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What causes seasons on Earth? _______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Explain why we need the four seasons here on Earth. ______ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. If it’s wintertime in Georgia, what season is it in Australia? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE: Do children in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere participate in the same outside activities in the month of June as each other? What would be the reason for having different types of activities? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 45

Lesson 9: Seasonal Changes (S4E2c) 44 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since, etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. The revolution of Earth around the sun causes the seasons. (4 nouns) (2p) *What does the revolution of Earth do? _____________ (verb) 2. People experience four seasons on Earth. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do people do? _________________ (verb) *What word modifies seasons? ______________ (adjective) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Correct all errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The number in ( ) tells how many errors are in each sentence. 1. it take 365 days four earth too revolve around the son (7) ________________________________________________________ 2. the southern hemisphere are located south of the equator (5) ________________________________________________________ PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Our hemisphere (receive) more sunlight during the summer. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. Our hemisphere (tilt) toward the sun during the summer. ______________/_______________/_______________

Page 46

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 45 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) During the summer months, Earth continues to revolve around the sun. continues means: A) keeps on B) halts C) begins During the summer months, Earth continues to revolve around the sun. From June through September, the Northern Hemisphere of our planet is tilted toward the sun and the days are long and hot. By the end of September Earth has made it ¼ of the way around the sun, and again the tilt of Earth affects us. Beginning around September 22, Earth’s axis is not tilted toward or away from the sun. All the places on Earth have equal hours of daylight and night. In the Northern Hemisphere this means that the temperatures are beginning to go down, and we call this fall. In the Southern Hemisphere, the temperatures are starting to rise, and that is spring. Many people believe that wintertime occurs because Earth has moved further from the sun, but this isn’t so. Winter occurs because the tilted axis of Earth causes part of the Earth to tilt away from the sun. In late December, the Northern Hemisphere is completely tilted away from the sun. and winter has begun. It is during our winter that the Southern Hemisphere experiences summer. After a winter of long cold nights, the revolution of Earth brings us to spring. During the springtime, like the fall, Earth is neither tilted toward nor away from the sun. Fall is beginning in the Southern Hemisphere. In Georgia we are beginning to feel warmer temperatures and the days are getting longer. It won’t be much longer until summer returns. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. From June through September the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the _______. 2. Winter occurs because the ___________ axis of Earth causes part of the Earth to tilt __________ from the sun.

Page 47

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 46 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What happens when summer changes to fall? ____________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why does winter occur? _____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ CONSTRUCTING EXPLANATION Construct an explanation of how the Earth’s orbit, with its consistent tilt, affects seasonal changes. (S4E2c) _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 48

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 47 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA DEVELOP A MODEL Develop a model to support an explanation of why the length of day and night change throughout the year. (S4E2a) List the steps you took to make your model. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Draw a picture of the model you made.

Page 49

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 48 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since, etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Earth revolves around the sun. (2 nouns) (1p) *What does Earth do? ____________ (verb) 2. Temperatures drop in the fall. (2 nouns) (1p) *What do temperatures do? _____________ (verb) 3. Temperatures rise in the summer. (2 nouns) (1p) *What do temperatures do? ___________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Circle the cause and underline the effect in the sentence below. Winter occurs because the tilted axis of Earth causes part of the Earth to tilt away from the sun. FACT AND OPINION (4.T.T.2.a) A fact is something that is known to be true. An opinion is what someone thinks or feels. Write fact or opinion beside each statement below. 1. During the summer months, Earth continues to revolve around the sun. __________ 2. Summer is the best season of all. __________ 3. Winter occurs because the tilted axis of Earth causes part of Earth to tilt away from the sun. ____________ 4. Beginning around September 22, Earth’s axis is not tilted toward nor away from the sun. _____________

Page 50

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 49 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! If you would like to see just how this works, simply take a flashlight and a globe. Place a piece of tape on Georgia so you can see just where you are. Ask someone to be the sun and hold the flashlight so that it shines its light on the globe. Slowly spin the globe and notice that Georgia moves out of the light and into the dark but will reappear in the sunlight a short time later. When the globe has made one complete turn and Georgia is back in the spot where it started, it has been 24 hours or one day. Write down your observations: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Draw a picture:

Page 51

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 50 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 52

Lesson 10: Seasonal Changes (S4E2a/c) 51 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA The Four Seasons Describe the weather and conditions in your area during each season. (Write in complete sentences and use adjectives.) 1. Summer _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 2. Fall _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 3. Winter _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 4. Spring _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Page 53

IMPORTANT FACT REVIEW 52 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA IMPORTANT FACT REVIEW 1. What is a galaxy? ___________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. How are stars and planets different? ____________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. Why does the length of day and night change during the year? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 4. Explain how the Earth’s orbit, with its consistent tilt, affects seasonal change. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 5. Name and describe the phases of the moon. ______________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 54

IMPORTANT FACT REVIEW 53 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA VOCABULARY REVIEW Write an original sentence with each vocabulary word below. 1. phase: ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. rotating: __________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. seasons: __________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 4. orbit: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 5. cycle: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 6. revolve: __________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 7. revolution: ________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 55

54 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 56

55 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 57

Lesson 1: Three States of Water (S4E3a) 56 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) As water evaporates (turns into a gas), it becomes much lighter and begins to float into the air. float means: A) frozen B) liquid C) drift Three States of Water Water can exist in three forms, solid, liquid, and gas, and can easily change from one state to another. Solid water is called ice and is water that has frozen. When the temperature of the water goes down to 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) or lower, the liquid water turns into a solid (ice). The temperature causes the change from liquid to solid. Temperature also causes the solid to turn back into a liquid if the temperature is above freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Sometimes the temperature of water rises, and this higher temperature results in the liquid water turning into a gas that we call water vapor. Water can turn into a gas at any temperature above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This is called evaporation. As water evaporates (turns into a gas) it becomes much lighter and begins to float into the air. Since the gas is very light, it has no trouble doing this. Water begins to boil at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, but liquid water will begin evaporating at 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Raising the temperature of a liquid simply increases the speed of evaporation. If you’ve ever seen a pot of boiling water, then you’ve seen a gas. The steam rising from the pot is liquid water that has turned into gas. We have learned that ice can melt and become water, and that water will evaporate or turn into a gas. But what happens to water vapor as it rises into the air? As you go higher into the air, the temperature goes down - way down. Liquid water began to evaporate because the temperature of the water was raised. When the temperature of the water vapor is lowered again, then the water vapor will turn back into a liquid. Just as when someone takes a shower, the room will fill with steam or water vapor. When the water vapor encounters the cooler mirror, the water vapor condenses and becomes a liquid again. If the temperature of the air is at 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, then the liquid would turn back into a solid. This is how clouds are formed. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Water exists in three forms: ___________, __________, and __________.

Page 58

Lesson 1: Three States of Water (S4E3a) 57 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Name the three forms of water. _______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Describe how water turns into ice. ____________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What happens as water evaporates? __________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Liquid water will evaporate at __ degrees F ( __ degrees C). 5. What happens to water vapor as it rises into the air? ______ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS Kendall left a glass full of ice cubes on her kitchen counter. She went outside to play and came back much later than she expected. She looked at the counter and saw a glass of water. What happened to Kendall’s ice cubes? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 59

Lesson 1: Three States of Water (S4E3a) 58 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA INVESTIGATIONS Plan and carry out investigations to observe water as it changes states from solid (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (water vapor) and changes from gas to liquid to solid. (S4E3a) What is your plan? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ How will you implement or carry out your plan? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ What materials do you need? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Write about what you observed during your investigation. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 60

Lesson 1: Three States of Water (S4E3a) 59 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Temperature causes the solid to turn into a liquid. (3 nouns) *What does the temperature do? ____________ (verb) 2. Water evaporates into the air. (2 nouns) *What does the water do? ____________ (verb) SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE FRAGMENTS Sentence Fragments do not express a complete thought. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Change each fragment below into a complete sentence. 1. began to evaporate because of the temperature ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. will fill with steam or water vapor ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 3. as it rises into the air ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 61

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 60 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) The tiny drops of liquid water cling to small pieces of dust or smoke and hang in the air. cling means: A) stick B) turn C) loose The Water Cycle The water on our planet is old. How old? Well, the water that we use today is the same water that filled lakes and streams during the time that dinosaurs roamed Earth. The water that fell from the clouds millions of years ago is the same water that falls from the clouds today. How is this possible? Water is constantly recycled by a process that scientists call the water cycle. The water cycle consists of three very different stages: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. These three steps cause the water on Earth to change forms constantly. Water in a lake one day becomes a cloud on another day. Rain falls from the clouds and fills the lake again. This cycle is important to all life on the planet. The water cycle helps to clean our water and make sure that rain falls to water plants. It would be impossible for life to exist on our planet without the three steps in the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The first step in the water cycle is evaporation. Evaporation is the effect when liquid water on Earth’s surface is heated by the sun and turns into a gas called vapor. This gas is very light and floats up into the atmosphere. As the vapor rises higher into the air, it begins to cool. This cooling of the vapor causes it to change back into a liquid in a step called condensation. The tiny drops of liquid water cling to small pieces of dust or smoke and hang in the air. When enough drops of liquid water have grouped together, we call this a cloud. Eventually, the drops get bigger and when they get too big to stay in the air, they fall back towards Earth as rain, sleet, hail, or snow. This is the step we call precipitation. The water cycle never ends. It keeps going and has been going for millions of years. The constant movement of water from Earth to the sky and back to Earth is one of the most important things to all life on the planet. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Water is _____________ recycled in what we call the water cycle. 2. The three stages of the water cycle are: _______________. _______________, and precipitation.

Page 62

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 61 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How old is our water? ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Name the three stages of the water cycle. _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is condensation? ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Why is the water cycle so important? __________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What would happen if this cycle were interrupted? ________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 63

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 62 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA DEVELOP MODELS Develop models to illustrate multiple pathways water may take during the water cycle. (evaporation, condensation, and precipitation). Remember: The water cycle DOES NOT follow a single pathway. (S4E3b) List the steps necessary to make your model. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Draw a picture of the model you made.

Page 64

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 63 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Rain falls from clouds. (2 nouns) (1p) *What does rain do? _____________ (verb) 2. The water cycle cleans our water. (2 nouns) *What does the water cycle do? ____________ (verb) PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Water (falls) to Earth as rain, sleet, hail, or snow. ______________ / _______________ / _______________ READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the effect. Evaporation is the effect when liquid water on Earth’s surface is heated by the sun and turns into a gas called vapor. CAUSE: Liquid water on Earth’s surface is heated by the sun. EFFECT: _________________________________________________ (What happens when liquid water is heated by the sun?)

Page 65

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 64 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Additional Information __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ The Layers of the Earth’s Atmosphere Troposphere – The troposphere is the layer closest to Earth. This is the layer that we live in. Most of the planet’s weather occurs here. About half of the entire atmosphere is made up by the troposphere. Stratosphere – The stratosphere is a very stable, or calm, layer. There is very little moisture in this layer, so there is very little cloud formation. The ozone layer is contained within the stratosphere. Mesosphere – Not much is known about the mesosphere because it is so high. It is too high for planes to fly in to and not high enough to be studied from outer space. It is known that this is the coldest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. Many meteors burn up in this layer. Thermosphere – The thermosphere is the layer farthest away from Earth. This layer is the hottest layer because it absorbs many of the sun’s rays.

Page 66

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 65 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 67

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 66 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 68

Lesson 2: The Water Cycle (S4E3b) 67 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA RECORD YOUR OBSERVATIONS Date: _____________________ Observation: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________ Date: _____________________ Observation: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________ Date: _____________________ Observation: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________ Date: _____________________ Observation: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________ Date: _____________________ Observation: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 69

Lesson 3: Weather Instruments (S4E4a) 68 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Meteorologists use a collection of tools to help them predict what the weather will do next. predict means: A) prepare B) guess C) hope Weather Instruments Our planet has many kinds of weather, and knowing which one is on its way to Georgia can help you be prepared. Some of the things that cause the weather are wind speed, air pressure, temperature, and wind direction. People who study weather are called meteorologists, and they use a collection of tools to help them predict what the weather will do next. One tool that meteorologists use is called a thermometer. A thermometer is an instrument that measures the temperature of the air. A thermometer is a useful tool for making a weather forecast. The temperatures of the different air masses that move around our country are important because cool air and warm air don’t mix. When a warm air mass meets a cool air mass, we usually see storms, so meteorologists are very interested in keeping track of the temperature. You may not have heard of an indicator, but this weather instrument is one of the most important things a meteorologist has. A barometer measures air pressure. Cool air is heavy and pushes down against Earth, while warm air is lighter and doesn’t push against Earth nearly as much. Warm air is perfect for carrying evaporated water into the atmosphere where clouds are formed. A barometer tells scientists whether an air mass is pressing down with a lot of (High) pressure or very little (Low) pressure. Low pressure means warm air carrying more evaporated water into the atmosphere to make clouds, and clouds can bring rain. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. People who study weather are called _______________. 2. Meteorologists use a __________________ which is an instrument that measures the temperature of the air.

Page 70

Lesson 3: Weather Instruments (S4E4a) 69 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What does a meteorologist do? _______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What does a thermometer do? ________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is an indicator? _______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What does a barometer do? __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. Why are instruments important to a meteorologist? _______ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 71

Lesson 3: Weather Instruments (S4E4a) 70 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. A meteorologist uses a thermometer and a barometer. (3n) (1c) *What does a meteorologist do? _____________ (verb) 2. A barometer measures air pressure. (2 nouns) *What does a barometer do? ____________ (verb) 3. Meteorologists forecast the weather. (2 nouns) *What do meteorologists do? _____________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT MAIN IDEA (4.T.T.2.a) Write main idea beside the main idea and detail next to the sentences that support the main idea. 1. One tool that a meteorologist uses is a thermometer. ___________ 2. Instruments are very important to a meteorologist. _____________ 3. A barometer may also be used by a meteorologist. _____________ 4. A barometer measures air pressure. _____________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM and ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) Synonyms are words that have the SAME meaning as another word. Antonyms are words that have the OPPOSITE meaning. Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word forecast. Give synonyms for: forecast ____________ /____________ Give antonyms for: forecast _____________ /____________ Circle the word below that is a SYNONYM for the word forecast. A) anticipate B) history C) prepare D) collect

Page 72

Lesson 4: Weather Instruments (S4E4a) 71 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Meteorologists use rain gauges to figure out if Georgia has received more rain than normal or if the rainfall has been less than normal. normal means: A) necessary B) typical C) extreme Weather Instruments Knowing how much rain has fallen in a certain amount of time can also be useful for meteorologists. Rainfall, or precipitation, can be measured using an instrument called a rain gauge. A rain gauge is usually some sort of container that collects rain. The rain gauge has markings on it that show how many inches of rain have fallen. The average rainfall in the state of Georgia is about 50 inches. This means that if you measured all the rain that fell in Georgia over an entire year it would equal 50 inches. Meteorologists use rain gauges to figure out if Georgia has received more rain than normal or if the rain fall has been less than normal. If less than 50 inches of rain falls in a year, that could mean that the state is facing a drought, and the supply of water could be low. Meteorologists use the information learned from rain gauges to help decide whether people need to conserve water. Another weather instrument used for the collection of weather data is the wind vane. A wind vane is a tool that meteorologists use to determine which direction the wind is blowing. Wind vanes usually sit on top of a building or atop a tall pole. It is important to have the wind vane high enough that the wind is not blocked by buildings, hills, or trees. If people know which direction that wind is blowing, then they can determine which way clouds or air masses are moving. If meteorologists know that the wind is blowing a storm in a certain direction, they can warn everyone in the storm’s path to prepare or to take shelter. Along with wind direction, meteorologists need to know the speed of the wind. An anemometer is a tool that measures how fast the wind is blowing. If wind blows very fast, then that could mean that a storm will reach a town faster than if the wind were blowing slower. Anemometers are also used to measure the wind speed of hurricanes and other major storms. High winds can cause a great deal of damage, so meteorologists use anemometers to help keep everyone informed and safe. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Rainfall can be measured by an instrument called a ________ ____________. 2. If less than the average precipitation for a state falls in a year then the state could be facing a _____________.

Page 73

Lesson 4: Weather Instruments (S4E4a) 72 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What does a rain gauge do? _________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why is it important to measure the rainfall in an area? _____ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Why is a wind vane an important instrument for a meteorologist? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What is an anemometer? ____________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. Why is an anemometer important? ____________________ __________________________________________________ ASKING QUESTIONS Ask questions to explain how weather instruments are used in gathering weather data and making forecasts. (S4E4a) _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 74

Lesson 4: Weather Instruments (S4E4a) 73 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. A rain gauge collects rain. (2 nouns) *What does a rain gauge do? ___________ (verb) 2. Meteorologists use anemometers to help people. (3 nouns) *What do meteorologists do? _____________ (verb) 3. Wind vanes sit on tops of buildings. (3 nouns) (2p) *What do wind vanes do? __________ (verb) SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) Types of Sentences: A simple sentence contains one independent clause. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Label each sentence simple or compound. Insert a comma before each coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. The average rainfall in the state of Georgia is about 50 inches. ___________ 2. Meteorologists need to know the speed of the wind. ________ 3. Anemometers are used to measure the wind speed of hurricanes and they are also used to measure the wind speed of other major storms. __________ 4. High winds can cause a great deal of damage. ____________

Page 75

Lesson 5: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 74 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Weather Symbols Cold Front – This symbol is placed at the front edge of a cold air mass. The triangular shapes remind one of icicles. Warm Front – This symbol is placed at the front edge of a warm air mass. The semi-circular shapes look a little like a rising sun. High Pressure – The letter H on a weather map shows where there is an area of high pressure. High pressure is seen where there is cooler air. Cold air is heavy and pushes down with more pressure than warm air. 1.When do we see high pressure? ___________________ Low Pressure – The letter L on a weather map shows where there is an area of low pressure. Low pressure is seen where there is warm air. Warm air is lighter than cold air and pushes down with less pressure than cold air. 2.When do we see low pressure? ____________________ ______________________________________________________

Page 76

Lesson 5: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 75 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Weather Maps Weather maps are tools that are used to show the type of weather that exists on Earth’s surface. Meteorologists use a collection of symbols to represent the actual weather. Below is an example of a weather map showing different types of weather conditions across the United States. Weather occurs on Earth because of air masses and wind. There are two types of air masses: cold air masses and warm air masses. Cold air masses have high pressure. Cold air is heavier than warm air and moves down toward the ground. This downward movement of air keeps evaporated water from making it into the atmosphere to make clouds, so high pressure areas are usually associated with fair weather. Warm air is light and moves up into the atmosphere. As the warm air rises it takes with it evaporated water that makes clouds, so low pressure areas are usually associated with precipitation. Winds are constantly blowing all over the planet and these winds push the air masses around. Sometimes two air masses are pushed into one another, and this can result in some serious weather. 1.Why does weather occur on Earth? _________________________ 2. Describe the differences in cold air and warm air. _____________ ______________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Page 77

Lesson 5: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 76 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Air masses move wherever the wind blows them. On a weather map you can see a part of the air masses, but only the very front edge of each one. The symbols represent where the front of the air mass is and show which way it is moving. Since the symbols show the front of the air mass, we call them fronts. 1. How do air masses move? _______________________________ 2. What are fronts? ______________________________________ A cold front (like the one just north of Georgia in the map above) is represented by a line that shows where the front boundary of the air mass is. The triangular shapes show us that the front is moving to the south because they are pointing to the south. Behind the front is the mass of cool air. We know that the air is cool because of the large letter H. This symbol for high pressure lets us know that the air is heavy and moving down toward the ground. 3. What is a cold front? ___________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Cold Fronts

Page 78

Lesson 5: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 77 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA A warm front (like the one moving out of Florida and into Georgia in the map above) is also represented by a line that shows the front edge of the air mass. The air mass is full of air that is light and carrying moisture into the atmosphere. This low pressure is perfect for making clouds and this is why low pressure is usually associated with precipitation. 1.Why do we associate low pressure with precipitation? __________ ______________________________________________________ In the map, you will notice that the warm front is moving north, and the cold front is moving south. As the winds move these air masses around, they are bound to run into each other eventually, and when they do there can be real trouble. Warm air and cold air do not mix. As the two air masses meet, the heavy cold air will slide under the warmer lighter air. As the warm air rides across the top of the cold air rises very quickly higher into the atmosphere, and this can cause very powerful storms to develop. Warm Fronts

Page 79

Lesson 6: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 78 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Predicting the weather is no easy task for a meteorologist. It can be a difficult job. task means: A) hobby B) recreation C) chore Predicting the Weather Predicting the weather is no easy task. Meteorologists study for years and use many different tools to figure out what the weather will be like later in the day, the next day, or even next week. There are a few rules that you must understand to be able to predict the weather. You can use these rules and the weather-recording page. This will help you better understand how to predict the weather. • The first rule is to watch the barometer. If you notice that the air pressure (barometric pressure) is steadily falling, then you can expect precipitation within the next 24 hours. As we have learned, when air pressure is low that causes evaporated water to rise into the atmosphere to form clouds and this could mean rain. If the barometric pressure stays about the same, then you can predict fair weather. • The second rule in predicting the weather is to watch the clouds. When you see cumulus clouds forming near you, then that is a sign of an advancing storm. These clouds can form in bunches and that may cause the cumulus clouds to change into cumulonimbus or storm clouds. This is especially true if the cumulonimbus clouds form early in the day. Obviously if the sky is blue and cloudless, then there is a good chance that the weather will be nice that day. • The third rule of predicting the weather is to know what type of air masses or fronts are moving toward your area. If a warm front is moving towards where you are, then you can expect the temperature to go up. The temperature will change to match the temperature of the air mass that is moving through. If you happen to be where two air masses meet, then you know that you could be in for some stormy weather.

Page 80

Lesson 6: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 79 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How do meteorologists try to predict the weather? ________ __________________________________________________ 2. What can be expected when the air pressure starts falling? _ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Describe the sky when the weather is nice outside. _______ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What do we need to know when predicting the weather? ___ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS What do people need to do on a daily/weekly basis to prepare for the weather? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 81

Lesson 6: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 80 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA INTERPRETING DATA Interpret data from weather maps to identify fronts, temperature, and precipitation to make an informed prediction about tomorrow’s weather. (S4E4b) What is your prediction? ___________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ What source did you use to make your prediction? ______ _______________________________________________ Did your prediction come true? Explain your answer.____ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Can you use this information to make a prediction about the weather two or three days from now? Explain your answer. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 82

Lesson 6: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 81 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) Types of Sentences: A simple sentence contains one independent clause. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Label each sentence simple or compound. Insert a comma before each coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. Predicting the weather is no easy task. ________________ 2. Meteorologists use many different tools to predict the weather. _________________ 3. Meteorologists study for many years and they use many different tools to help them predict the weather. _______________ 4. Clouds also help meteorologists predict the weather. ________________ READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Reread the lesson and find the cause-and-effect. CAUSE: The air pressure (barometric pressure) starts to fall. EFFECT: _________________________________________________ CAUSE: The barometric pressure stays the same. EFFECT: _________________________________________________

Page 83

Lesson 6: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 82 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Month & Day Time of Day Temp. Barometric Pressure Wind Speed Wind Direction Relative Humidity Weather Recording Page Name______________________

Page 84

Lesson 6: Interpreting Data (S4E4b) 83 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Month & Day Time of Day Temp. Barometric Pressure Wind Speed Wind Direction Relative Humidity Weather Recording Page Name______________________

Page 85

Lesson 7: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 84 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Clouds are formed when water from Earth’s surface evaporates and rises into the air. formed means: A) created B) risen C) located Cloud Types Clouds are formed when water from Earth’s surface evaporates and rises into the air. Water vapor is carried upward by air that has been warmed by the sun’s energy. Warm air is lighter than cool air and is capable of carrying more water. As the warm air and water vapor rises, it naturally begins to cool. This cooling of the air and water vapor causes condensation. The water vapor begins to form droplets on any tiny particles that are in the air, like dust or smoke. Warm air continues to rise and bring water vapor with it. Over time the water droplets grow bigger as more water vapor changes from gas into a liquid. This collection of water droplets is called a cloud. Some clouds are so high in our atmosphere that the water droplets change again - this time they change into a solid or ice crystals. When the droplets get too large to be held up by the rising air, they fall to Earth as rain. If the clouds are very cold and contain ice crystals, we may see snow instead of rain. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Clouds are formed when water from the surface of the Earth _______________ and rises into the ____________. 2. The collection of water droplets grows and is called a ____________. 3. When the large water droplets get too large, they fall to Earth as ______________.

Page 86

Lesson 7: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 85 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Is warm air heavier than cool air? ____________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What causes condensation? __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Explain how clouds are formed. _______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Explain what happens when it rains. ___________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. Why does it snow? _________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 87

Lesson 7: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 86 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Droplets of water fall to Earth as rain. (4 nouns) (3p) *What do droplets of water do? ______________ (verb) 2. Clouds form when water evaporates and rises into the air. (3n) (1p) (1c) *What do clouds do? ______________ (verb) RELATIVE PRONOUNS and RELATIVE ADVERBS (MASTERY) Relative pronouns and relative adverbs are used to introduce a kind of dependent clause that modifies a word, phrase or idea in the main clause. Relative pronouns: that, which, or who 1. Water vapor is carried upward by air that has been warmed by the sun’s energy. 2. The water vapor begins to form droplets on any tiny particles that are in the air, like dust or smoke. READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Circle the CAUSE and underline the EFFECT below. Clouds form when water from Earth’s surface evaporates and rises into the air.

Page 88

Lesson 8: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 87 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Stratus clouds usually produce light rain or snow. produce means: A) stops B) make C) holds Cloud Types There are three main kinds of clouds: stratus, cirrus, and cumulus. • Stratus clouds are dark clouds that are close to the ground. This type of cloud usually produces light rain or snow. • Cirrus clouds are very high above Earth and are usually seen during fair weather. Cirrus clouds are so high that they are made of ice crystals. • Cumulus clouds are white clouds that look like big cotton balls. These clouds are also seen during fair weather, but they can grow into large dark clouds and produce storms. When water falls from a cloud, we call it precipitation. This water can come in many forms and be a liquid, a solid, or even a mixture of the two. Liquid water is called rain and is very important to all life on the planet. Solid water that falls from clouds is called snow or hail. Snow is a sort of frozen rain, while hail is chunks of ice that can be dangerous. Sometimes precipitation comes in a mixed form: sleet. Sleet is a mixture of water and ice. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Stratus clouds are ____________ clouds that are close to the ground. 2. Cirrus clouds are very __________ above Earth and seen during _________ weather. 3. __________ clouds are white clouds that look like big cotton balls.

Page 89

Lesson 8: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 88 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What type of cloud usually produces rain or snow? _______ __________________________________________________ 2. Describe cirrus clouds. ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is precipitation? ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Why is liquid water so important? _____________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What is sleet? _____________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 90

Lesson 8: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 89 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Ask questions and use observations of cloud types (cirrus, stratus, and cumulus) and data of weather conditions to predict weather events and patterns throughout the year. (S4E4c) Questions about cloud types: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Observations about cloud types: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 91

Lesson 8: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 90 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 92

Lesson 8: Cloud Types (S4E4c) 91 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Stratus clouds produce rain and snow. (3 nouns) (1c) *What do stratus clouds do? _____________ (verb) 2. Cumulus clouds resemble big cotton balls. (2 nouns) *What do cumulus clouds do? ______________ (verb) *What word describes cotton balls? ____________ (adjective) RELATIVE PRONOUNS and RELATIVE ADVERBS (MASTERY) Relative pronouns and relative adverbs are used to introduce a kind of dependent clause that modifies a word, phrase or idea in the main clause. Relative pronouns: that, which, or who 1. Cumulus clouds are white clouds that look like big cotton balls. 2. Precipitation, which falls from a cloud, can come in many forms. USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Circle the sentence that has an error in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, or usage. 1. cirrus clouds is very high above earth (4) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. liquid water are called rain (3) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 93

Lesson 9: Weather and Climate (S4E4d) 92 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Temperatures all over Earth are beginning to rise because of pollution. rise means: A) ascend B) descend C) stay the same Weather and Climate Temperature, precipitation, wind, storms, and air masses all make up the weather on Earth. The weather is different almost every day. It can rain one day and appear sunny the next. It’s cold in the wintertime and hot in the summertime. Weather changes daily. Climate, however, doesn’t change very often. The difference between weather and climate is change. While the weather is constantly changing, the climate is the weather of a place over a long period of time. Meteorologists study the weather of a place like Georgia for over 30 years to figure out what the climate is like. Knowing how Georgia’s weather behaves over a long period of time gives a hint as to what the climate is like. In Georgia the climate is what meteorologists call mild. A mild climate is one that isn’t too hot or too cold. In Georgia our summers are not nearly as hot as summers in places like Arizona, Florida, or places closer to the equator. A Georgia winter isn’t very cold. It rarely snows in Georgia and the temperature doesn’t get below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit) much at all. Meteorologists try to predict the weather every day. With climate everyone knows that one year will be pretty much the same as every other year that came before it. A place that is hot and dry will always be hot and dry. Places like the rainforest will always be hot and wet. The climate of these places stays the same; it is constant. The climate of the different areas of Earth doesn’t change very often, but it can change. It can take hundreds or thousands of years, but it can happen. As little as 500 years ago, there was a great climate change that is called The Little Ice Age. The climate of Northern Europe changed and caused glaciers to move further south and made the Thames River in London, England freeze solid. This Little Ice Age lasted for about 200 years. Today there is a belief that pollution is causing the Earth’s climate to change. Temperatures all over the world are beginning to rise because of this pollution. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Weather changes __________________ while climate doesn’t change very ______________.

Page 94

Lesson 9: Weather and Climate (S4E4d) 93 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Why do you think the weather changes daily? ___________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What is the difference between weather and climate? _____ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. How long does it take for the climate of a place to change? _ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Think About It! Can the weather of a place be different every day? Explain your answer. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 95

Lesson 9: Weather and Climate (S4E4d) 94 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONSTRUCTING AN EXPLANATION Construct an explanation based on research to communicate the difference between weather and climate. (S4E4d) _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________

Page 96

Lesson 9: Weather and Climate (S4E4d) 95 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Meteorologists study the weather of a place. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do meteorologists do? _____________ (verb) 2. The climate of Europe changed during the Little Ice Age. (3n) (2p) *What did the climate of Europe do? ___________ (verb) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Circle the sentence that has an error in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, or usage. 1. The difference between weather and climate is change. 2. Meteorologists study the weather of a place. 3. Temperatures all over the world is beginning to rise because of pollution. PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Meteorologists (study) the weather. ________________/_______________/________________

Page 97

Important Fact Review (S4E3, S4E4) 96 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA 1. What are the three forms of water? _____________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 2. Describe the process of evaporation. ____________________ ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. How do clouds form? ________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 4. How old is the water on Earth? ________________________ ____________________________________________________ 5. What are the stages of the water cycle? _________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 98

Important Fact Review (S4E3, S4E4) 97 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA 6. Does the water cycle ever end? ________________________ ____________________________________________________ Explain your answer. ___________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 7. Does the water cycle ALWAYS follow the same path? Explain. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 8. What is the weather forecast? _________________________ ____________________________________________________ Think About It! Do you think it’s important to make weather forecasts? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 99

98 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 100

99 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GEORGIA SCIENCE STANDARDS UNIT II: PHYSICAL SCIENCE LIGHT AND SOUND I. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the nature of light and how light interacts with objects. (S4P1) a. Plan and carry out investigations to observe and record how light interacts with various materials to classify them as opaque, transparent, or translucent. b. Plan and carry out investigations on the path light travels from a light source to a mirror and how it is reflected by the mirror using different angles. Essential Question: What is light? II. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how sound is produced and changed and how sound and/or light can be used to communicate. (S4P2) a. Plan and carry out an investigation utilizing everyday objects to produce sound and predict the effects of changing the strength or speed of vibrations. b. Design and construct a device to communicate across a distance using light and/or sound. Essential Question: What is sound?

Page 101

Lesson 1: Light (opaque, transparent, translucent) (S4P1a) 100 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Light will penetrate through paper. penetrate means: A) stop B) halt C) go through When light strikes any object, it can pass through the object, be absorbed by the object, or be reflected off the object. 1. Objects that allow light to pass through them are called transparent. 2. Translucent objects allow some light to pass through them, but not all of it. 3. The third type of object is one that does not allow any light at all to pass through it. An object not allowing any light to pass is called opaque. All objects are transparent, translucent, or opaque. • Transparent objects are those that allow light to pass through easily. These kinds of objects are completely clear. You can see right through them. A clear image can often be witnessed from the other side. Usually when light passes through transparent objects, some of the light will be absorbed by them. The thicker the object the more energy it will absorb. That is why thinner objects seem to be clearer than thicker objects when light passes through them. Water, air, and glass are all examples of transparent objects. • Translucent objects scatter light when light shines on them. They transmit light with few details. You can only see a blurry image when you peek through these objects. Just like transparent objects, their clarity is based on thickness. Think about a piece of paper. Hold it up in front of a lamp. Some fibers of the paper will scatter and absorb the light. Some light will still penetrate through the paper. Frosted glass and waxed paper are examples of translucent objects. • Opaque objects do not allow light to pass through them. Instead, they absorb some of the light that shines on them. All the light you see is reflected by the object's surface. Wood, paper, metal, concrete, and many more are examples of such objects.

Page 102

Lesson 1: Light (opaque, transparent, translucent) (S4P1a) 101 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Name the three things that can happen when light strikes an object. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Describe transparent objects. ________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What do translucent objects do to light? _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What do opaque objects do to light? ___________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. Name some transparent objects: _____________________ __________________________________________________ 6. Name some translucent objects: ______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 103

Lesson 1: Light (opaque, transparent, translucent) (S4P1a) 102 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA PLAN AND CARRY OUT INVESTIGATIONS Plan and carry out investigations to observe and record how light interacts with various materials to classify them as opaque, transparent, or translucent. (S4P1a) What is your plan? _______________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ What materials do you need? _______________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ List the steps to implement your plan: _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Record the outcome of your plan. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 104

Lesson 1: Light (opaque, transparent, translucent) (S4P1a) 103 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Opaque objects absorb light. (2 nouns) *What do opaque objects do? ____________ (verb) *What word modifies objects? _____________ (adjective) PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the verbs in parenthesis to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Light (penetrate) through water, air, and glass. ________________/________________/_________________ 2. Light (pass) through transparent objects. ________________/_________________/_________________ RELATIVE ADVERBS AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS (MASTERY) Relative adverbs are words such as where, when, and why. Relative pronouns are words such as who, whose, whom, which and that. These adverbs and pronouns introduce a relative clause that modifies a word in the main clause. Circle the relative adverbs or relative pronouns in the sentence below. Draw an arrow to the word that is modified by the relative clause. Transparent objects are those that allow light to pass through easily.

Page 105

Lesson 2: Light (transmitted, absorbed, reflected) (S4P1b) 104 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Some objects, like mirrors, will send the light bouncing off in another direction. direction means: A) course B) dark C) springy Light We have learned that when light strikes any object, it can be transmitted, absorbed, or reflected. Light can travel through some objects very easily, but there are objects that will not allow the light to pass through it. Some objects, like mirrors, will send the light bouncing off in another direction. No matter what the object is, we can describe all objects as being transparent, translucent, or opaque. Mirrors Mirrors are smooth objects that are usually made of a piece of glass with a special coating on the back. This coating causes the light to reflect instead of passing through the glass as it normally would. Metal can also be used to reflect light. Shiny objects will reflect light. The word shiny means “reflects light.” If you have ever referred to an object as shiny, then you have noticed that it reflects light. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. When light ____________ any object, it can be transmitted, ______________, or reflected. 2. Mirrors are smooth objects with a _____________ coating on the back. This coating causes the ______________ to reflect instead of passing through the glass.

Page 106

Lesson 2: Light (transmitted, absorbed, reflected) (S4P1b) 105 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What happens when light strikes an object? _____________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Explain how a mirror works. _________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS Julio has a coin in his left hand. When he looks in the mirror, it appears that the coin is in his right hand. What has happened? Has Julio switched the coin to the right hand? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 107

Lesson 2: Light (transmitted, absorbed, reflected) (S4P1b) 106 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA PLAN AND CARRY OUT INVESTIGATIONS Plan and carry out investigations on the path light travels from a light source to a mirror and how it is reflected by the mirror using different angles. (S4P1b) What is your plan? _______________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ What materials do you need? _______________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ List the steps to implement your plan: _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Record the outcome of your plan. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 108

Lesson 2: Light (transmitted, absorbed, reflected) (S4P1b) 107 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! Give one person a flashlight and turn it on. Which direction does the light travel? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Give a second person a small mirror. If you placed the mirror in front of the flashlight, which direction would the light travel? __________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Have the person with the flashlight stand in front of the class and shine the light at someone. Ask a second person to use the mirror to get the light to shine on someone else. Use the mirror to reflect the light in a different direction.

Page 109

Lesson 2: Light (transmitted, absorbed, reflected) (S4P1b) 108 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA *What adjectives would you use to describe the mirror? _______ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ *Note* A second option is to use a laser pointer and more than one mirror. Draw a target on the board. Point the laser away from the target and ask the students to use the mirrors to reflect the laser light onto the target. See how many mirrors you can reflect the laser light off of while trying to hit the target.

Page 110

Lesson 2: Light (transmitted, absorbed, reflected) (S4P1b) 109 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Mirrors reflect light. (2 nouns) *What do mirrors do? ______________ (verb) 2. Shiny objects also reflect light. (2 nouns) *What do shiny objects do? _____________ (verb) *What word describes objects? ________________ (adjective) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Correct all errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The number in ( ) tells how many errors are in each sentence. 1. a mirror are a smooth object make of glass (4) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. a mirror have an special coating on the back (4) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 3. a shinie object reflect lite (5) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 111

Lesson 3: Refracting (S4P1c) 110 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Lenses work by refracting, or bending, the light as it passes through them. refracting means: A) bending B) snapping C) holding Refracting, or bending, light What do telescopes, cameras, binoculars, eyeglasses, and microscopes all have in common? All these items use one or more lenses. A lens is a curved piece of glass for bringing together or spreading rays of light passing through it. There are two main types of lenses: convex and concave. Each lens works the same way but produces different results. Lenses work by refracting, or bending, the light as it passes through them A convex lens is a lens that is wider in the middle than at the edges. This type of lens is used to bend the light that enters one side and focus it on the other. The result of bending the light this way tends to magnify what is being looked at. Any instrument that is used to see things close up would use a convex lens. A convex lens is used to magnify objects being looked at. Eyeglasses are probably the most common use of convex lenses. Glasses help people whose eyes aren’t working quite right. People who have trouble reading often use glasses that use convex lenses. Telescopes use convex lenses to help people investigate space. The bigger the lens, the larger the object can be made. This is why astronomers use big telescopes with huge lenses.

Page 112

Lesson 3: Refracting (S4P1c) 111 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What is a lens? ___________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. How do lenses work? ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. How do people use convex lenses in their everyday life? ___ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What is the difference in convex lenses and concave lenses? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS If someone could not see close up would they need glasses with a convex lens, or a concave lens? Explain your answer using scientific evidence. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 113

Lesson 3: Refracting (S4P1c) 112 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Astronomers use big telescopes. (2 nouns) *What do astronomers do? _____________ (verb) *What word describes telescopes? _______________ (adjective) 2. A convex lens magnifies an object. (2 nouns) *What does a convex lens do? ______________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT MAIN IDEA (4.T.T.2.a) Write main idea beside the main idea and detail next to the sentences that support the main idea. 1. Eyeglasses are a common type of convex lens. ____________ 2. People who have trouble reading often use convex lenses. _______ 3. Telescopes use convex lenses to help people look into space. _______________ 4. A convex lens magnifies objects and has many different purposes. _____________ 5. Astronomers use big telescopes with big lenses. ___________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM and ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) Synonyms are words that have the SAME meaning as another word. Antonyms are words that have the OPPOSITE meaning. Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word magnify. Give synonyms for: magnify ____________/______________ Give antonyms for: magnify_____________/_____________

Page 114

Lesson 4: Refracting (S4P1c) 113 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Microscopes use lenses to magnify objects. This makes it easier for us to see. magnify means: A) enlarge B) shrink C) harden A Concave Lense A concave lens is just the opposite of a convex lens. A concave lens is thinner in the middle than at the edges. A concave lens takes light and bends it just like a convex lens, but this type of lens spreads, or scatters, the light. The result this time is that the image appears smaller. Concave lenses don’t have as many uses as the convex lens, but they still serve a purpose. Most concave lenses are used in eyeglasses to help people who are near-sighted. A concave lens is used to make objects appear smaller. They are thinner in the middle. An easy way to remember this is to think of the lens as though it has CAVED in. The concave lens can be used to make an image clearer. Some high-quality microscopes use a convex lens to magnify what is being looked at AND a concave lens to help the image look more detailed. Prisms are like lenses, but they don’t magnify images or make them clearer. Prisms do refract light though. A prism is used to refract the light and to separate the light into its different colors. The white light that we see is made up of all the colors of the rainbow. Shining a light through a prism causes the light to bend. Each color that makes up the light bends a little differently, so you can see the different colors as they exit the prism. Rainbows are an example of light that has been refracted in this way. Light from the sun shines down on Earth and strikes tiny water droplets in the atmosphere. These droplets act like little prisms and bend the light. The result is a rainbow. You are seeing all the colors that make up the white light that our eyes see every day. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. A ___________ lens is the ___________ of a convex lens. 2. A concave lens is used to make objects appear __________.

Page 115

Lesson 4: Refracting (S4P1c) 114 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Describe a concave lens. ____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why do we use concave lenses? ______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What are prisms? __________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Give an example of a prism. __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Draw It! Draw a convex lens and draw a concave lens.

Page 116

Lesson 4: Refracting (S4P1c) 115 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA PLAN AND CARRY OUT INVESTIGATIONS Plan and carry out an investigation utilizing everyday materials to explore examples of when light is refracted. (S4P1c) Everyday materials could include prisms, eyeglasses, and a glass of water. What is your plan? _______________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ What materials do you need? _______________________ _______________________________________________ List the steps to implement your plan: _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Record the outcome of your plan. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 117

Lesson 4: Refracting (S4P1c) 116 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. A concave lens bends light. (2 nouns) *What does a concave lens do? ____________ (verb) 2. Light from the sun shines down on Earth. (3 nouns) (2p) *What does light from the sun do? ______________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read each statement below and find the cause-and-effect. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ (What causes a rainbow?) EFFECT: A rainbow appears. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ (What causes the images to appear smaller?) EFFECT: Images appear smaller.

Page 118

Lesson 1: Sound (S4P2a) 117 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) These sound waves make their way to our ears and are turned into a signal that gets sent to our brain. signal means: A) wave B) object C) indicator Sounds and Sound Waves Sound is all around us. We hear birds singing, people talking, car horns honking, and music playing. These are just some of the many sounds that we hear in our lifetimes. Whatever the sound, we hear them all for the same reason: sound waves. Vibrations Sound is produced because something is vibrating. Vibrations from an object cause the air or water around that object to vibrate as well. The sound travels through the air or water much like the waves of the ocean. These sound waves make their way to our ears and are turned into a signal that gets sent to our brain. The brain can figure out the sound. Sound Waves Sound waves can only travel to our ears if they have something to travel through. Sound can travel through all states of matter, but it travels through some better than others. Sound waves travel best through solid objects. Sound travels well through the gases (air) as well. Sound cannot travel through space because space is a vacuum; there is no air. If there is nothing for the waves to travel through, then there can be no sound. Pitch Some sounds are deep, or low, like a big bass drum. Some sounds are high like the sound of a bird chirping. The pitch of each sound is determined by how slow or fast the object is vibrating. Objects that vibrate very fast have a higher pitch. Objects that vibrate slowly have a lower pitch. How an object vibrates can be altered by stretching it tighter or by loosening it up. A guitar’s strings vibrate and make sounds. Tighten the strings to make the pitch higher or loosen the strings to make the pitch lower.

Page 119

Lesson 1: Sound (S4P2a) 118 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Why do we hear sound? _____________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why is sound produced? ____________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What interprets sound for humans? ____________________ __________________________________________________ 4. How do sound waves travel to our ears? ________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What determines the pitch of each sound? ______________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS In music class Kaycee is playing an instrument that is vibrating at a slow rate. Maurice is playing an instrument that is vibrating at a fast rate. The music teacher wants a demonstration of an instrument with a low pitch. Who needs to volunteer to play their instrument for the class, Kaycee or Maurice, why? Explain your answer using scientific evidence. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 120

Lesson 1: Sound (S4P2a) 119 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle each preposition. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. A drum makes a deep, low sound. (2 nouns) *What does a drum do? ___________ (verb) *What three words modify sound? ___ , ______, and ______ (adj.) 2. Strings vibrate and make sounds. (2 nouns) (1c) *What do strings do? __________ and ___________ (verbs) 3. Sound waves travel to our ears. (2 nouns) (1p) *What do sound waves do? ____________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the cause-and-effect. Objects that vibrate fast have a higher pitch. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ EFFECT: _________________________________________________ Question: Why do some objects have a higher pitch? __________ ____________________________________________________

Page 121

Lesson 2: Sound (S4P2b) 120 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA STEM ACTIVITY DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT: Design and construct a device to communicate across a distance using light and/or sound. (S4P2b) DESIGN: Steps I took to make my design: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Page 122

Lesson 2: Sound (S4P2b) 121 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Outcome: What were the results? How did it work? ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Changes I will make to my design: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Page 123

122 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 124

123 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GEORGIA SCIENCE STANDARDS FORCE and MOTION III. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces. (S4P3) a. Plan and carry out an investigation on the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on an object and communicate the results. Essential Question: How do forces affect motion? b. Construct an argument to support the claim that the gravitation force affects the motion of an object. Essential Question: How does gravity affect motion? c. Ask questions to identify and explain the use of simple machines (lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, wheel and axle, and screw) and how forces are changed when simple machines are used to complete tasks. Essential Question: How do simple machines help people work?

Page 125

Lesson 1: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 124 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) The fulcrum is what the lever is resting on and the effort is the amount of force you use to lift the weight or load. resting means: A) sitting beside B) next to C) laying on Work and Simple Machines Everyone has work to do. Some work can be easy, and some work can be difficult. Simple machines are devices that can make any work you may have to do easier. Simple machines come in all shapes and sizes. There are six basic simple machines: the lever, the pulley, the wedge, the inclined plane, the screw, and the wheel and axle. The Lever The first example of a simple machine is the lever. A lever is a simple machine that is used to lift a weight. There are three types of levers. A lever uses two things to make lifting a weight easier: a fulcrum and effort. The Fulcrum The fulcrum is what the lever is resting on, and the effort is the amount of force you use to lift the weight or load. An example of one type of lever is a seesaw. A seesaw is a simple machine that makes it easier for someone to lift the person on the other side. The fulcrum of the seesaw is right in the middle. The seesaw is balanced on the fulcrum. The load is the person that you are trying to lift, and the effort is the weight that you push down with on your side. A seesaw is an example of what is called a first-class lever since the fulcrum is in the middle, directly between the load and the effort. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Simple machines are ______________ that can make any work you may have to do ______________. 2. A lever uses ___________ things to make lifting weight easier. The two things are a _____________ and effort.

Page 126

Lesson 1: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 125 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What are simple machines? __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Name the six simple machines. _______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is a lever? ___________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Give an example of a lever. __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What is a first-class lever? ___________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 127

Lesson 1: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 126 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Simple machines simplify life. (2 nouns) *What do simple machines do? ___________ (verb) 2. The lever rests on the fulcrum. (2 nouns) (1p) *What does the lever do? ___________ (verb) SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Simple or Compound: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that can stand alone. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Put S if the sentence is simple, put C if the sentence is compound. Insert commas to separate items in a series. Insert commas where needed before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. Simple machines come in all shapes and sizes. ______ 2. The lever the pulley the wedge the inclined plane the screw and the wheel and axle are examples of simple machines. _______ 3. Simple machines make life easier and they come in all shapes and sizes. ______ 4. The seesaw is balanced on the fulcrum. ________ SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Sentence Fragments do not express a complete thought. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Change all fragments below into complete sentences. 1. is used to lift a weight ____________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. to make lifting a weight easier _____________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 128

Lesson 2: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 127 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) A wheelbarrow is an excellent example of a second-class lever. excellent means: A) terrible B) unacceptable C) outstanding Levers A second-class lever is a lever that has the load between the fulcrum and the effort. A wheelbarrow is an excellent example of a second-class lever. With a wheelbarrow the lever is resting on the front wheel. The effort is where you grasp the wheelbarrow. The load is between the fulcrum and the effort. The last type of lever is the third-class lever. This lever has the effort between the load and the fulcrum. Tweezers and a stapler are examples of this type of lever. Your effort is in the middle, between the load and the fulcrum. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. A second-class __________ is a lever that has the ____________ between the fulcrum and the effort. 2. The third-class lever has the ___________ between the load and the fulcrum.

Page 129

Lesson 2: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 128 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What is a second-class lever? ________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Give an example of a second-class lever. _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is a third-class lever? __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Give examples of a third-class lever. ___________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. Give examples of levers you may find at home and at school. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 130

Lesson 2: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 129 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Correct all errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The number in ( ) tells how many errors are in each sentence. 1. an wheelbarrow are an example of a second class lever (4) _________________________________________________________ RELATIVE ADVERBS AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS (MASTERY) Relative adverbs are words such as where, when, and why. Relative pronouns are words such as who, whose, whom, which and that. These adverbs and pronouns introduce a relative clause that modifies a word in the main clause. Circle the relative adverbs or relative pronouns in each sentence. Draw an arrow to the word that is being modified by the relative clause. 1. A second class lever is a lever that has the load between the fulcrum and the effort. 2. The effort is where you grasp the wheelbarrow. PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. The worker (lift) the wheelbarrow. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. The lever (rest) on the front wheel. ______________/_______________/_______________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM and ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) Synonyms are words that have the SAME meaning as another word. Antonyms are words that have the OPPOSITE meaning. Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word grasp. Circle the word below that is a SYNONYM for the word grasp. A) effort B) clutch C) make D) load

Page 131

Lesson 3: Review of Levers (S4P3c) 130 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 132

Lesson 3: Review of Levers (S4P3c) 131 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 133

Lesson 4: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 132 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) An elevator is an enormous object. One person could not lift it alone. enormous means: A) small B) light C) huge The Pulley Another simple machine is the pulley. A pulley is made from a grooved wheel and a piece of rope or cable. Pulleys are used to make lifting or lowering heavy items easier. Pulleys, like all simple machines, don’t make the item lifted lighter, but they do make it easier to lift. Pulleys work by changing the direction of the force. Instead of pushing an item upwards, a pulley allows you to pull down. This pulling motion is easier. A flagpole is another example of something that uses a pulley. Flags aren’t heavy, but it is much easier to pull the rope than to push it up the pole. A pulley is usually attached to a ceiling or other high point. The rope is threaded through one side of the wheel and out the other. Attaching the rope to the item being lifted allows you to lift more weight than you could without this simple machine. It is also possible to use more than one pulley. Using a second pulley can decrease the amount of effort needed to lift the object by almost half. In other words, if you tried to lift a 500-pound box and you used two pulleys, you would only need to use as much effort as you would need to lift a 250-pound box. This is half of the original weight. Using more than one pulley allows you to more easily lift heavy objects, but it does require you to pull more rope. One example of an everyday item that uses a pulley is an elevator. The pulley allows the motors that lift and lower the elevator to lift the enormous weight and use less effort in doing the job.

Page 134

Lesson 4: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 133 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What is a pulley made from? _________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. How does a pulley work? ____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Correct all errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The number in ( ) tells how many errors are in each sentence. 1. a pulley are usually attached too an ceiling or other high point (5) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. a pulley allow someone two lift heavy objects (4) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 3. it are possible too use more than one pulley two lift a object (6) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Page 135

Lesson 5: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 134 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Scientists believe that ancient Egyptians used inclined planes to build the pyramids. ancient means: A) younger B) newest C) early An Inclined Plane An inclined plane is one of the simplest of the simple machines. An inclined plane is a simple machine that makes it easier to get a heavy object to a higher place. It reduces the amount of force needed to lift the object. An inclined plane is usually a flat surface whose two ends are placed at different heights. A ramp is a perfect example of an inclined plane. Imagine loading heavy furniture into a moving truck without a ramp. You would have to lift the furniture off the ground and get it high enough to get it into the back of the truck. You also couldn’t do it by yourself. By using the inclined plane, or ramp, you can slide the heavy items from the ground and into the truck much easier. Using an inclined plane can really save you a lot of effort, but there is one drawback...the distance that you must travel is increased. Notice in the diagram above that the couch is located farther away from where it needs to end up. If the couch were located where the “X” is, then you would have less distance to move the couch, but it would require much more effort. Using a ramp means less effort, but over a longer distance. Scientists believe that ancient Egyptians used inclined planes to build the pyramids. Some say that by the time the laborers began working on the very top of the pyramids that the ramps may have been a mile long or more. Still, pulling a huge stone block a mile is easier than lifting it hundreds of feet straight up. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. An inclined plane is one of the _______________ of the simple machines. 2. An inclined plane _______________ the amount of work needed.

Page 136

Lesson 5: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 135 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What is an inclined plane? ___________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What is the “drawback” when an inclined plane is used? ___ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Why would the ancient Egyptians use an inclined plane to help build the pyramids? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS Think about a way you would use an inclined plane at home or at school to make lifting something easier. Give examples. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 137

Lesson 5: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 136 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle the prepositions. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate 1. Movers load heavy furniture into trucks using inclined planes. (4n) (1p) *What do movers do? _____________ (verb) *What word modifies furniture? ______________ (adjective) 2. Ancient Egyptians used inclined planes to build pyramids. (3 nouns) *What did the ancient Egyptians do? ______________ (verb) *What word modifies Egyptians? _____________ (adjective) RELATIVE ADVERBS and RELATIVE PRONOUNS (MASTERY) Relative adverbs are words such as where, when, and why. Relative pronouns are words such as who, whose, whom, which and that. These adverbs and pronouns introduce a relative clause that modifies a word in the main clause. Circle the relative adverbs or relative pronouns in each sentence. Draw an arrow to the word that is being modified by the relative clause. 1. An inclined plane is a simple machine that makes it easier to get a heavy object to a higher place. 2. An inclined plane is usually a flat surface whose two ends are placed at different heights. ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM and ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) Synonyms are words that have the SAME meaning as another word. Antonyms are words that have the OPPOSITE meaning. Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word reduce. Give synonyms for: reduce ____________/__________/___________ Give antonyms for: reduce____________/__________/___________

Page 138

Lesson 6: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 137 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Please try to pound the nail into the wood. You will need a hammer to do this. pound means: A) beat B) place C) fill The Wedge The wedge is basically two inclined planes that are placed back-to-back. An inclined plane remains stationary to do its job, but a wedge moves. A wedge is like a moving inclined plane. The wedge works by allowing a very small amount of force to be applied to the wide end while forcing the narrow end into something. Shovels, axes, scissors, doorstops, knives, and nails are all examples of a wedge. Notice that when you drive a nail into a piece of wood that the narrow end is forced into the wood by pounding on the wide end. Imagine trying to pound a nail into wood if you placed the wide end against the wood and pounded on the narrow end. You would need a lot more force to get the nail driven into the wood. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. The wedge is like having ____________ inclined plane that are placed back-to-back. 2. A wedge is like a _____________ inclined plane. 3. Shovels, axes, ___________, ____________, knives, and nails are all examples of a wedge.

Page 139

Lesson 6: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 138 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Give examples of a wedge. ___________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What is a wedge? _________________________________ __________________________________________________ Experiment Alert! To see a wedge in action, take the point of a nail and place it on top of a piece of cardboard. CAREFULLY push the nail down against the cardboard. The point makes its way into the cardboard and makes a path for the larger part of the nail to enter as it separates the cardboard. Do you think that it would be easier or more difficult to do the same thing if the nail was turned around? Would the wide end of the nail go into the cardboard with less effort or more? Why? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 140

Lesson 6: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 139 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate 1. Shovels, axes, scissors, doorstops, knives, and nails are all examples of a wedge. (8 nouns) (1p) (1c) 2. Workers drive nails into wood. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do workers do? _____________ (verb) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Correct all errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The number in ( ) tells how many errors are in each sentence. 1. the wedge are basically to inclined planes that is placed back-to-back (5) ____________________________________________________________ 2. shovels axes scissors doorstops knives and nails are all examples of a wedge (7) _____________________________________________________________ SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Sentence Fragments do not express a complete thought. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Change all fragments below into complete sentences. 1. trying to pound a nail into wood _____________________________________________________________ 2. shovels, axes, scissors, doorstops, knives, and nails _____________________________________________________________ 3. pounded on the narrow end _____________________________________________________________

Page 141

Lesson 7: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 140 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a pole with a wedge at the tip. wrapped means: A) open B) enclosed C) threaded Other Simple Machines Some simple machines are made from another simple machine. The wedge is a simple machine that is made by placing two inclined planes back-to-back and the screw is a simple machine that is made by wrapping an inclined plane around a pole. A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a pole with a wedge at the tip. Some examples of items that use this type of simple machine include jar lids, bolts, drill, and an auger. The screw is basically like a ramp. Some screws have the inclined plane, or threads, of the screw spaced very far apart and some screws have the threads very close together. If you have ever turned a screw with narrow threads, you have probably noticed that it goes in with less force, but it requires you to turn the screw many more times. Screws with widely spaced threads require less turning, but more force. Just like the inclined planes we have already discussed, the longer the ramp the less force that is needed. The tradeoff is, again, that to use less force you must work a little longer. (The easier the force, the longer the distance) Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. A screw is an _________________ plane wrapped around a pole with a _____________ at the tip. 2. Screws with narrow ______________ go with less force.

Page 142

Lesson 7: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 141 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How is the screw made? ____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Give some examples of the screw. _____________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is the difference in screws with narrow threads and screws with wide threads? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Experiment Alert! Gather a nine-inch paper square, pencil, tape, and a marker on your desk. Cut the square in half (diagonally) so that it makes a right triangle. Use the marker to outline the diagonal side of the triangle. Now place the paper face down on the table. Place the pencil on one of the short sides of the triangle. Wrap the pencil up in the triangle. Use a piece of tape to keep it in place. What simple machine is the right triangle? _________________ What simple machine did you make once you wrapped it around the pencil? ____________________________________________________

Page 143

Lesson 7: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 142 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate 1. The wedge is a simple machine. (2 nouns) 2. The screw is basically like a ramp. (2 nouns) (1p) PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. The worker (turn) the screw. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. Workers (drill) a hole in the board. ______________/_______________/_______________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM and ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) Synonyms are words that have the SAME meaning as another word. Antonyms are words that have the OPPOSITE meaning. Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word narrow. Give synonyms for: narrow ____________/__________/___________ Give antonyms for: narrow____________/__________/___________

Page 144

Lesson 8: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 143 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) In these cases, the wheel acts as a handle and turns the axle. The handle is much like a lever spinning on a fulcrum. spinning means: A) stationary B) loaded C) whirling The Wheel and Axle The final simple machine is the wheel and axle. This simple machine can be used in two ways: to roll something around or like a sort of round lever. No matter which type of wheel and axle you use, it is made up of two parts. The two parts to a wheel and axle are (surprise!) the wheel and the axle. Both the wheel and the axle are round objects of different sizes. The wheel is always the larger object. The wheel is attached to the axle and the axle turns the wheel. Anything that has wheels will make use of the wheel and axle. Cars, trucks, wagons, roller skates, skateboards, and bicycles are just some of the items that use the wheel and axle. These items are meant to move things from place to place. This sort of wheel and axle has the axle connected to the wheel and the wheel touching the ground. Since only a small part of the wheel is touching the ground there is less friction and that makes it easier to move. Imagine pulling a wagon with no wheels. That would require a lot of energy. The wheel and axle make moving the wagon easier. The second type of item that uses the wheel and axle is one that has a wheel that turns much like a lever. Pencil sharpeners, doorknobs, and faucet handles are all examples of this type of wheel and axle. In these cases, the wheel acts as a handle and turns the axle. The handle is much like a lever spinning on a fulcrum. Imagine trying to turn on the water if there was no handle. That large handle helps you to more easily turn the axle. The larger the handle, or wheel, the easier the job is. Again, the job is easier, but it will require you to turn it for a longer time. Sound familiar?

Page 145

Lesson 8: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 144 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Name the two parts of the wheel and axle. ______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. How does the wheel and axle work? ___________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Name some of the items that use a wheel and axle. _______ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS How many examples of a lever can you find in your classroom or your house? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 146

Lesson 8: Simple Machines (S4P3c) 145 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate 1. Cars, trucks, wagons, roller skates, skateboards, and bicycles use the wheel and axle. (8 nouns) (2c) *What do they do? _____________ (verb) 2. That large handle turns the axle. (2 nouns) *What does that large handle do? _____________ (verb) *What words modify handle? _______ and _______ (adjectives) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Correct all errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and usage. The number in ( ) tells how many errors are in each sentence. 1. anything that have wheels will made use of the wheel and axle (4) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2. pencil sharpeners door knobs and faucet handles is all examples of this type of wheel and axle (5) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION SYNONYM and ANTONYM STUDY (4.L.V.3.b) Synonyms are words that have the SAME meaning as another word. Antonyms are words that have the OPPOSITE meaning. Use a thesaurus and look up other synonyms and antonyms for the word connect. Give synonyms for: connect ____________/__________/___________ Give antonyms for: connect_____________/__________/___________

Page 147

Identify Uses of Simple Machines (S4P3c) 146 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA ASK QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN Ask questions to identify and explain the use of simple machines (lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, wheel and axle, and screw) and how forces are changed when simple machines are used to complete tasks. (S4P3c) How are forces changed when simple machines are used to complete tasks? Lever: _________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Pulley: _________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Wedge: ________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 148

Identify Uses of Simple Machines (S4P3c) 147 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Inclined Plane: __________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Wheel and axle: _________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Screw: _________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Think About It! Which one of the simple machines are you MOST LIKELY to use and why would you use it? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 149

Lesson 9: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 148 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians that ever lived. greatest means: A) nicest B) best C) oldest Simples Machines Simple machines work by changing the direction of force or effort. Instead of pushing up, you can pull down. Instead of lifting a heavy object, you can use a ramp and push or pull the object. Force is the strength or energy that you use to cause an object to move. It takes a great deal of force to move a heavy object, but very little force to move a light object. The Laws of Motion One of the first people to study force and the effect that it has on objects was Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians that ever lived. He was born in England in 1643. Isaac Newton studied the forces that surround us and helped other scientists understand how and why things move the way that they do. Isaac Newton had some new ideas about force and motion. He called these ideas his laws of motion. Newton’s Law Newton’s first law says that an object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by some other force. This means that anything that starts to move will move forever unless something stops it. On the earth we have two forces that keep objects from moving forever: friction and gravity. Gravity Gravity is the force that keeps everything on our planet from floating off into space. It acts like an anchor. When you throw a ball into the air, Newton’s first law tells you that the ball should keep going and going, but there is a force that is pulling that ball back down. Gravity is acting like an anchor and keeps the ball from flying off. You would have to be able to throw the ball with more force than the amount of force that gravity must get the ball moving forever. This is how the space shuttle and other rockets work. The enormous rocket engines produce so much force that they can break free from the force of gravity.

Page 150

Lesson 9: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 149 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How do simple machines work? _______________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What is force? ____________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Who was Sir Isaac Newton? __________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What did he study? ________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What does Newton’s first law say? ____________________ __________________________________________________ 6. What is gravity? ___________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 7. Why is it important? _______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 151

Lesson 9: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 150 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle the prepositions. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Sir Isaac Newton became a great scientist and mathematician. (3n) (1c) *What did Sir Isaac Newton do? ____________ (verb) *What word modifies scientist and mathematician? ______________ (adjective) 2. Isaac Newton studied forces on Earth. (3 nouns) (1p) *What did Isaac Newton do? _____________ (verb) 3. Isaac helped other scientists. (2 nouns) *What did Isaac do? ______________ (verb) *What word modifies scientist? _____________ (adjective) RELATIVE ADVERBS AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS (MASTERY) Relative adverbs are words such as where, when, and why. Relative pronouns are words such as who, whose, whom, which and that. These adverbs and pronouns introduce a relative clause that modifies a word in the main clause. Circle the relative adverbs or relative pronouns in each sentence. Draw an arrow to the word that is being modified by the relative clause. 1. Newton studied the forces that surround us and helped other scientists understand how and why things move the way that they do. 2. Isaac Newton, who studied gravity, helped many other scientists 3. England, where Isaac Newton was born, is across the Atlantic from the United States.

Page 152

Lesson 10: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 151 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Gravity is constantly pulling everything down. constantly means: A) sometimes B) probably C) continually Gravity Gravity is constantly pulling everything down. Leaves fall from a tree and land on the ground. When you let go of something it falls to the floor or the ground. The force of gravity affects everything on Earth. Gravity is a powerful force. Friction Another powerful force that acts on moving objects is friction. Friction occurs when two objects rub against each other. This force resists the motion of the object. In other words, friction is a force that tries to keep objects from moving. If you have ever rubbed your hands together, then you have felt friction. Rough surfaces produce more friction than smooth surfaces. This is why if you slide on a carpeted floor, you wouldn’t slide very far, but if you slide on a smooth floor, you will slide farther. Gravity and friction are two forces that act against moving objects. These two forces are the reason that objects don’t keep moving at the same speed forever. One, or both, of these forces will eventually slow the moving object to a stop. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Gravity is ________________ pulling everything down. 2. Gravity is a _______________ force. 3. ________________ occurs when two objects rub against each other. 4. Friction is a force that tries to ______________ objects from moving.

Page 153

Lesson 10: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 152 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Describe gravity. __________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. When does friction occur? ___________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Will an object move at the same speed forever? Why or why not? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD SCIENCE CONNECTIONS Why do people put out “Wet Floor” signs? Give your explanation using science words from the previous page. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 154

Experiments: Force and Motion (S4P3) 153 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! For this experiment the students will attach an object (a small shoebox with a weight works well) to a spring scale and pull it across various surfaces such as sandpaper, felt, pencils, cardboard, and desktop. Record the results. Desktop Pencils Cardboard Felt Sandpaper Record the amount of force needed to move the object over these surfaces. Write a declarative sentence describing how the object moved across these surfaces. 1. desktop: _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 2. pencils: ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 3. cardboard: ___________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 4. felt: _________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 5. sandpaper: ___________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Page 155

Lesson 11: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 154 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Enormous rockets produce a great amount of force. enormous means: A) make B) small C) colossal Newton’s First Law An object that is moving will keep moving unless another force acts against it. This is what Newton’s first law of motion says. What if an object was moving and it came into contact with a greater force? Imagine a kickball game. The pitcher rolls the ball towards the kicker. The ball has the force of the pitcher making it move. The kicker kicks the ball, and the ball changes direction. This happens because the force generated by the kicker was greater than the force first put into the ball. This is also why it is important to wear a seatbelt while in a car. If a moving car hits another object, then the car could stop moving very suddenly, but you would keep moving forward. Both you and the car are in motion. The car would stop, but you are still experiencing Newton’s first law. The seat belt would act as a force to keep you from moving. Newton’s Second Law Newton’s second law of motion states that the greater the mass of the object being accelerated, the greater the amount of force needed to accelerate the object. This is a fact that you probably already knew: it takes more force to move a heavier object than it does to move a light object. Picking up a basketball doesn’t require as much force as picking up your teacher. It is important not to get size and weight confused. Picking up a basketball requires a certain amount of force, but a balloon that is the same size as the basketball would require less force because it has less mass. Newton’s Third Law Newton’s third law of motion says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that for every force there is a reaction force that is equal in size, but opposite in direction. Whenever an object pushes another object, it gets pushed back in the opposite direction just as hard. This is the science behind how rockets work. Enormous rockets produce a great amount of force out of one end. This force pushes down against the ground and the reaction forces the rocket in the opposite direction...up. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. An object that is ________________ will keep moving unless another _____________ acts against it.

Page 156

Lesson 11: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 155 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. Why does an object stop moving? _____________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why does it take more force to move a heavier object? ____ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ CONSTRUCTING AN ARGUMENT Construct an argument to support the claim that the gravitational force affects the motion of an object. (S4P3b) _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 157

Lesson 11: Force and Gravity (S4P3a/b) 156 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Circle the sentence that has an error in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, or usage. 1. An object that is moving will keep moving unless another force acts against it. 2. Imagine an kickball game. 3. Enormous rockets produce a great amount of force. SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Simple or Compound: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that can stand alone. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Put S if the sentence is simple, put C if the sentence is compound. Insert commas where needed before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. The pitcher rolls the ball towards the kicker. ______ 2. The ball has the force of the pitcher making it move. ______ 3. The kicker kicks the ball and the ball changes direction. ______ 4. It is important to wear a seatbelt while in the car. ______ ACQUIRE and USE VOCABULARY with PRECISION MULTIPLE MEANING WORD STUDY Some words have more than one meaning. Choose the correct definition for each sentence below. pitcher: (A) (noun) jug used for holding liquid pitcher: (B) (noun) person that throws a ball 1. Please fill the pitcher with water. _________ 2. The pitcher will throw the ball to the catcher. ___________ 3. My mom broke her favorite pitcher when she dropped it onto the floor. ___________ 4. Will you fill the pitcher with water? ___________

Page 158

Additional Experiments (S4P3) 157 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! To demonstrate the effect of a greater force being applied to an object already in motion, you can do this very simple activity. This experiment works best on a flat surface OUTDOORS. Directions: Take a basketball and a tennis ball. Hold the basketball about 4 feet off the ground. Hold the tennis ball so that it rests on the top of the basketball. Drop both balls at the same time. What happened? _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ This happened because the basketball has more mass and is able to generate more energy. That energy is transferred back up into the tennis ball. That large amount of force can send the tennis ball flying.

Page 159

Additional Experiments (S4P3) 158 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! Define the word momentum: _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Materials: You will need two Mason jars, two three-ring binders, sand, and a meter stick. Fill one Mason jar with sand. Pack it tightly. Place the lid on the jar and twist it on tightly. Set the three-ring binders side-by-side with the meter stick between them. Place each Mason jar on a binder. Let go of the jars at the same time. Measure the distance each traveled. Which jar traveled the farthest? __________________________ Repeat the experiment. Did you get the same result? _________ ____________________________________________________ Why did this jar travel farther? ___________________________ ____________________________________________________

Page 160

Additional Experiments (S4P3) 159 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! In order to demonstrate Newton’s third law of motion we are going to build a sort of rocket. For this experiment you will need a balloon, a drinking straw, tape, and 6-10 feet of string. Directions: Cut the straw to a length of 2 inches. Feed the string through the 2-inch piece of straw. Have two students each hold one end of the string out in front of them. Be sure the string is taut. Inflate the balloon, but do not tie the end. Hold the balloon so that it stays inflated. Next, tape the straw to the balloon. Finally, bring the balloon to the end of the string and let go. When you let go of the balloon, what happened? Why? _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ You need: 1. balloon 2. straw 3. tape 4. string

Page 161

Additional Experiments (S4P3) 160 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Experiment Alert! Explain what happened in complete sentences. _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________You need: 1. one meter ramp 2. die cast car 3. meter stick 4. 4 textbooks What to do: 1. Build the ramp one textbook high. 2. Place the die cast car at the starting point and let go. No need to push it. 3. Measure the distance the car travels down the ramp and onto the floor. 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for 2, 3, and 4 textbooks. 5. Make a bar graph of the distances traveled for 1, 2, 3, and 4 textbooks high. 6. Explain what happened.

Page 162

161 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA

Page 163

162 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GEORGIA SCIENCE STANDARDS UNIT III: LIFE SCIENCE ECOSYSTEMS AND ADAPTATIONS I. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem. (S4L1) a. Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community. (Students are not expected to identify the different types of consumers. ) Essential Question: What are the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers? b. Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers. Essential Question: How does energy flow through an ecosystem? c. Communicate a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem. (Include living and non-living factors in the scenario). Essential Question: What is an ecosystem and what affects it? d. Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct, or over-abundant. Essential Question: What are adaptations?

Page 164

Lesson 1: Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers (S4L1a) 163 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) All living things on the planet rely on one another for their survival. rely means: A) examine B) hold on C) depend on Living Things Earth is the only planet that has life. All living things on the planet depend on one another for their survival. The energy that living things need to survive is taken from other living things. The roles of all living things are divided into three categories: producers, consumers, and decomposers. The Food Chain Almost all energy on Earth comes from the sun. The sun sends its energy through space and is used by plants on Earth to grow. Plants are eaten by animals and humans who use the energy the plants created to flourish. The waste created by plants, animals, and humans is used by other organisms in their survival. This flow of energy is known as a food web or food chain. Every living thing on Earth has a role to play in the survival of all other life. The role of producers in the food chain is exactly what you might think. Producers use the sun’s energy to produce, or make, their own food. Plants are producers that use photosynthesis to make food. Producers are at the beginning of the food chain because they are the only form of life on Earth that can change the sun’s energy into food. The energy stored in producers is used by the other life forms when they eat the plant. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Earth is the only ______________ that has life. 2. All _____________ things depend on one another for their survival. 3. Almost all _______________ on Earth comes from the sun.

Page 165

Lesson 1: Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers (S4L1a) 164 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How do living things survive on Earth? _________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Name the three roles of all living things. _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is the food chain? _____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What is special or important about the role of the producers in the food chain? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 166

Lesson 1: Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers (S4L1a) 165 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle the prepositions. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate 1. Almost all energy on Earth comes from the sun. (3 nouns) (2p) *What does almost all energy on Earth do? __________ (verb) 2. Producers use energy from the sun. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do producers do? ___________ (verb) 3. The sun sends energy through space. (3 nouns) (1p) *What does the sun do? ___________ (verb) USAGE AND MECHANICS (REINFORCED) Circle the sentence that has an error in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, or usage. 1. every living thing have a role too play in the survival of all other life (4) _____________________________________________________________ 2. producers is at the beginning of the food chain (3) _____________________________________________________________ 3. producers use the sons energy two make there own food (6) _____________________________________________________________ PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. The sun (send) energy through space. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. Plants (use) energy from the sun. ______________/_______________/_______________

Page 167

Lesson 2: Consumers & Decomposers (S4L1a) 166 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Humans get their energy from the plants or animals that they consume. consume means: A) eat B) hold C) energy Consumers Consumers are organisms that eat other life forms for energy. Consumers can be meat eaters (carnivores), plant eaters (herbivores), or both (omnivores). Some consumers, like cows for example, only eat plant life. They get their energy directly from plants. Lions are meat eaters and eat other animals. The animals that meat eaters eat get their energy from plants, so the energy flows from the sun to the plants and, eventually, into the meat eater. Humans are examples of a consumer that eat both plants and other animals (meat). Humans get their energy from the plants or animals that they consume. Decomposers The third link in the food chain on Earth is the decomposer. Decomposers get their energy from things that used to be alive. Mushrooms are excellent decomposers because they take energy from the waste of producers and consumers. When a producer or consumer dies, the decomposer takes the leftover energy and turns it into food for itself. Any leftover energy goes into the soil where the decomposers live. This energy is then used by plants in their struggle for life. Earthworms are also decomposers because they get energy from once living organisms. Decomposers will eat dead plant life, dead animal life, or any form of waste that comes from other organisms. Decomposers play a very important role in keeping the food chain together. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Consumers are ___________________ that eat other life Forms for energy. 2. Humans get their _______________ from the plants or _______________ they consume. 3. The third link in the _________ chain is the decomposer.

Page 168

Lesson 2: Consumers & Decomposers (S4L1a) 167 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How do meat eaters get their energy? __________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What do herbivores eat? ____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Where do decomposers get their energy? _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Give examples of some decomposers. __________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Think About It! How are producers, consumers, and decomposers different? How do they each play a role in the food chain? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Page 169

Lesson 2: Consumers & Decomposers (S4L1a) 168 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA DEVELOP A MODEL Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community. (S4L1a) Describe your model: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

Page 170

Lesson 2: Consumers & Decomposers (S4L1a) 169 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. Circle the prepositions. Draw a box around the conjunctions. Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Lions eat other animals. *What do lions do? __________ (verb) 2. Humans eat plants and meat. *What do humans do? ___________ (verb) SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE SKILLS PRACTICE Simple or Compound: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that can stand alone. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses. Put S if the sentence is simple, put C if the sentence is compound. Insert commas where needed before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 1. The third link in the food chain on Earth is the decomposer. ___________ 2. Mushrooms are excellent decomposers. _______________ 3. Mushrooms are excellent decomposers and they take leftover energy and turn it into food. ____________ 4. Decomposers play a very important role in keeping the food chain together. _____________ MAIN IDEA (4.T.T.2.a) Write main idea beside the main idea and detail next to the sentences that support the main idea. 1. Cows only eat plant life. _____________ 2. Consumers are organisms that eat other life forms for energy. ___________ 3. Some consumers are meat eaters. __________ 4. Humans eat plants and animals. ___________

Page 171

Lesson 3: Food Web/Food Chain (S4L1b) 170 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA The Food Web/Chain A food web/food chain shows the flow of energy from the sun to the decomposer. Below is one example of a typical food web/food chain. Decomposers return nutrients to the soil that help new plants to grow. When new plants grow, they begin the food chain all over again. The food web/food chain is constantly sending energy from one living thing to another. Cover the top half of the paper. List the steps in the food chain. Write in complete sentences. _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Energy comes from the sun. Plants and trees use the energy from the sun to make food. Carnivores eat the herbivores to get energy. Herbivores eat the plants to get energy. Decomposers take leftover energy from once living things.

Page 172

Lesson 3: Food Web/Food Chain (S4L1b) 171 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Below is an example of a food web. A food web is like a food chain, but it shows many different paths that energy could travel. Look at the food web below and find where all energy comes from. Energy flows from the sun to the plants. From the plants, the energy can go in many different directions. Insects could eat the plant for energy, small animals could eat the plants for energy, or the plant could die and become energy for the mushrooms, bacteria, and other decomposers. Another option in this food web would be for the sun to provide energy to the plants, the grasshopper eats the plant, the mouse eats the grasshopper, the snake eats the mouse, the fox eats the snake, and the mushrooms would get energy from the waste of the fox. The decomposers return energy and nutrients to the ground for use by the plants. How many paths can you find in this food web? (Hint: all food webs begin with the sun) _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

Page 173

Lesson 4: Ecosystems (S4L1c) 172 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Animals that live and hunt in a wet area would either die or go in search of another wet area in which to live. search means: A) live B) look for C) swim Ecosystem An ecosystem is a community of plants and animals and the physical environment in which they live. There are many different types of ecosystems. Some examples include arctic regions, deserts, evergreen forests, rain forests, mountains, and marshes. Earth has many different types of plants and animals, and they are all perfectly adapted to live in one of these communities, or ecosystems. The plants and animals of a particular ecosystem depend on that ecosystem for survival. Animals that live in a rain forest could not live in an arctic region. Animals living in marshes could not survive in the mountains. When an ecosystem is changed, the plants and animals living there are affected. Cutting down the trees of a rain forest or evergreen forest would not only change the way an area looks, but it would cause huge changes for the plants and animals living there. Imagine the monkeys of a rain forest living in an area with no trees. They could not do so. Monkeys need trees for hunting, sleeping, transporting themselves from place to place, and safety. Remove the trees from an ecosystem that is made up of trees and the plants and animals living there would perish. Marshlands Marshlands are an ecosystem that consists of water, trees, and tall grass. Remove any one of those from a marsh and all animals living there will disappear. Drain the water from a marsh and the animals and the plants would disappear. With no water, the plants of a marsh would die. With no water, the animals that live in water would die. Animals that hunt for food in and around the water would disappear. Where would they go? Animals that live and hunt in a wet area would either die or go in search of another wet area in which to live. A marsh could be changed in another way: pollution. Polluting the water of the marsh would cause similar results. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. An _______________ is a community of plants and _________________and the physical environment in which they live. 2. The plants and animals of an ecosystem depend on that _______________ for survival.

Page 174

Lesson 4: Ecosystems (S4L1c) 173 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What is an ecosystem? ______________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Explain why animals living in a rain forest cannot survive in the arctic. __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What happens to the animals when the water disappears? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. What would happen to an animal if the vegetation around them disappeared? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 175

Lesson 4: Ecosystems (S4L1c) 174 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate 1. Animals living in a marsh could not survive in the mountains. (3 nouns) (2p) 2. Monkeys need the trees in the forest to survive. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do monkeys do? ___________ (verb) PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Animals (live) in the rain forest. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. Animals (hunt) for food. ______________/_______________/_______________ READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) A cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the cause-and-effect. Remove the trees from an ecosystem that is made up of trees and the plants and animals living there would perish. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ EFFECT: _________________________________________________

Page 176

Lesson 5: Ecosystems (S4L1c) 175 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Ecosystems were altered by the actions of humans and were never the same. altered means: A) same B) helped C) changed Humans and Ecosystems Humans play a huge role in the lives of plants and animals, as well as the ecosystems in which they live. The United States was once covered by huge thick forests, but as European settlers began to colonize the area, they cut down these forests to make room for their cities. As the forests disappeared, the animals that lived in them simply moved on to other areas of the forest. Ecosystems were altered by the actions of humans. Animals had to either move on or die. When an ecosystem is changed it causes the animals living there to alter the way they live. If the ice of the Arctic continues to melt, seals that hunt beneath the ice will be forced to move further north where there is still ice. Polar bears that rely on the seals for food will find that there is less food than there once was. As the competition for food increases, some polar bears will die from a lack of food. As forests are cut down, the amount of available food there is decreased as well. Plant eaters will disappear. Without the plant eaters, the meat eaters that hunt them will also disappear. A lack of food or shelter will cause great harm to the animals living in an ecosystem. In some areas of the U.S. there have been cases where wolves were killed because farmers were afraid that the wolves would attack their cattle. This action did protect the cattle, but it also had another effect. Without wolves to hunt other animals like deer, the deer population increased. The population increased so much that there wasn’t enough food in the area to feed them all. Many deer died of starvation. The balance of an ecosystem must be carefully protected. Too many animals in an ecosystem would mean that many of them would die from a lack of food. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. The large forests in the United States began to ________________ when the European settlers began to __________________ the area. 2. If the ice in the Arctic continues to ____________ the seals will be forced to move further _______________,

Page 177

Lesson 5: Ecosystems (S4L1c) 176 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How have humans changed the lives of plants and animals? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What happens to the animals when an ecosystem is changed? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. Why do we need to protect the balance of an ecosystem? __ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ MAKING REAL-WORLD CONNECTIONS Sometimes people are allowed to hunt certain animals because of overpopulation. Why is this allowed? Why is it illegal to hunt certain animals? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 178

Lesson 5: Ecosystems (S4L1c) 177 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since, etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Polar bears rely on seals for food. *What do polar bears do? _____________ (verb) 2. Seals hunt for food under the frozen ice. *What do seals do? ____________ (verb) *What word describes ice? _____________ (adjective) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) The cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read each statement below and find the cause-and-effect. Animals moved to other areas of the forest because settlers cut the forests down. CAUSE: ______________________________________________________ EFFECT: _____________________________________________________ Wolves were killed because farmers were afraid the wolves would attack their cattle. CAUSE: ______________________________________________________ EFFECT: _____________________________________________________

Page 179

Lesson 6: Extinction (S4L1d) 178 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) When a skunk feels threatened it will spray its attacker with a horrible smelling liquid. horrible means: A) funny B) prickly C) awful How Animals Protect Themselves Some animals don’t need to hide from other animals. Animals that have a form of protection usually don’t need to worry about being eaten. Protection can come in the form of speed, big sharp teeth, enormous size, or just the ability to get out of the way of danger. Skunks have their own form of protection. When a skunk feels threatened it will spray its attacker with a horrible smelling liquid. The smell is so bad that the attacking animal usually decides to back off. The porcupine is an example of an animal that uses protection. Porcupines have long spines, or quills, covering their entire body. Any animal foolish enough to mess with a porcupine would end up with a face full of quills. Another form of protection is to simply hide. Turtles carry their protection around with them. When a turtle is faced with a scary situation it pulls its head and feet into its shell and waits. Elephants, on the other hand, have very little fear. Their enormous size is usually enough to keep predators away. There are two other ways in which animals survive in their ecosystem. The first is migration. Migration is when animals leave one place and journey to another. In the wintertime, some birds will fly south to avoid a harsh winter. It is easier to find food when the ground is not covered in snow. The other survival technique is mimicry. Animals that mimic other animals do so because they hope to scare off attackers. An animal like the king snake is colored in almost the same way as the deadly coral snake. The hope is that other animals will think he is deadly too and leave him alone. The viceroy butterfly mimics the appearance of the monarch butterfly. Birds know that the brightly colored monarch is not very tasty. The viceroy butterfly hopes the birds will think the same of him. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Animals protect themselves through speed, big sharp ________, size, or the ability to get away from ____________

Page 180

Lesson 6: Extinction (S4L1d) 179 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. How can animals protect themselves? __________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. How does a porcupine protect itself? ___________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is migration? _________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. Why do animals migrate? ____________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What is mimicry? __________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 181

Lesson 6: Extinction (S4L1d) 180 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since, etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Birds fly south avoiding a harsh winter. (3 nouns) *What do birds do? ____________ (verb) *What word modifies winter? ____________ (adjective) 2. A turtle pulls into its shell and hides. (2 nouns) (1p) (1c) *What does a turtle do? ___________ and ___________ (verb) PROGRESSIVE VERBS (INTRODUCED) Change each of the underlined verbs to the past, present, and future progressive verb forms. Use the correct helping verb (was/were, am/ is/ are, or will be) and the –ing form of the underlined verb. 1. Birds (avoid) harsh winters. ______________/_______________/_______________ 2. Turtles (swim) in the stream. ______________/_______________/_______________ SYNTAX (4.L.GC.2.b) SENTENCE FRAGMENTS Sentence Fragments do not express a complete thought. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Change each fragment below into a complete sentence. 1. deadly coral snake _____________________________________________________________ 2. another survival technique _____________________________________________________________

Page 182

Lesson 7: Extinction (S4L1d) 181 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA CONTEXT CLUES (4.L.V.3.a) Today there is a strong desire to keep the population of all animals at a level that will prevent them from becoming extinct. prevent means: A) stop B) cause C) help Extinction Not all organisms are able to find a way to survive in an ecosystem. Organisms that disappear from the planet completely are considered extinct. Extinction happens when something occurs that causes the death of an entire population. There are many factors that go into causing an organism to become extinct. Some of the factors include small population, habitat loss, disease, natural disasters, and man’s over hunting. Factors for Extinction Any animal that has a small population is most likely to become extinct. If there is a type of animal that has very few females, then there are fewer animals to produce young. Eventually these animals would become extinct. Today there is a strong desire to keep the population of all animals at a level that will prevent them from becoming extinct. This is a difficult task. A second factor in the extinction of animals would be habitat loss. If the ecosystem in which an animal lived was destroyed or removed, then that animal would be forced to find another place to live. If the animal was unable to find a suitable place, then the likelihood of extinction increases. Humans tend to be the biggest cause of habitat loss today. Humans are also responsible for overhunting certain animals. By hunting animals and not giving them time to increase their numbers, humans have caused the extinction of many different animals including the Tasmanian Wolf, the English Wolf, the Passenger Pigeon, the Quagga, and the Caspian Tiger. Disease and natural disasters are other causes of extinction. Some plants and animals have been forced into extinction by a disease that they are unable to overcome. Natural disasters could also play a role in extinction. It is thought that meteors, along with volcanic activity and climate change, caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Reread the paragraphs and fill in each blank below correctly. 1. Organisms that disappear from the planet completely are considered to be ________________. 2. An animal with a small ____________ is more likely to become extinct.

Page 183

Lesson 7: Extinction (S4L1d) 182 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT 1. What are the factors that might cause an organism to become extinct? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. Why do we want to keep animals from becoming extinct? __ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What is the biggest cause of habitat loss? _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. How do you think natural disasters play a role in extinction? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 5. What caused the extinction of the dinosaurs? _______________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 184

Lesson 7: Extinction (S4L1d) 183 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA GRAMMAR, USAGE, and MECHANICS (4.L.GC.1) PARTS OF SPEECH (REINFORCED) Underline the nouns in each sentence. (Nouns are people, places, things or ideas) Circle the prepositions. (at, by, for, to, in, before, after, over, of, under, until, with, since etc.) Draw a box around the conjunctions. (Conjunctions are joining words such as and, but, and or) Draw a line between the complete subject and the complete predicate. 1. Meteors, volcanic activity, and climate change caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. (5 nouns) (1p) (1c) *What did meteors, volcanic activity, and climate change do? ____________ (verb) 2. Humans cause problems for animals. (3 nouns) (1p) *What do humans do? __________ (verb) READING FOR MEANING: INTERPRETING the TEXT CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS (4.T.T.2.b) The cause-and-effect is a relationship between events where one event (the cause), leads to another event (the effect). Read the statement below and find the cause-and-effect. By hunting animals and not giving them time to increase their numbers, humans have caused the extinction of many different animals including the Tasmanian Wolf, the English Wolf, the Passenger Pigeon, the Quagga, and the Caspian Tiger. CAUSE: _________________________________________________ EFFECT: _________________________________________________ What caused the extinction of many different animals? ______ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Page 185

Lesson 7: Extinction (S4L1d) 184 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA DEVELOP A MODEL Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct, or over-abundant. (S4L1d) Model: Printed or Digital Data Used: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

Page 186

GLOSSARY 185 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA A absorbed -Taken in or sucked or swallowed up. accelerate -Speed up act -The doing of something. adaptation -The act of adapting. adapted -Changed to fit a new situation. advancing -Moving forward affects -Interacts with anchor -Something that holds an item in place. astronomer -A person who studies the science of heavenly bodies and of their sizes, motions, and composition. atmosphere -The whole mass of air surrounding the earth. atop -On top of attached -Connected to auger -A tool for drilling holes. available -Present in a form that a plant or animal can use. average -A typical level axis -A straight line about which a body or a geometric figure rotates or may be supposed to rotate. B balanced -So that two sides are equal. barometer -An instrument that measures the pressure of the atmosphere to determine probable weather changes.

Page 187

GLOSSARY 186 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA blending -Mixing thoroughly so that the things mixed cannot be recognized. blurry -Lacking a definite outline. boundary -Dividing line C camouflage -The hiding or disguising of something by covering it up or changing the way it looks. capable -Having the qualities to do or accomplish something. carnivore -A flesh-eating animal. cirrus -High clouds usually made from ice crystals. climate -The average weather conditions of a particular place or region over a period of years. colonize -To establish a new territory. competition -A contest between rivals. complete -Having come to an end; finished. concave -Curved inward like the inside of a circle or sphere. condensation -A changing of a gas or vapor to a liquid. condenses -A changing of a gas or vapor to a liquid. connected -Joined or linked together. constant -Not changing; remaining the same constellation -A group of stars, especially one perceived as a design or mythological figure. convex -Curving outward like the outer boundary of a circle or sphere. crescent -The figure of the moon as it appears with concave and convex edges ending in points. cumulus -White puffy clouds seen during fair weather. cycle -The time during which a series of events occurs.

Page 188

GLOSSARY 187 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA D day -The 24-hour period during which the earth makes one complete rotation on its axis. decomposer -An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter. decrease -To make or become smaller. detailed -Nothing left out. develop -To go through the process of natural growth. devices -Pieces of equipment that serve a special purpose. diagonal -Running in a slanted direction. direction -The course along which something moves. disappear -To pass out of sight; vanish drain -To make or become gradually dry or empty. drawback -An undesirable feature. drought -A long period of dry weather. dwarf -Much smaller than normal. E effect -An event that is produced by a cause. effort -Hard work. enormous -Very great in size or number. entire -Having no part left out. equal -Having the same quantity or measure as another. equinox -Either of the times of the year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are about equal in length. evaporation -The changing of a liquid into a vapor, especially without boiling. evening -The period of decreasing daylight between afternoon and night. example -Something that serves as a pattern.

Page 189

GLOSSARY 188 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA exist -To be real. expect -To presume; suppose. experiencing -Living through an event or series of events. extinct -No longer existing. F factors -Things that contribute to the production of a result. faint -Lacking brightness or clarity; dim fair -Clear and sunny; free of clouds or storms. fixed -Firmly in position; stationary. flourish -Thrive; prosper. food chain -A series of organisms in which each uses the next usually lower member of the series as a food source. focus -A point at which rays of light meet or spread apart. force -A push or a pull. forecast -To tell in advance what might or will happen. friction -The force that resists motion between bodies in contact. fronts -The boundaries between two different air masses. fulcrum -The support on which a lever rests or turns. G galaxy -A vast grouping of stars, gas, and dust held together by the force of gravity. generated -Brought into existence. glaciers -A large mass of ice slowly moving over a mountain or through a valley, formed over many years from packed snow in areas where snow accumulates faster than it melts.

Page 190

GLOSSARY 189 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA grasp -Hold. gravity -The natural force that makes objects move toward each other. grooved -Having a long narrow channel made in a surface. H habitat -The place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows. herbivore -A plant-eating animal. hibernate -To pass the winter in a sleeping or resting state. hydrogen -A colorless, highly flammable gas. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. I increases -Makes or becomes greater or larger in size. indicator -Something that serves as a sign or symptom of. instrument -A device for recording or measuring. J journey -A trip, especially one over a great distance. L laborers -Workers. load -Something to be moved or carried. M magnify -To make an object appear larger than it really is. marshes -Areas of soft wet land usually overgrown by grass. mass -A quantity of matter.

Page 191

GLOSSARY 190 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA meteorologist -A scientist who studies the atmosphere and atmospheric conditions, especially as they relate to weather. migration -The act of passing from one region or climate to another usually on a regular schedule for feeding. mild -Warm and full of sunshine; not extreme. mimic -Copy. mixture -A combination of different ingredients or things. momentum -Force or speed of motion. myth -A fictitious or imaginary story, person, or thing. N narrow -Not wide. nutrient -Furnishing nourishment. O objects -Things. occurs -Takes place; happens. omnivore -An animal that eats both meat and plants. opaque -Not letting light pass through; neither transparent nor translucent. orbit -The path of a celestial body or satellite as it travels around another body. organism -A living being. P particles -Very small pieces of solid matter; specks. perish -To pass away completely; become destroyed. phases -The recurring forms in which the moon or a planet appears.

Page 192

GLOSSARY 191 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA photosynthesis -The process by which plants that contain chlorophyll make food from water and from carbon dioxide in the air in the presence of light. pitch -The quality of a sound, determined mostly by the frequency of the sound. pollution -The contamination of air, water, or soil by harmful substances. population -A group of one or more species of organisms living in a particular area or habitat. portion -A part of a whole. precipitation -A form of water, such as rain, snow, or sleet, that condenses from the atmosphere and falls to the surface of the earth. predators -Animals that live by killing and eating other animals. predict -To tell about or make known in advance, on the basis of special knowledge. prism -A transparent object that usually has three sides and bends light so that it breaks up into rainbow colors. protection -The act of covering or shielding from something that would destroy or injure. purpose -An object or result achieved. R ramp -A sloping way or plane. reaction -A response. recycled -Extracted and reused. reduce -To make less. reflect -To throw or bend back light from a surface. resists -Fights against. resting -Supported by.

Page 193

GLOSSARY 192 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA result -Consequence; conclusion. returns -Goes or comes back, as to a former condition or place. revolution -Movement around a central point. revolve -To orbit a central point. roles -An expected behavior pattern. rotating -Turning around on an axis. rough -Not smooth. S scatter -To separate and go in different directions. seasons -The four natural divisions of the year, each beginning as the sun passes through a solstice or an equinox. shelter -Something that covers or protects. shrinking -Becoming smaller. solar system -The sun together with the planets and other bodies, such asteroids and comets, that orbit the sun. solstice -Either of the two times of year, approximately June 21, the summer solstice, and December 21, the winter solstice, at which the sun reaches an extreme of its northward or southward motion. sphere -Round. spread -To scatter over an area. stationary -Not moving. steadily -Free from change. stratus -Dark clouds that are close to the ground. strike -To bring into contact. study -Use the mind to acquire knowledge. successful -Having a favorable outcome. surface -The outside of an object or body.

Page 194

GLOSSARY 193 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA surround -To extend on all sides of; encircle. swirling -Moving with a twisting whirling motion. swollen -Expanded. T telescope -A device that is used to observe distant objects. temperature -The relative hotness or coldness of a body or atmosphere. thermometer -An instrument that measures temperature. threaded -To pass through. threads -The ridges or grooves that wind around a screw. tilted -Sloped; inclined; slanted. translucent -Allowing light to pass through but scattering it enough so that images become blurred. transmitted -Allowed to travel or spread. transparent -Allowing light to pass through, so that objects and images are clearly visible. U universe -All matter and energy considered as a whole, the cosmos. V vacuum -A space that is empty of matter. vapor -The state of a substance in gaseous form. vibrating -Rapidly moving back and forth. vibration -The act of vibrating. W wandering -Moving about without a destination or purpose. wane -To decrease gradually in size. wedge -Something shaped like a triangle. weight -Something heavy.

Page 195

194 Copyright © 2025 by Concise Curriculum. Do not duplicate. NEW SCI/ELA Concise Curriculum 112 Kenton Place Peachtree City, GA 30269 fax:(770) 631-3746 contact: (404) 732-4193 Knowledge Building Social Studies, Language Arts, and Reading with Constructed Response (K-5th grades) Science/STEM Science, Language Arts, and Reading (K - 5th grades)