Information for Families and Caregivers of 4th Grade Students (webpage)

Unit 1: Multiplicative Thinking

Learning Targets

• Students find all factor pairs for a whole number between 1 and 100
• Students identify the relative sizes of centimeters, meters, and kilometers; grams and kilograms; ounces and pounds; milliliters a liters; seconds, minutes and hours
• Students write and solve multiplicaiton equations

Unit 2: Multi-Digit Multiplication & Early Division

Learning Targets

• Students multiply a 2- or 3-digit whole number by a 1-digit whole number using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations
• Students multiply two 2-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations
• Students apply the area formula for a rectangle to solve problems

Unit 3: Fractions & Decimals

Learning Targets

• Students write fractions with denominators 10 and 100 in decimal notation
• Students compare two decimal numbers with digits to the hundredths place
• Students express a fraction with denominator 10 as an equivalent fraction with denominator 100

Unit 4: Addition, Subtraction, & Measurement 

Learning Targets

• Students solve multi-step story problems involving whole numbers using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
• Students read and write multi-digit whole numbers represented with base-ten numerals, number names and expanded form
• Students round multi-digit whole numbers to the nearest hundred, thousand, and ten thousand
• Students use the standard algorithm with fluency to add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers
• Students record equivalent measurements in different units from the same system of measurement

Unit 5: Geometry & Measurement

Learning Targets

• Students identify an angle as a geometric figure formed where two rays share a common endpoint
• Students use a protractor to measure angles in whole degrees
• Students identify and draw lines of symmetry
• Students classify 2-D figures 
• Students apply the area formula for a rectangle to solve problems

Unit 6: Multiplication & Division; Data & Fractions

Learning Targets

• Students divide a 2- or 3-digit number by a 1-digit number
• Students solve single-step story problems involving division with remainders
• Students solve multi-step story problems involving whole numbers using addition, multiplication and division
• Students add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators
• Students apply the area and perimeter formulas for a rectangle to solve problems

Unit 7: Reviewing & Extending Fractions, Decimals & Multi-Digit Multiplication

Learning Targets

• Students read, write and compare two fractions with different numerators and different denominators
• Students multiply a fraction by a whole number 
• Students write equations with a letter standing for an unknown quantity to represent a multi-step story problem
• Students explain why one fraction is greater or less than another fraction
• Students are introduced to the standard multiplication algorithm with particular focus on the use of the are model

Unit 8: Playground Design

Learning Targets

• Students use measurement and geometry skills to collect and display data about playground equipment
• Students analyze data to make decisions about their playground design
• Students research the cost of playground equipment, find the total cost, and create a final design
• Students use scale factors to make measurement conversions and draw a scaled map of their playground design
• Students use their scaled maps to determine the dimensions of each of their playground items and build 3D models

Life Science: Human Body, Vision, & the Brain Unit (Human Machine)

Learning Targets

• Students construct a model of the human hand to explain how muscles pull on bones to create movement
• Students develop a working model of an eye. They use the model to reason about how light reflects off an object and into the eye, helping an organism process information from the environment
• Students use their eye model to discover that the pupil controls the amount of light let into the eye. In the dark, pupils get larger to let in more light
• Students investigate how their own brain works by testing their reflexes. They discover that the brain receives information from the senses, processes the information, and sends signals to the muscles to enable movement

Earth & Space Science: Earth's Features & Processes Unit (The Birth of Rocks)

Learning Targets

• Students use coordinates to develop a map of volcanoes to discover a pattern of where volcanoes exist on Earth. Students identify the pattern of volcanoes in the “Ring of Fire”
• Students investigate the properties of thin and thick lava by attempting to create air bubbles. Students realize that thick lava will cause a volcano to explode, while thin lava will not
• Students make observations of the effects of weathering to discover that rocks will become rounded and break into small pieces when they tumble down a mountain
• Students create a model canyon and use the pattern of fossils found in each rock layer to support the explanation that the landscape has changed many times over millions of years
• Students generate multiple possible solutions to protect homes from a landslide. Students realize that there are many causes for the erosion that causes rocks to fall in landslides

Physical Science: Sound, Waves, & Communication Unit (Waves of Sound)

Learning Targets

• Students explore how digital devices encode complex information. Students generate their own codes in order to transfer information across the classroom. Then, they compare their codes and evaluate which worked best given the criteria and constraints
• Students investigate sound energy using paper cup telephones. Students figure out that sound is a vibration that can travel through a medium
• Students construct a model of sound vibrations to explain how air is a medium that sound vibrations travel through
• Students make observations of vibrations and sound waves to discover that high pitch sounds vibrate faster and have short wavelengths and low pitch sounds vibrate slower and have long wavelengths

Physical Science: Energy, Energy Transfer, & Electricity (Energizing Everything)

Learning Targets

• Students learn about stored energy and about the relationship between motion and energy. Students build models of an amusement park ride and discover how energy can be stored in materials. Stored energy can be converted to speed
• Students build a model of a roller coaster and carry out an investigation using marbles. Students learn that lifting an object up stores energy in the object. When the object falls, that stored energy is released. They realize that energy is transferred when objects collide
• Students investigate how energy transfers when objects collide. In the activity, Bumper Jumper, students ask questions and make predictions about how far a marble will launch over a jump after colliding with other objects
• Students experiment with ways to store and release energy, creating the beginning of a chain reaction machine with a lever and a ramp. Students figure out that a domino standing on end is storing energy, only requiring a small amount of energy (a tiny push) to release the stored energy
• Students continue to build a chain reaction machine — identifying a goal, brainstorming and testing multiple ideas, and determining an optimal solution. The chain reaction machine uses multiple components to transfer energy from one part to the next
• Students design a flashlight with an on/off switch, using batteries, flights, and tin foil. Students figure out that electricity can be transformed to other forms of energy, such as movement, light, and heat
• Students build a paper spinner and conduct an investigation to explain how heat makes things move. Students realize that heat energy can be transformed into motion energy using a turbine
• Students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of wind, water, and solar energy to power a town. Students obtain and evaluate information about the needs of each source of energy and analyze and interpret data about the town’s resources