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In this unit students take walk in a park. They stop to admire wildflowers and learn how the internal and external structures of these plants function to support growth and reproduction. Students continue on their walk making stops along the way to look at different animals. Students study these animals and learn how the animals use their senses to take information from their surroundings and process this information. Special emphasis is placed on the sense of sight. Students realize that animals, like plants, also survive by the interaction between their internal and external structures.
In this unit designed for 4th grade, students try to figure out the origin of a bone that is found in local soil. Could it have belonged to a dinosaur? The mystery bone provides an introduction to the main ideas in this unit, such as: rock formations and fossils are evidence of changes in a landscape over time; the effects of weathering and erosion can be observed and measured; the analysis of maps can describe patterns of Earth’s features; and that various solutions can be generated that reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
In Powering thru the Fair, students take a virtual field trip to the NYS Fair in order to investigate the energy used there. They follow a map to visit the roller coaster, ball toss, bumper cars, and more, all the while exploring ideas such as speed, collisions, and energy conversions. As a final performance assessment, students will create exhibits to be displayed at the fair suggesting ideas for making it more eco-friendly. The NYS Fair will award free admission tickets to the winners of this contest.
Students will learn about waves and the properties of amplitude, wavelength, and energy. With these properties, students will learn how waves move objects and transmit information for both sound using Morse code and light using binary code. As a final project, students use the codes to unlock a series of locks to break into a mystery box to reveal a surprise.