Mohonasen Central School District - Elementary Curriculum Support Materials
Grade 4          Unit Guide        Land and Water - Earth Science

Lesson / Lab Sequence Title & Lesson Objective(s)

Key Vocabulary

Resource List

All references to "Standards" below are the New York State Elementary Core Curriculum Science Standards 

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Notice of Liability: Some  of the following information is copy written through the National Science Resources Center, and Carolina Biological.  For more information about STC curricula go to the STC web site at www.carolina.com/STC
Vocabulary in bold faced print are not expectations of NYS Core Curriculum, but are contextual in nature for this unit and will be exposed to students.  For a list of NYS Core Vocabulary, go back to our main page by clicking the back button or clicking here
Lesson / Lab Sequence Title & Lesson Objective(s)

Key Vocabulary

Resource List

STC Lesson #1

Title: “Thinking about Land and Water”

  • S will acknowledge the relationship between land and water

 

Standards:

PS MU 2.1D:

Erosion and deposition result from the interaction among air, water, and land.

• interaction between air and water breaks down earth materials

• pieces of earth material may be moved by air, water, wind, and gravity

• pieces of earth material will settle or deposit on land or in the water in different

places

• soil is composed of broken-down pieces of living and nonliving earth material

 

Brainstorming

Geologist

Land Formations

Water

Surface

 

Text:

Web:

Other:

 

STC Lesson # 2 

Lab 

Title: “The Water Cycle: Modeling Land and Water”

      Sub-lesson:       What are models?

  • S will understand evaporation, condensation, & precipitation

  • S W understand that heat & energy from sun power water cycle

Standards:

PS MU 2.1C:

Water is recycled by natural processes on Earth.

• evaporation: changing of water (liquid) into water vapor (gas)

• condensation: changing of water vapor (gas) into water (liquid)

• precipitation: rain, sleet, snow, hail

• runoff: water flowing on Earth’s surface

• groundwater: water that moves downward into the ground

LE MU 6.2C

Heat energy from the Sun powers the water cycle.

 

Cycle(s)

Water Cycle

Evaporation

Condensation

Precipitation

Ground Water

Runoff

Water Table

 

Text:

Web:

Other:  STC Student Instructions for Modeling the Water Cycle

STC Reading Selection: Tapping into the Water Cycle

STC Daily Water Usage

 

STC Lesson #3

Lab

 

Title:  “Stream Table Earth Science”

This lesson incorporates the central concepts from the STC lessons 3, “Modeling Rain on Land,” 4, “Investigating Streams,” 7, “Where does the Soil Go?  Looking at Erosion and Deposition,” 9, “When Streams Join: Modeling Tributaries,” and 13, “Exploring Slope.”

  • S W understand precipitation falls to Earth and flows over land (into bodies of water), gets absorbed (as groundwater), or evaporates.

  • SW understand that water flow contributes to weathering and erosion

 

Standards:

PS

MU:

2.1C:

Water is recycled by natural processes on Earth.

• evaporation: changing of water (liquid) into water vapor (gas)

• condensation: changing of water vapor (gas) into water (liquid)

• precipitation: rain, sleet, snow, hail

• runoff: water flowing on Earth’s surface

• groundwater: water that moves downward into the ground

2.1D:

Erosion and deposition result from the interaction among air, water, and land.

• interaction between air and water breaks down earth materials

• pieces of earth material may be moved by air, water, wind, and gravity

• pieces of earth material will settle or deposit on land or in the water in different

places

• soil is composed of broken-down pieces of living and nonliving earth material

 

Erosion

Weathering

Flow

Deposition

Interaction

 

Text:

Web:

Other:

 

STC Lesson #5

Classroom

 

Title: “Examining Earth Materials”

  • S observe & compare 4 soil components

  • S record & discuss properties of each soil component

  • S discuss how soil properties affect the ways in which soil is eroded & deposited by water in stream tables

 

Standards: PS [MU: 2.1D see above]

 

Component(s)

Inorganic

Matter

Organic

Properties

 

Text:

Web:

Other: 

 

Note: Lessons 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, & 16 are omitted

Lessons 3, 4, 7, 9, and 13 have been consolidated into our locally designed “Stream Table Earth Science” Lab

 

Closing Activities

Note to teachers: 

  • S Research Earth’s Natural Events (Natural disasters) eg: volcanoes, floods, etc, and their impact on environment

  • Research covers content of volcanoes, earthquakes, and weather phenomena

 

Weather phenomena are confined to large-scale events that shape the land eg: tornadoes, hurricanes, water cycle, wind, and weathering.

 

Weather

  • Atmosphere

  • Thermometer

  • Celsius

  • Fahrenheit

  • Barometer

  • Water Cycle

  • Evaporation

  • Precipitation

  • Condensation

 

Add’l Vocab for Research Project

  • Volcano

  • Eruption

  • Magma

  • Flood

  • Earthquake

  • Hurricanes

  • Tornado

  • Positive Impact

  • Negative impact