What does a student learn in StateIllinois,GradeGrade 4,SubjectScience?

Students ask questions about how things work or why something happens, then figure out if science or engineering can help answer it. This is the starting point for every experiment or invention.

Students build or draw a model (a diagram, a sketch, or a physical version) to show how something in the real world works, then use that model to explain or predict what happens next.

Students plan a test, collect data, and use what they find to check whether their idea holds up. This is the core of how scientists work, and fourth graders practice it hands-on.

Students look at collected data, like measurements or survey results, and explain what the numbers show. They spot patterns, such as which plant grew fastest or which temperature appeared most often.

Students use numbers, measurements, and simple calculations to back up what they observed or concluded in a science investigation.

Students build a written explanation for something they observed, then back it up with evidence from their investigation. The explanation has to connect to a real scientific idea, not just a guess.

Students look at two different explanations or solutions, then use evidence to argue which one holds up better. Think of it as picking a side in a debate, but the winner is decided by facts, not opinions.

Students read science articles and diagrams, decide which information is trustworthy, and explain what they learned in writing or through their own diagrams and charts.

Students examine what everyday materials are made of at a level too small to see, then use what they find to explain why things dissolve, melt, or change when mixed.

Students test how things speed up, slow down, or stay still when forces act on them. They learn why a kicked ball rolls and slows, and what it takes to keep moving objects balanced or at rest.

Students explore how energy moves and changes form, such as when sunlight warms a dark surface or a rolling ball slows to a stop. They learn that energy is never lost, just passed along or converted into something else.

Students study how waves, like sound and light, carry energy from one place to another. They explore how waves are used in everyday tools, such as phones and radios, to send information.

Students examine how living things are built and how they work, from the tiny cells inside a leaf or skin to the larger systems those cells form together, like a heart pumping blood or roots pulling up water.

Students trace how food, water, and nutrients move through an ecosystem, from plants to animals to decomposers, and how living things depend on one another to survive.

Students look at how traits like eye color or height get passed from parents to offspring, and why siblings can look similar but not identical.

Students compare living things to spot patterns across species, like shared body parts or similar behaviors, and explore why those similarities exist. This builds toward understanding how life changes across generations.

Students learn where Earth sits in the solar system and study the patterns behind how planets move, seasons change, and day turns to night. They also look at evidence that tells us about Earth's past.

Students examine how Earth's major systems (land, water, air, and living things) affect one another. A rainstorm soaking into soil or a forest slowing the wind are the kinds of connections students learn to notice and explain.

Students explore how things people do, like building roads or burning fuel, change the land, water, and air around them. They also look at how floods, earthquakes, and other natural events affect where and how people live.

Students identify a real problem, sketch or build possible fixes, then test what works and adjust the design based on what they learn.

Students explore how new tools and inventions change daily life, and how the needs of people and communities shape what engineers build next.