Canada · Ontario Curriculum Expectations
Grade 4 Science
This course investigates the interconnected nature of biological systems, energy transformation, and Earth's dynamic processes. Students engage in hands-on inquiry to understand how living things adapt, how energy moves through machines, and how human activity impacts the local environment.
Biological Blueprints: Internal and External Structures
Students examine how plants and animals possess unique internal and external structures that function together to support survival, growth, and reproduction.
An exploration of how animals use their senses to gather information and how the brain processes this data to influence behavior.
Investigating how roots, stems, leaves, and flowers serve specific functions in the life cycle and health of a plant.
A study of how internal organs and skeletal structures allow animals to thrive in diverse Canadian climates.
Energy in Motion: Waves and Information
Students investigate the properties of light and sound waves, focusing on how energy is transferred and used for communication.
Students experiment with vibrations to understand how sound travels through different mediums and how volume and pitch are controlled.
An investigation into how light interacts with various objects through reflection, refraction, and absorption.
Students explore how patterns can be used to encode and transmit information over long distances using light or sound.
Shaping the Earth: Landscapes and Change
Students explore the geological processes that shape the Earth's surface and the evidence found in rock layers and fossils.
Examining the slow and rapid processes that break down rocks and move sediment across the landscape.
Using fossil evidence to reconstruct past environments and understand how life on Earth has changed over millions of years.
Investigating the impact of earthquakes, floods, and landslides, and how humans design solutions to minimize damage.
Energy Conversions and Transfer
Students investigate how energy is transferred from place to place and converted from one form to another in everyday objects.
Observing how energy moves between objects when they hit each other and how speed relates to energy.
Building simple circuits to understand the flow of energy and how it can be converted into light, heat, or motion.
Comparing different sources of energy and their environmental impacts on local and global scales.
Sustainable Systems and Engineering Design
Students apply their scientific knowledge to design and test solutions for environmental and practical challenges.
Learning how to identify criteria and constraints for a successful design solution.
Developing models and conducting fair tests to see how well a design performs under pressure.
Exploring how scientific discoveries lead to new technologies that change the way people live and interact with nature.