GEMS Correlations with the
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science
Grade 4


Return to Texas Standards Page


Science, Grade 4.

Knowledge and skills.


(1) Scientific processes. The student conducts field and laboratory investigations following home and school safety procedures and environmentally appropriate and ethical practices. The student is expected to:

(A) demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory investigations; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Bubble Festival, Crime Lab Chemistry, Fingerprinting, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Microscopic Explorations, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone, Terrarium Habitats

(B) make wise choices in the use and conservation of resources and the disposal or recycling of materials.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Terrarium Habitats

(2) Scientific processes. The student uses scientific inquiry methods during field and laboratory investigations. The student is expected to:

(A) plan and implement descriptive investigations including asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting and using equipment and technology;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Oobleck

(B) collect information by observing and measuring;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Bubble Festival, Crime Lab Chemistry, Fingerprinting, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Microscopic Explorations, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone, Terrarium Habitats

(C) analyze and interpret information to construct reasonable explanations from direct and indirect evidence;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Crime Lab Chemistry, Fingerprinting, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Microscopic Explorations, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone, Terrarium Habitats

(D) communicate valid conclusions; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Crime Lab Chemistry, Fingerprinting, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Microscopic Explorations, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone, Terrarium Habitats

(E) construct simple graphs, tables, maps, and charts to organize, examine, and evaluate information.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Crime Lab Chemistry, Fingerprinting, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Microscopic Explorations, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone

(3) Scientific processes. The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions. The student is expected to:

(A) analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology

(B) draw inferences based on information related to promotional materials for products and services;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Hot Water and Warm Homes

(C) represent the natural world using models and identify their limitations;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Moons of Jupiter, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone, Terrarium Habitats

(D) evaluate the impact of research on scientific thought, society, and the environment; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology

(E) connect Grade 4 science concepts with the history of science and contributions of scientists.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Fingerprinting, Investigating Artifacts, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, Oobleck

(4) Scientific processes. The student knows how to use a variety of tools and methods to conduct science inquiry. The student is expected to:

(A) collect and analyze information using tools including calculators, safety goggles, microscopes, cameras, sound recorders, computers, hand lenses, rulers, thermometers, meter sticks, timing devices, balances, and compasses; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Bubble Festival, Crime Lab Chemistry, Fingerprinting, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Investigating Artifacts, Microscopic Explorations, Moons of Jupiter, Mystery Festival, On Sandy Shores, Oobleck, Schoolyard Ecology, Stories in Stone, Terrarium Habitats

(B) demonstrate that repeated investigations may increase the reliability of results.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Bubble Festival, Crime Lab Chemistry, Hot Water and Warm Homes, Mystery Festival, Oobleck

(5) Science concepts. The student knows that complex systems may not work if some parts are removed. The student is expected to:

(A) identify and describe the roles of some organisms in living systems such as plants in a schoolyard, and parts in nonliving systems such as a light bulb in a circuit; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Terrarium Habitats

(B) predict and draw conclusions about what happens when part of a system is removed.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Schoolyard Ecology, Terrarium Habitats

(6) Science concepts. The student knows that change can create recognizable patterns. The student is expected to:

(A) identify patterns of change such as in weather, metamorphosis, and objects in the sky;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, Bubble Festival, Investigating Artifacts, Moons of Jupiter, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Terrarium Habitats

(B) illustrate that certain characteristics of an object can remain constant even when the object is rotated like a spinning top, translated like a skater moving in a straight line, or reflected on a smooth surface; and

(C) use reflections to verify that a natural object has symmetry.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Terrarium Habitats

(7) Science concepts. The student knows that matter has physical properties. The student is expected to:

(A) observe and record changes in the states of matter caused by the addition or reduction of heat; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Hot Water and Warm Homes

(B) conduct tests, compare data, and draw conclusions about physical properties of matter including states of matter, conduction, density, and buoyancy.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: On Sandy Shores, Oobleck

(8) Science concepts. The student knows that adaptations may increase the survival of members of a species. The student is expected to:

(A) identify characteristics that allow members within a species to survive and reproduce;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Terrarium Habitats

(B) compare adaptive characteristics of various species; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Aquatic Habitats, On Sandy Shores, Schoolyard Ecology, Terrarium Habitats

(C) identify the kinds of species that lived in the past and compare them to existing
species.


Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: None at this time.

(9) Science concepts. The student knows that many likenesses between offspring and parents are inherited or learned. The student is expected to:

(A) distinguish between inherited traits and learned characteristics; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: None at this time.

(B) identify and provide examples of inherited traits and learned characteristics.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: None at this time.

(10) Science concepts. The student knows that certain past events affect present and future events. The student is expected to:

(A) identify and observe effects of events that require time for changes to be noticeable including growth, erosion, dissolving, weathering, and flow; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: On Sandy Shores, Stories in Stone

(B) draw conclusions about "what happened before" using fossils or charts and tables.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Investigating Artifacts, Stories in Stone

(11) Science concepts. The student knows that the natural world includes earth materials and objects in the sky. The student is expected to:

(A) test properties of soils including texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support life;

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: Terrarium Habitats

(B) summarize the effects of the oceans on land; and

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: On Sandy Shores

(C) identify the Sun as the major source of energy for the Earth and understand its role in the growth of plants, in the creation of winds, and in the water cycle.

Appropriate GEMS Teacher's Guides: None at this time.

Lawrence Hall of Science    © 2016 UC Regents. All rights reserved.    Contact GEMS    Updated February 06, 2021