Elementary Science - Grade 4

1: People: The human skeletal and muscular systems

Understand that the skeletal system gives the body shape, support and protection
- Identify the bones that make up the skeletal system.
- Describe the functions (e. g. protects internal organs, supports the body) of the parts of the skeletal system using visual aids.
- Demonstrate how the skeletal system enables us to move.
Describe the parts and functions of the muscular system
- Identify parts of muscles attached to some bone (e. g. tendons and muscles of arms and leg muscles).
- Infer that changes in shape of muscles (e. g. shortening/ thickening) result in movement of attached bones (as in arms and legs).
- Differentiate voluntary and involuntary muscles.
Demonstrate the coordinated function of the skeletal and muscular systems
- Show the coordinated function of the skeletal and muscular systems through simple body activities.
Understand the nature and treatment of injuries to the skeletal and muscular systems
- Describe the injuries (e. g. fracture, dislocation, hematoma) and appropriate first aid treatment.
- Discuss ways of preventing injuries to the skeletal system and muscular systems.
- Demonstrate kindness towards persons with injuries and diseases of the muscular and skeletal systems.

2: People: The human digestive system

Demonstrate an understanding of the parts of the digestive system and the function of each part
- Identify the parts of the digestive system.
- Describe the function of each part.
- Follow the path of food from mouth to the other parts of the digestive system.
- Describe what happens to food in each part.
- Discuss the importance of food digestion.
How the digestive system works through a diagram
- Describe common ailments of parts of the digestive system (e. g. toothache, stomachache, gas pains).
- Discuss ways of preventing injuries to the skeletal system and muscular systems.
- Discuss prevention and cure of ailments described in #1 (e. g. chew food well, eating the right kinds of food, etc.).

3: Animals

Demonstrate an understanding of the life cycles of some common animals (cat or dog, chicken and butterfly/ mosquito/ frog)
- Describe where kitten, chick and butterfly come from using video/ poster or actual observation (e.g. kitten coming out of from mother's body).
- Illustrate the sequence of events in the life cycle of each kind of animal.
Describe the usefulness of some animals
- Name food products from animals (e. g. eggs, meat).
- Name other materials/ benefits derived from animals (e.g. leather from animal skins, pleasure and joy derived from pets).
Understand the danger posed by some animals to people
- Cite harm done by animals based on their own or other person's experiences (e. g. dog bite, mosquito bite, etc.).
- Report on safety measures practiced in dealing with animals.

4: Plants

Understand how plants are propogated from seed
- Describe the life cycle of a flowering plant beginning from the seed stage.
- Explain the role of pollination in plant reproduction.
Understand how plants are propogated from other parts:
- Explain the propagation of a plant from other parts: a stem cutting (e. g. kangkong), tuber (e. g. potato), enlarged root (camote), leaf (katakataka), bulb (onion).
Explain how a mature seed changes during germination
- Observe changes in a germinating (dicot and monocot seed until the seedling stage).
- Identify the parts of a seed and infer the function of each part.
Describe the factors needed by seeds to germinate
Perform an experiment on seed germination.
Identify the variables on seed germination.
Analyze and interpret the data gathered.

5: Explain what happens after mixing materials

Describe what happens after mixing solids with other solids.
- particles cannot be distinguished from each other
- particles can be distinguished from each other
Decsribe what happens after mixing liquids with other liquids.
- cannot be distinguished from each other
- become cloudy
- form 2 or more layers
Describe what happens after mixing solids with liquids.
- dissolve completely
- become cloudy
- settle at the bottom
Discuss the common conditions that affect how solids dissolve in liquids.
- Perform an activity to test the effect of stirring.
- Perform an activity to test the effect of temperature.
- Perform activity to test the effect of the size of particles.
Demonstrate knowledge of separating mixtures.
- Observe common mixtures.
- Perform activities to separate mixtures.
  - Picking (rock particles and rice grains)
  - Sieving (sand and pebbles)
  - Decanting (guava leaves in boiled water)
  - Filtering (muddy water)
  - Evaporation (salt in water)

6: Energy

Explain the effect of friction
- Infer why an object that moves along a surface eventually slows down and stops.
- Measure and compare how far objects move on different surfaces/ textures before they stop.
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of friction.
- Describe ways of decreasing/ increasing friction.
Discuss the effect of heat on objects
- Measure and record the temperature of water as it is heated and boiled.
- Demonstrate proper use of thermometer.
- Make a graph of temperature against time and interpret the graph.
- Describe changes in an object such as wood, wax that has been heated.
- Demonstrate proper use of alcohol burner and safe ways of handling hot objects and flammable materials.
Explain how heat travels
- Show evidence that heat travels by conduction and convection.
- Infer that heat travels by radiation.
Describe how fire is produced
- Discuss that fuel and oxygen are needed to produce fire.
- State that different fuels start to burn at different temperatures.
- Practice safety precautions in using fuels/ fireh.
- Follow safety rules/ emergency measures in case of fire.

7: Earth

Demonstrate knowledge that water, wind, people and animals bring about soil erosion.
- Describe how water causes soil erosion.
- Illustrate how wind causes soil erosion.
- Explain how people and animals cause soil erosion.
- Demonstrate how the slope of land affects the amount of soil carried away.
Explain the effects of soil erosion on plants, animals and people
- Describe how erosion changes the shape of the land.
- Provide reasons how erosion affects the condition of the soil.
- Summarize how erosion affects plants, animals and people.
Discuss how people and plants help prevent soil erosion
- Identify the different ways of preventing soil erosion.
- Demonstrate how plants prevent soil erosion.

8: The weather

Explain how temperature, wind, clouds, precipitation affect the weather:
- Measure and Record air temperature for one week using a laboratory thermometer.
- Measure and record wind speed and direction for a week using improvised instruments.
- Describe the cloud formation for a particular day.
- Relate the amount of rainfall with cloud cover.
- Interpret weather reports.
Apply knowledge of the weather elements in making decisions for the day.

9: Earth, Moon and Sun

Understand the effects of Earth's rotation on occurrence of day and night
- Describe that the Earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees from the perpendicular.
- Show through a model that Earth rotates in a counter clockwise direction as seen from the top of North Pole.
- Show through a model how the Earth's rotation on its axis causes day and night.
Describe the effects of Earth's revolution on seasons
- Show through a model that the Earth takes one year or 12 months or 365.25 days to make a complete revolution around the Sun (366 on every fourth year/ leap year) following its own orbit.
- Illustrate how Earth's revolution affect seasons.
- Summarize how erosion affects plants, animals and people.

10: Understand how the Moon's motion affects Earth

Show through a model that as the moon travels around the Earth it also makes one complete rotation that makes the moon face the Earth all the time.
Explain that the Moon travels around the earth once about every 29.5 days.
Explain the apparent changes in the shape of the Moon as it revolves around the Sun.
- Observe and draw the appearance of the Moon over one month whenever possible
- Show through a model how the relative position of the observer of Earth, Moon and Sun causes the apparent changes in the shape of the Moon
Conclude that the revolution of the moon around the earth causes the natural occurrence of tides.
- Explain how high and low tides occur.
- Relate through a model the position of the Moon and the Earth to places where high and low tides occur.

11: Solar and lunar eclipse.