What does a student learn in StateDistrict of Columbia,GradeGrade 4,SubjectScience?

Students come up with questions that can be tested with an experiment, or spot a real problem that could be fixed with a design or invention.

Students build or draw a model (a diagram, a sketch, or a physical prototype) to show how something in nature works or how a design is meant to function. The model helps explain what they observed or predict what might happen next.

Students plan a test or experiment, collect real data, and use what they find to check whether their idea holds up.

Reading a chart, table, or graph to spot patterns and explain what the numbers or results actually mean.

Students use numbers, measurements, and simple calculations to support a scientific idea. Instead of just describing what they observe, they back it up with data.

Students use facts from observations or experiments to explain why something happens or to figure out how to solve a problem. The explanation has to be backed by evidence, 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 a structured debate where the data does the talking.

Students read science texts, diagrams, and data, then decide what information is accurate and useful. They share what they find through writing, talk, or labeled drawings.

Students take a close look at what everyday objects are made of and how tiny particles fit together to explain why things behave the way they do.

Students test how pushes and pulls change the speed and direction of objects. They learn why things stay still, slow down, or keep moving when forces act on them.

Students explore how energy moves and changes form, like heat traveling through a metal spoon or light turning into warmth. They learn that energy isn't created or destroyed, just shifted from one place to another.

Students explore how waves move energy from place to place, like sound traveling through air or light bouncing off a mirror. They also look at how waves carry information, the way a phone signal or radio wave does.

Students explore how living things are built and how they work, from the tiny cells inside them to the larger systems those cells form, like a heart pumping blood or roots pulling water from soil.

Students trace how energy from the sun moves through plants and animals in an ecosystem, and how the same matter gets used and reused. They also look at how living things in one place depend on and affect each other.

Students look at physical traits like eye color or leaf shape and figure out which ones get passed from parents to offspring. Not every offspring looks identical to its parents, and students explore why traits can vary across generations.

Students compare living things to spot patterns in how they are built and how they behave. That work builds toward understanding why species change over generations and why some survive when conditions shift.

Students study where Earth sits in the solar system and how the sun, moon, and planets move in patterns we can observe and predict. They also explore how Earth itself has changed over a very long time.

Students learn how Earth's land, water, air, and living things connect and affect each other. They look at how a rainstorm shapes soil, how plants change the air, and how those systems push and pull on one another.

Students explore how people change the land, water, and air around them, and how events like floods, earthquakes, and wildfires affect where and how people live.

Students identify a real problem, sketch or build possible fixes, then test and improve their design until it works better.

Students explore how inventions shape daily life and how the needs of society push engineers to create new tools. A new technology, like a water filter or a phone, can change how people live, work, and solve problems.