Colorado Academic Standards Online

Use the options below to create customized views of the Colorado Academic Standards. For all standards resources, see the Office of Standards and Instructional Support.

Science - 2019

Fourth Grade, Standard 3. Earth and Space Science

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

11. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how human activities and the Earth's surface processes interact.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Earth has changed over time.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time. (4-ESS1-1) (Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence from patterns could include rock layers with shell fossils above rock layers with plant fossils and no shells, indicating a change from water to land over time; and a canyon with different rock layers in the walls and a river in the bottom, indicating that over time a river cut through the rock.) (Boundary Statement: Does not include specific knowledge of the mechanism of rock formation or memorization of specific rock formations and layers, and should only include relative time.)

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. (Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions) (Entrepreneurial: Creativity/Innovation)

Elaboration on the GLE:

Students can answer the question: How can water, ice, wind and vegetation change the land?
ESS1:C The History of the Planet Earth: Local, regional, and global patterns of rock formations reveal changes over time due to earth forces, such as earthquakes. The presence and location of certain fossil types indicate the order in which rock layers.

Cross Cutting Concepts:

Patterns: Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation.
Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems: Science assumes consistent patterns in natural systems.

Prepared Graduates:

11. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how human activities and the Earth's surface processes interact.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Four major earth systems interact.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation. (4-ESS2-1) (Clarification Statement: Examples of variables to test could include angle of slope in the downhill movement of water, amount of vegetation, speed of wind, relative rate of deposition, cycles of freezing and thawing of water, cycles of heating and cooling and volume of water flow.) (Boundary Statement: Limited to a single form of weathering or erosion.)

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

Make observations and/or measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomena. (Planning and Carrying out Investigations) (Entrepreneurial: Inquiry/Analysis)

Elaboration on the GLE:

Students can answer the questions: What patterns of Earth's features can be determined with the use of maps? How do living organisms alter Earth's processes and structures?
ESS2:A Earth Materials and Systems: Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living organisms and gravity break rocks, soils and sediments into smaller particles and move them around.
ESS2:E Biogeology: Living things affect the physical characteristics of their regions.

Cross Cutting Concepts:

Cause and Effect: Cause - and - effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.

Prepared Graduates:

11. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how human activities and the Earth's surface processes interact.

Grade Level Expectation:

3. Earth's physical features occur in patterns.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features. (4-ESS2-2) (Clarification Statement: Maps can include topographic maps of Earth’s land and ocean floor, as well as maps of the locations of mountains, continental boundaries, volcanoes and earthquakes.)

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena using logical reasoning. (Analyze and Interpret Data) (Entrepreneurial: Critical thinking/Problem solving)

Elaboration on the GLE:

Students can answer the question: Why do the continents move, and what causes earthquakes and volcanoes?
ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions: The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes and volcanoes occur in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate the different land and water features areas of Earth.

Cross Cutting Concepts:

Patterns: Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation.

Prepared Graduates:

11. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how human activities and the Earth's surface processes interact.

Grade Level Expectation:

4. Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources and their use affects the environment in multiple ways.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment. (4-ESS3-1) (Clarification Statement: Examples of renewable energy resources could include wind energy, water behind dams, and sunlight; non-renewable energy resources are fossil fuels and fissile materials. Examples of environmental effects could include loss of habitat due to dams, loss of habitat due to surface mining, and air pollution from burning of fossil fuels.)

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

Obtain and combine information from books and other reliable media to explain phenomena (Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information) (Entrepreneurial: Critical thinking/Problem solving)

Elaboration on the GLE:

Students can answer the question: How do humans depend on Earth's resources?
ESS3.A: Natural Resources: Energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources, and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Some resources are renewable over time, and others are not.

Cross Cutting Concepts:

Cause and Effect: Cause - and - effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.
Interdependence of Science, Engineering and Technology: Knowledge of relevant scientific concepts and research findings is important in engineering.
Influence of Science, Engineering and Technology on Society and the Natural World: Over time, people’s needs and wants change, as do their demands for new and improved technologies.

Prepared Graduates:

11. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how human activities and the Earth's surface processes interact.

Grade Level Expectation:

5. A variety of hazards result from natural process; humans cannot eliminate natural hazards but can reduce their impacts' effect.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans. (4-ESS3-2) (Clarification Statement: Examples of solutions could include designing an earthquake resistant building and improving monitoring of volcanic activity.) (Boundary: Limited to earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.)

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the design solution. (Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions) (Entrepreneurial: Critical thinking/Problem solving)

Elaboration on the GLE:

Students can answer the question: How do natural hazards affect individuals and societies?
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards: A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Humans cannot eliminate the hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts.

Cross Cutting Concepts:

Interdependence of Science, Engineering and Technology: Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to increase their benefits, to decrease known risks and to meet societal demands.
Cause and Effect: Cause - and - effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.

Need Help? Submit questions or requests for assistance to bruno_j@cde.state.co.us