Fourth Grade Science
1st Grading Period
Power Objectives:
Academic Vocabulary:
 Explain how Earth’s surface has specific
characteristics and landforms that can be identified.
(P.O. #1)
 4.ESS.1.a Explain that 70 percent of the Earth’s
surface is covered with water and most of that is
the ocean. Describe that only a small portion of
the Earth’s water is freshwater, and that it is
readily found in rivers, lakes and ground water.
 See below for additional power objectives and
supporting indicators.









streams
deltas
floodplains
valleys
sink holes
caves
canyons
glacial features
dunes









springs
volcanoes
islands
erosion
deposition
weathering
sediment
flooding
earthquakes







ground water
topographic map
aerial photo
gravity
composition
precipitation
catastrophic
Earth’s Surface
Enduring Understandings:
Essential Questions:
 Earth’s surface has specific characteristics and
landforms that can be identified.
 The surface of Earth changes due to weathering.
 The surface of Earth changes due to erosion and
deposition. Erosion is a “destructive” process and
deposition is a “constructive” process.
 What factors accelerate or slow down the processes of
erosion, deposition, and weathering?
 What factors must exist for landforms to form and
change?
Power Objectives:
 Explain how Earth’s surface has specific characteristics and landforms that can be identified. (P.O. #1)
 4.ESS.1.b Recognize and identify common landforms. (Common landforms and features include streams, deltas,
floodplains, hills, mountains/mountain ranges, valleys, sinkholes, caves, canyons, glacial features, dunes, springs,
volcanoes and islands.)
 4.ESS.1.c Make connections about how landforms are created, change and are destroyed over time through natural
(slow and catastrophic) processes.
 Explain how the surface of the Earth changes due to weathering, erosion and deposition. (P.O.#2)
 4.ESS.2.a Differentiate between weathering and erosion.
 4.ESS.2.b Recognize the differences in physical, chemical, and biological weathering to explain how they change the
surface of the earth.
 4.ESS.2.c Describe how the surface of Earth changes due to erosion and deposition. Erosion is a “destructive” process
and deposition is a “constructive” process.
 4.ESS.2.d Describe how gravitational force affects movements of water, rock and soil.