4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
This standard will be addressed during each lesson during the research day. The fact that the faster the different substances (photons in light, electrons in electricity) the more energy is present was usually discussed during that first day of each lesson. In most cases I would ask the students what they thought would happen if the speed of the energy increased or decreased, what would be the outcome. The students will also be introduced to this concept through video content. This standard was not tested in a summative format.
4-PS3-2. Make observations to show that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
This standard will be addressed both on research days and on experiment days. On research days students will be asked to identify examples of one type of energy and observe or infer how the energy may be being transferred to another type of energy. In addition to this the students will be learning (and applying) vocabulary to describe how each energy type reacts in different conditions.
On experiment days students will observe/cause energy transfers and use their newly learned vocabulary to explain the outcomes.
4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
This standard will be covered through the discussion of the molecular level of energy. For example as a whole group we discussed that electrical charge changes and is dependent on the collision of atoms and the transfer of atoms. In the context of thermal energy students will learn that atoms rub against each other or collide, this collision is what causes the energy to flow and transfer.
4-PS3-4. Apply scientific principles of energy and motion to test and refine a device that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy or uses stored energy to cause motion or produce light or sound.
This standard will be covered primarily during the experiment day of the electrical energy lesson. During this experiment all the students will be given a battery, light bulb, and wires with the goal of lighting up at least one if not two lightbulbs at once. Therefore the students will be converting stored energy to light.
Speaking and Listening Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5 Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
This standard will be incorporated in each lesson. In most of the research day the students will be introduced to new content through video. The students will also get the opportunity to interact with each concept through visual displays during the experiment days.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.2 Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Following each activity students will be brought together to review what we had either learned from media or textbook exploration. During this discussion we will focus on vocabulary, however we will also be applying this vocabulary to examples the students can think of in our daily lives.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.A Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
During one third of the research days students will be given time and directions to explore and pull information out of their textbook. Following these text book activities students will be asked to share out with the group what they found in their textbooks.