| Grade 4: Earth and Space Systems: Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion |
Achievement
Level
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Overall Expectations
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1
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2
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3
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4
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| •demonstrate an understanding of the physical properties
of rocks and minerals and the effects of erosion on the landscape; |
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| •investigate, test, and compare the physical properties
of rocks and minerals and investigate the factors that cause erosion of
the landscape; |
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| •describe the effects of human activity (e.g., land development,
building of dams, mine development, erosion-preventing measures) on physical
features of the landscape, and examine the use of rocks and minerals in
making consumer products. |
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Specific Expectations
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| Understanding Basic Concepts |
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| •describe the difference between minerals (composed of
the same substance throughout) and rocks (composed of two or more minerals); |
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| •classify rocks and minerals according to chosen criteria,
relying on their observations (e.g., colour, texture, shape); |
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| •recognize that there are three classes of rocks: igneous,
sedimentary, and metamorphic; |
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| •compare different rocks and minerals from the local
environment with rocks and minerals from other places; |
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| •describe the effects of wind, water, and ice on the
landscape (e.g., ice breaking rocks into soil), and identify natural phenomena
that cause rapid and significant changes in the landscape (e.g., floods,
tornadoes, heavy rainstorms); |
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| •investigate and describe ways in which soil is formed
from rocks; |
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| •identify and describe rocks that contain records of
the earth’s history (e.g., fossils), and explain how they were formed. |
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| Developing Skills of Inquiry, Design, and Communication |
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| •follow procedures that ensure their safety by covering
rock samples with a cloth when chipping and by wearing safety goggles; |
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| •test and compare the physical properties of minerals
(e.g., scratch test for hardness, streak test for colour); |
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| •formulate questions about and identify needs and problems
related to objects and events in the environment, and explore possible
answers and solutions (e.g., create a mould of a fossil and use the mould
to make a replica of the fossil to demonstrate how the fossil was formed;
design and carry out an investigation using sand structures to show the
relationship between volume of water and erosion); |
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| •plan investigations for some of these answers and solutions,
identifying variables that need to be held constant to ensure a fair test
and identifying criteria for assessing solutions; |
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| •use appropriate vocabulary, including correct science
and technology terminology, in describing their investigations and observations
(e.g., use terms such as hardness, colour, lustre, and texture when discussing
the physical properties of rocks and minerals); |
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| •compile data gathered through investigation in order
to record and present results, using tally charts, tables, and labelled
graphs produced by hand or with a computer (e.g., use a chart to record
findings obtained through a mineral hardness test); |
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| •communicate the procedures and results of investigations
for specific purposes and to specific audiences, using media works, oral
presentations, written notes and descriptions, drawings, and charts (e.g.,
put together a labelled exhibit of rocks found in the local environment;
create a chart of the physical characteristics of different types of rocks
and minerals). |
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| Relating Science and Technology to the World Outside
the School |
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| •distinguish between natural features of the landscape
and those that are the result of human activity (e.g., Niagara Escarpment,
farm land, vineyards); |
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| •determine positive and negative effects of human alteration
of the landscape (e.g., use of farm land for housing developments; use
of wilderness areas for cultivation of crops; creation of parks); |
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| •identify ways in which soil erosion can be controlled
or minimized (e.g., by planting trees, by building retaining walls), and
create a plan for reducing erosion of soil in a local field or plot; |
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| •design, build, and test a system to control the effects
of soil erosion; |
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| •identify the many uses of rocks and minerals in manufacturing,
and in arts and crafts (e.g., china, iron fences, soapstone carvings, jewellery,
coins); |
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| •conduct their investigations of the outdoor environment
in a responsible way and with respect for the environment (e.g., leave
the site of the investigation as they found it, putting back objects examined
where they found them and taking away all equipment brought to the site). |
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| Student Name: |
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