Grade 4 - the 9-year-old
The student of this age will really enjoy the study of optics--prisms and the spectrum of light and color, mirrors and lenses. Many machines use lenses such as microscopes, telescopes, magnifying glasses, and cameras. Children of this grade or age will also enjoy the subject of sound, vibration, pitch. They can learn the physiology of the eye, the human voice and why it is important to take proper care of their ears. They can learn to be sensitive to people who are hearing impaired or blind. Teach them sign language, introduce them to braile, have them learn the morse code. Have them read about people who have succeeded though they may have had handicapping conditions.
Chapter 3 below includes the study of bones, muscles, and tendons. Children can build on earlier knowledge and study some physiological subjects more in depth at this age. They should learn how the systems of the body, such as respiratory and circulatory systems, work. The structure of the heart, the importance of exercise, heart and lung related diseases, as well as different blood types and blood cells can also be understood at this age.
Chapter 8 below covers the earth’s rocks. The student can do a much more in-depth study of this subject during this grade including the history of the earth and the study of geology is a fascinating topic. Continental drift, how mountains were formed, and earthquakes and volcanoes (the development and growth of the Hawaiian Islands. They should learn how scientists divide the earth’s history into different eras and they should learn the terms: Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mexozoic, and Cenozoic). Related to this topic--an in-depth study of weather and meteorology can be studied with tornadoes, hurricanes, cold and warm fronts, and weather prediction--can be explored. These topics are actually covered in book 5 of this science series. You can decide when your child is ready to read and study these themes.
Heath Science 4
Unit 1 - Structures of Insect Life
Chapter 1 - The Insect World
How Insects Are Alike - 6 legs, head, thorax, abdomen, Exoskeleton, Antennae
How Insects Grow and Change - eggs, larvae, pupae, adult; eggs, nymphs, adults
Why Are There So Many Insects?
Insects Have Ways of Finding Each Other
Color or Shape That Protects (Camouflage)
Insects That Work Together - Social Insects
Insect Pests
Unit 2 - Structures Make Work Easier
Chapter 2 - Machines and Force
Forces
A Board and Block That Lifts Things - Lever & Fulcrum
A Machine Made From a Sloping Board - Inclined Plane
Holding and Splitting Things
A screw is an inclined plane.
Wedge
Raising Things More Easily
Things That Turn Together
Dragging and Pulling Back
Getting Rid of Friction - Lubrication
Chapter 3 - Bones and Muscles
Bones Support and Protect
Bones of Many Shapes and Sizes
Bones Joining Together - joint, ball & socket, pivot joint
A Closer Look at a Joint - cartilage, ligament
How Do Bones Move - tendons
Muscles That Move on Their Own
Unit 3 - Structures Explain the Behavior of Matter
Chapter 4 - Matter
Terms discussed include: What is matter? mass, gravitation
Tiny Particles of Matter - atoms, molecule, hydrogen, oxygen
Matter That Keeps Its Shape
Matter That Does Not Keep Its Shape
Matter That Can Fill Any Space - evaporation
Heat Energy and Solids, Liquids, and Gases
Solid, Liquid, or Gas?
Using and Reusing Matter
Chapter 5 - The Earth’s Atmosphere
The Air Around Us
What Is Air Made of - carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen
Air Presses in All Direction - Air Pressure
Air Pressure at Work
Pushing Air into a Small Place
Heating Land and Water
Cooling Land and Water
Heating the Atmosphere
Air on the Move
The Atmosphere: Today and Tomorrow - Pollution
Unit 4 - Structures Describe the Solar System
Chapter 6 - The Solar System
Objects in the Sky - the Planets and Orbit
A Trip Around the Sun - Revolution
The Turning Earth - Rotation, Axis
Temperature and the Tilted Earth - Equator
Wandering Among the Stars
Chapter 7 - Traveling Through the Solar System
Telescopes
Traveling to the Planets Closest to the Sun (moon, craters, volcanoes)
The Red Planet
Beyond Mars to a Giant (asteroid belt, hurricane)
More Ringed Planets
Off to the Planets Farthest from the Sun
Unit 5 - Structures of Our Planet’s Resources
Chapter 8 - The Earth’s Rocks
Fire Rocks - magma, lava, Igneous rocks, minerals, granite
Rocks from Magma - basalt, obsidian
Rocks from Broken Rocks - Sedimentary: shale, limestone, sandstone
Clues to the Past from Sedimentary Rocks - dinosaurs, fossils, petrified rock
Rocks that are Changed - Metamorphic - slate, gneiss
Building Up and Wearing Away
Chapter 9 - Sunlight and Green Plants
Food Making in Green Plants - chlorophyll
Photosynthesis
Water for Photosynthesis
Getting Water to the Leaves
Carbon Dioxide for Photosynthesis - veins
Plants from Seeds
Petals, Ovules, Stamens
How Pollen is Carried
Seeds Grow and Ripen
Chapter 10 - The Earth’s Resources
The Earth: A Large Store
Resources: Renewable and Non renewable
Fuel from Green Plants: coal, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
How Oil Was Formed
Petroleum (means rock oil)
Petroleum Fuel, refineries
Resources from Rocks and Minerals
Ore, smelting
Living Resources
Using Resources Wisely, recycle