our fourth grade program
Science Lab
The Fourth Graders meet twice weekly for science. Each class participates in two science lab classes each week, for a total of about 100 minutes of lab-based instruction. Curriculum topics introduced are based on recommendations and benchmarks indicated by the National Science Teachers Association, the National Science Foundation and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, for example. In addition, to promote integration and meaningful learning, topics introduced may also reflect the research workshop focus in the regular classroom.
Topics addressed in Fourth Grade include:
- The basic use of scientific tools and processes
- Properties of water
- The water cycle
- Oysters and the Chesapeake Bay
- Introduction to a study of rivers
- The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and its vulnerability to pollution
- Underwater plants
- Fresh and saltwater wetlands
- The wetlands we live on
- Man’s impact on the wetlands
- Wetland ecosystems
- Submerged aquatic vegetation