SC.4.3.4.a: Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are…
Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
The Colorado Academic Standards for Science (2020) outcome SC.4.3.4.a (Earth and Space Sciences) for Grade 4 says: “Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.” These 2 Fieldbook units teach it hands-on, with everyday materials and a printable teacher guide and student sheet for every lesson. Official wording: Colorado Academic Standards for Science (2020).
Earth Day Investigations: Make Your School Better Grades 4–6 · partly supports this outcome
Four hands-on investigations into the school's own garbage, shade, water and electricity. Each one ends with students taking a real, evidence-based recommendation to the principal or caretaker.
- Is our classroom wasting electricity? 45–60 min
Students audit their classroom's lights and devices, check which are left on when nobody needs them, and read wattage labels to estimate the energy wasted in a school year. They finish with a poster or letter recommending one easy change.
Our Changing Planet: Resources and Human Impact Grades 5–8
Where the copper, cobalt, lithium, oil and sand in a phone come from and why, which energy sources refill and which do not, what real population and energy data say about people and resources, and how real towns cut their waste. Four no-materials lessons built on printed data cards, with a hopeful, evidence-first tone for Earth Day or any time.
- Will our energy ever run out? 50–60 min
Teams line up nine energy sources on a human timeline of how long nature takes to replace them, from eight minutes for sunlight to millions of years for oil, then use real 2025 data on how the world makes its electricity. They explain what renewable and non-renewable really mean.
Printable practice for SC.4.3.4.a
- Earth Day Investigations: Make Your School Better workbook included with the unit
2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Our Changing Planet: Resources and Human Impact workbook included with the unit
1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Power Up: Where Electricity Comes From workbook included with the unit
3 practice pages, 3 readings, 2 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
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Compared with NGSS: 4-ESS3-1.
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