4-PS3-4 lessons
Apply scientific ideas to design, test and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
The Next Generation Science Standards code 4-PS3-4 asks students to: “Apply scientific ideas to design, test and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Simple Circuits: Make It Light Up Grade 4
- Can you build a burglar alarm? 60–75 min
Teams design and build a homemade switch from a clothes peg or foil and cardboard that closes a circuit when a door or box lid opens, sounding a buzzer or lighting an LED. They test it, improve it and use evidence to argue their alarm is the most reliable.
Power Up: Where Electricity Comes From Grade 6
- Can the wind power our school? 55–65 min
Teams build a paper wind machine that winds up a string and lifts paper clips, then test one change to the blades to see which design does the most work. They use their results to explain what a real wind farm needs.
NGSS is used as written in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, so the code 4-PS3-4 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
More NGSS standards for Grade 4
All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province
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