Key Concepts – Grade 4 Assessment
The key concepts are provided to guide teachers in classroom instruction as it relates to assessment. These concepts describe important content emphasis
regarding the knowledge and skills eligible for assessment of each strand.
Science as Inquiry
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Identify questions that can guide a scientific investigation.
Identify which questions can or cannot be answered based on a given scenario.
Identify which senses are used to make observations.
Identify the best way to gather data in an investigation.
Identify correct procedures in an investigation and how to make the investigation better.
Identify the correct setup in an investigation.
Identify which tools are used to observe objects and conduct investigations.
Identify correct safety tools and procedures.
Select the appropriate tools and units of measurement to answer questions.
Using a graph, chart, and/or tables—read, interpret, and make predictions based on information given.
Identify examples of scientific discoveries that have affected society (their world).
Select appropriate reasons for repeating experiments/investigations.
Physical Science
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Use U.S. system and metric units to determine linear, volume, and weight/mass measurements.
Identify or describe the behavior of light in refraction (for example, through a prism, in water), reflection (for example, mirror), and absorption (for
example, compare black and white).
Identify the three states of matter and describe how molecules move through each state (for example, water). Explain how water changes from solid to
liquid to gas.
Identify insulators and conductors of heat and describe how heat is conducted.
Using experimentation, compare and classify objects by physical property (for example, density, shape, magnetism, conduction, base material).
Compare and differentiate between the weight and mass of objects.
Recognize how electricity flows through an open and a closed system.
Identify a force that causes an object to move; determine the direction and amount of movement (for example, push, pull, air pressure).
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Identify forms of energy; describe basic energy transformations (for example, from light to heat, from potential to kinetic) and actions that produce heat
energy (friction).
Identify how an energy source powers an object.
Understand sound (vibration) production and transmission; determine how to change pitch and volume using common objects.
Explain gravity and its effects on objects (for example, holds humans to Earth’s surface, objects of various masses falling at same rate).
Identify appropriate tools and techniques for separating mixtures.
Observe and describe changes in the position of an object over time in relation to a fixed position (frame of reference).
Use mathematics to determine the rate of motion of an object or to interpret data and graphs of changes in position over time.
Life Science
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Describe functions and the major components of the circulatory, skeletal, urinary, digestive, and respiratory systems.
Identify the functions of plant and animal structures.
Identify how plant and animal features (characteristics) protect them from predators and help them to survive.
Group/compare/classify plants and animals based on common characteristics.
Identify a well-balanced meal that includes all food groups.
Sequence stages in the life cycles of various organisms (butterfly, frog).
Determine an appropriate habitat for a common animal.
Describe how the increase or decrease of a population of organisms affects other organisms within the same habitat.
Explain interactions or relationships among plants and animals.
Identify similarities and differences among parents and their offspring and traits most likely to be inherited.
Explain the benefits of regular exercise and nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to the human body.
Compare living (biotic) to nonliving (abiotic).
Earth and Space Science
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Identify and compare bodies of water found on Earth (for example, oceans, lakes, rivers, streams).
Identify components of Earth’s crust.
Differentiate among earth materials, such as rocks, minerals, and soils.
Classify rocks and minerals and use a hardness test, or scale, to determine hardness of a mineral.
Describe characteristics, components, and layering of soils.
Explain what we learn from fossils found in soil and rock.
Identify examples of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff; understand the water cycle.
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Read a weather map, recognize weather patterns, and identify the functions of basic weather instruments.
Analyze and describe Earth processes, such as weathering and erosion.
Predict the effects of Earth processes on land forms and classify such change processes as gradual (slow) or rapid.
Compare the visible objects in the night sky, such as the Moon, stars, and meteors.
Describe the position of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun during a solar eclipse.
Identify the moon phases and recognize the 28-day pattern.
Describe why the Sun appears to move across the sky and why the Sun is important to Earth systems.
Distinguish between Earth’s revolution around the Sun and Earth’s rotation on its axis.
Identify the relationship among Earth’s tilt, revolution, and the seasons.
Describe characteristics of the planets in our solar system.
Identify why humans explore space, the basic needs of humans in space, and technology used or developed during space exploration.
Compare weather patterns and climates as they relate to bodies of water, landforms, and geographic positions on Earth.
Science and the Environment
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Identify living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components of an ecosystem.
Identify the direction of energy transfer in food chains and food webs.
Identify common natural resources and classify resources as renewable or non-renewable.
Determine natural resources used in common products.
Describe the value of recycling, reducing, and reusing in conserving natural resources.
Discuss how human actions can alter the environment (water and air pollution).
Identify the effects of habitat change on organisms.
Identify endangered and recovered Louisiana species.
Identify or describe activities that preserve or assist in the recovery of a habitat or species.
Explain why humans have a responsibility to take care of the environment.
Classify organisms as herbivores, carnivores, decomposers, scavengers, producers, consumers.
Identify the effects of an oil spill and identify cleanup procedures.
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