Grade 4 Unit-at-a-Glance
Unit 2: A Global View
Fourth grade students will continue to study life on Earth. They will classify plants and animals according to their observable features, describe
differences and similarities in populations, distinguish between learned and inherited traits, and investigate how the characteristics of plants and
animals support their survival in an ecosystem. Students will describe the Sun as the main source of energy that powers the food chains and describe
the relationship among producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Lesson
1
2
3
4
Essential Learning
Vocabulary
Hands
On
Supplemental
Text

Houghton Mifflin: Unit
B: Interactions Among
Living Things
Organisms interact within
habitats and several
habitats can be found in an
ecosystem.
Ecosystem
Community
Organism
Habitat
Interaction
Population
Some biomes of the world
are more inhabited than
others. Each biome has
different characteristics,
which make it more
suitable or less suitable for
living things.
Biome
Inhabit
Characteristics
Tundra
Taiga
Desert
Rainforest
Deciduous
Forest
Temperate
Forest
Marine Biomes
Varies
according to
biome
researched
N/A
Botanist
Zoologist
Geographic
N/A
Students become experts
on a given biome by
researching online and
preparing a presentation
for the class.
Student biome
presentations.
G4 Q2 TRG
HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007
Houghton Mifflin:
Interactions Among
Living Things
Discovery Works:
Populations &
Ecosystems *
N/A
Houghton Mifflin:
Interactions Among
Living Things
Language Arts
Connections
Embedded
Technology
Mathematics
Applications
•Concept map
•Reading for
informational
purposes
•Observation notes
•Venn Diagram
(compare & contrast)
•Reading for
informational
purposes
PowerPoint
•Reading for
informational
purposes
•Note taking
Internet use
(optional)
Kidspiration
(optional)
•Presentation
•Reading a map
*Discovery Works and Science Anytime texts are out of print
and are not available in schools built after 2004.
Grade 4 Unit-at-a-Glance
Unit 2: A Global View
5
6
7
8
Animals have adaptations
that help them survive in
their environment (i.e.
Birds have beaks that are
suited for certain food
sources).
Animals within a
population can differ (i.e.
bears: polar, panda,
grizzly, etc) but each have
characteristics that make
them best suited for the
environment they live in.
Adaptation
Simulate
Nectar
Graduated
cylinder
Animals have traits that
are inherited, and traits
that are learned.
Animals have traits that
are inherited, and traits
that are learned. The
survival of organisms and
populations can be
affected by sudden
changes in the
environment.
Features

N/A
•Reading for
informational
purposes (extension)
Internet use
(optional)
•Reading for
informational
purposes
•Note Taking
Internet use
Write Traits
Connection Lesson
on DR: Flashy
Fantastic Rain
Forest Frogs &
Insectlopedia
•Functional reading

Tsunami
Inherited
Learned
Traits
Carnivore
G4 Q2 TRG
HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007
N/A
Owen and Mzee: A True
Story of a Remarkable
Friendship by Craig
Hatkoff, Isabella
Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula
Kahumbu
•Visual Discovery
•Pre-Reading
Strategies
•Reading a map
Internet use (in
teacher demo)
Probability and
prediction
Internet use
(optional for
extension)
*Discovery Works and Science Anytime texts are out of print
and are not available in schools built after 2004.
Grade 4 Unit-at-a-Glance
Unit 2: A Global View
9
10
11
12
13
The survival of organisms
and populations can be
affected by slow changes
in the environment.
Global warming
Greenhouse
effect
N/A
Organisms get the energy
they need from food.
Digestible
Regurgitated
Prey
Food chains illustrate how
animals, plants, and other
organisms pass this energy
through a community.
Food webs are
interlocking patterns of
food chains and illustrate
how energy passes through
an ecosystem. The sun is
the source of all energy in
an ecosystem. Some
organisms depend on dead
plant and animal matter
for food.
Food chain
N/A
Food web
Producer
Consumer
Decomposer
N/A
All living organisms need
energy (from food or
sunlight) to carry out life
functions and survive.
Energy pyramid
Energy transfer

There’s an Owl in the
Shower by Jean
Craighead George*
(optional Language Arts
connection)
Media Center book
about food chains
Houghton Mifflin
Interactions Among
Living Things
•Functional reading
•Reading for
informational
purposes
•Creative Writing
(optional for
extension)
Internet use
•Functional reading
QX5 microscope
PowerPoint
(optional for
extension)
Internet use
(UnitedStreaming
– optional)
•Reading for
informational
purposes
Internet use
(optional for
extension)
Reading in the
Elementary Science
Content Area
Lessons on DR:
Predators and Prey
(level K) &
The Web of Life
(level N)
G4 Q2 TRG
HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007
N/A
Houghton Mifflin:
Interactions Among
Living Things
•Reading for
informational
purposes
Internet use
(optional for
extension)
Ratio and percent
*Discovery Works and Science Anytime texts are out of print
and are not available in schools built after 2004.
Grade 4 Unit-at-a-Glance
Unit 2: A Global View
14
15
Plants use energy from the
sun to make their own
food. Animals eat plants
and other animals for food.
Producers have the most
energy available to them,
while animals high on the
food chain must have large
areas in which to hunt for
food.
The sun is the source of all
energy in an ecosystem.
Producers, consumer, and
decomposers all play an
important role in an
ecosystem.
Predator
Prey
G4 Q2 TRG
HCPSS Elementary Science Curriculum, 2007
N/A
Houghton Mifflin:
Interactions Among
Living Things
•Reading for
informational
purposes
•Brief Constructed
Response
Internet use
Ratio and percent

*Discovery Works and Science Anytime texts are out of print
and are not available in schools built after 2004.