4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 3: Flow of Energy and Matter
Lesson 1: How does energy flow?
ecosystem
Ecosystem is the living and nonliving
things and the way they interact in an
environment.
All living things in an
ecosystem need
water, nutrients,
growing space, and
temperatures that
allow them to grow
and reproduce.
Oral Response Task
Explain the meaning of an ecosystem.
photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process of
plants using sunlight to make their own
food.
During the process of
photosynthesis,
green plants use
energy from sunlight
to change carbon
dioxide and water
into food and energy.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate the importance of
photosynthesis for human beings.
producer
A producer is a living thing that makes
its own food.
In almost all
ecosystems, green
plants are the only
producers.
Oral Response Task
Illustrate what a producer is.
consumer
A consumer is a living thing that eats
other living things for food.
Animals get
energy by
eating, or
consuming,
plants or other
animals.
Oral Response Task
Analyze the effects of a consumer.
herbivore
An herbivore is an animal that eats plants.
Each herbivore uses
some energy to live
and grow. Some
energy is released as
heat. But some
energy is stored in its
body.
Oral Response Task
An herbivore is defined as __________.
carnivore
A carnivore is an animal that eats
other animals.
All living things in an
ecosystem need
water, nutrients,
growing space, and
temperatures that
allow them to grow
and reproduce.
Oral Response Task
Recall the characteristics of a carnivore.
omnivore
An omnivore is an animal that eats
both plants and animals.
Some animals,
called omnivores,
eat plants and
other animals.
Oral Response Task
In your opinion, an omnivore is _____.
decomposer
A decomposer is an organism that
breaks down wastes and remains of
other organisms.
In this way, energy
flows from the Sun, to
producers, to
consumers, and to
decomposers.
Oral Response Task
Formulate the characteristics of
decomposers.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 3: Flow of Energy and Matter
Lesson 2: How does matter flow?
food chain
A food chain is the transfer of energy
and matter from one living thing to
another by eating and being eaten.
A producer is
always the first
link in a food
chain.
Oral Response Task
Describe the different steps in a
food chain.
predator
A predator is a consumer that hunts
other animals for food.
The golden eagle is a
predator of mice.
Oral Response Task
Calculate the effects of a predator in
its immediate living environment.
prey
A prey is an animal hunted by others
for food.
The golden eagle
gets its energy and
matter from eating
mice and other prey.
Oral Response Task
Compare the effects in the environment
of a predator and its prey.
food web
A food web is a system of overlapping
food chains in which energy and matter
flow through many branches.
In a food web,
energy and matter
can flow through
many branches.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate how a food web works.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 3: Flow of Energy and Matter
Lesson 3: What are decomposers?
bacteria
Bacteria are simple one-celled living
things.
Fungi, bacteria,
and insects help
decompose
matter.
Oral Response Task
Define the word bacteria.
organisms
An organism is a living thing with
parts that work together to carry on
the processes of life.
If nothing is decayed,
dead organisms and
wastes would pile up
and interfere with the
habitats of living
things.
Oral Response Task
Explain the characteristics of an
organism.
microorganisms
A microorganism is a living thing too
small to be seen without a microscope.
Bacteria and some
fungi are
microorganisms.
Oral Response Task
Describe a microorganism.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 3: Flow of Energy and Matter
Lesson 4: What is the role of microorganisms?
protist
A protist is a one-celled living thing
with a nucleus and other cell part.
Protists such
as euglena
are producers.
Oral Response Task
Define the word protist.
diatoms
Diatoms are a kind of alga that have
a hard cell wall.
Diatoms are
producers.
Oral Response Task
Diatoms are a _____ of ____ that
have a ____ ____ ____.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 4: Ecosystems
Lesson 1: What are the parts of an ecosystem?
system
A system is made of many parts that
work together for a purpose.
A system can have
living and nonliving
parts.
Oral Response Task
Explain what a system is.
climate
A climate is the average weather
conditions in an area over a long time.
The nonliving parts of
an ecosystem include
air, water, soil, light,
temperature,
landforms, and
climate.
Oral Response Task
Describe what climate is.
grassland
A grassland is an ecosystem that is
covered with grasses but has few
trees.
Grasslands receive a
medium amount of
rain.
Oral Response Task
Analyze the characteristics of a
grassland.
tundra
A tundra is a cold and dry ecosystem
where the ground is frozen all year
long.
Some grasses and
other plants can grow
in a tundra, but trees
cannot grow.
Oral Response Task
Discuss the climate characteristics and
conditions in the tundra.
swamp
A swamp is a type of wetland where
trees can grow.
Different kinds of
animals, such as
insects, water birds,
and alligators live in
swamps.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate why trees grow quickly in a
swamp.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 4: Ecosystems
Lesson 2: What are some ecosystems?
desert
A desert is an ecosystem that receives
very little precipitation.
Many deserts are
hot, but they can be
much cooler at night.
Some can be quite
cold much of the time.
Oral Response Task
Illustrate the characteristics of a
desert.
low desert
A low desert is less than 915 meters
above sea level.
Landforms in the low
desert include flat,
sandy area, salt flats,
and low mountains.
Oral Response Task
Formulate the reasons why this is
called a low desert.
landforms
A landform is a natural feature of
Earth.
Landforms in the low
desert include flat,
sandy area, salt flats,
and low mountains.
Oral Response Task
Relate what a landform is.
shrub
A shrub is a woody plant that does
not have a single trunk like a tree.
Ocotillo and
creosote shrubs
grow in the low
desert, along with
cholla cactus.
Oral Response Task
A shrub is a _____ _____ that does
not have a _____ _____ like a _____.
high desert
A high desert is 915 to 3353 meters
above sea level.
Plants in the high
desert include Joshua
trees, sagebrush,
giant juniper bushes,
pinyon pines, and
Mojave creosote.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate the criteria to define a high
desert.
rain forest
A rain forest is an ecosystem that has
large amounts of precipitation and
thick plant growth.
Most rain forests
are tropical.
Oral Response Task
Predict what would happen if the climate
conditions would change in a rain forest.
canopy
A canopy is the top level of a rain
forest, formed by tree branches,
leaves, and vines tangled together.
Most rain forest
animals, including
kinkajous, brightly
colored
butterflies and
birds such as the
toucan, live in the
canopy.
Oral Response Task
Describe the characteristics of a canopy.
understory
An understory is the area of a rain
forest below the canopy.
Small trees, vines,
orchids, and ferns
grow in the
understory.
Oral Response Task
Demonstrate why the area of rain
forest below the canopy is called
understory.
coral reef
A coral reef is a ridge or mound in
warm, shallow ocean waters formed
by the skeletons of tiny sea animals
called coral polyps.
What ocean animals
can you name? Many
of them probably live
in warm, shallow
waters around coral
reefs.
Oral Response Task
Analyze the characteristics of a coral reef.
symbiosis
Symbiosis is a relationship between
two organisms that helps one or both
of the organisms.
This kind of
relationship
between two
animals is called
symbiosis.
Oral Response Task
Compare the benefits of a symbiosis
for both organisms.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 5: Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 1: What determines survival?
population
Population is all of the same kind of
living things that live in one place.
All of these owls
make up a
population.
Oral Response Task
Define the word population.
community
A community is all of the different
populations in one place.
All of the different
populations in that
place make up a
community.
Oral Response Task
Formulate the conditions that must
occur to build a community.
competition
Competition means that two or more
living things are using the same limited
resources.
Plants also
compete for
resources.
Oral Response Task
Debate the meaning of the word
competition.
diet
Diet is the food and drink considered
in terms of its quantities, composition,
and its effect of health.
A Varied Diet –
Black bears, for
example, eat a
variety of foods,
depending on what is
easy to find.
Oral Response Task
Design a balanced diet for the animal
in the picture.
meadow
A meadow is a type of grassland
used for pasture or serving as a
hayfield.
In the spring, bears
eat grasses and
meadow plants.
Oral Response Task
Differentiate the different uses of a
meadow.
territory
The territory is an area where an
animal lives and in which it defends
from others.
Many animals
compete for
territory.
Oral Response Task
Summarize the characteristics of a
territory.
mammals
Mammals are animals that bear live
young and have fur or hair.
Mammals also
claim and defend
territories.
Oral Response Task
Mammals are animals that ________.
marsh
A marsh is a type of woodland where
trees cannot grow.
A marsh wren claims
its territory by singing
loudly day and night.
Oral Response Task
Estimate why trees cannot grow in a
marsh.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 5: Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 2: How do environmental changes affect living things?
adaptation
Adaptation is a trait that helps an
organism survive in its environment.
Living things that
survive well have
adaptations to their
environment.
Oral Response Task
Explain the meaning of the word
adaptation.
survive
To survive means to stay alive.
Many plants and
animals survive
better in one
environment than
in another.
Oral Response Task
Express the meaning of the word
survive.
pollination
Pollination is the movement of pollen
from a male part of a flower to a
female part.
Birds, bats, and
insects pollinate
plants when they use
the plants for food.
Oral Response Task
Predict what would happen in the process
of pollination if the bees would
disappear?
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 5: Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 3: How do animals depend on plants?
substances
A substance is a physical matter or
material.
Some animals get
other substances
they need from the
plants they eat.
Oral Response Task
Compare and contrast the three types
of substances.
starve
To starve is to die or perish from lack
of food.
Without plants,
the caterpillar –
and all other
animals – would
starve.
Oral Response Task
Starve is to ____ or ____ from ____
of ____.
chemical
A chemical is a substance produced
by or used in a chemical process.
Monarch butterflies
take in a chemical
from the milkweed
plants.
Oral Response Task
Define the word chemical.
milkweed
A milkweed is a plant that secretes a
milky juice or latex.
Monarch butterflies
take in a chemical
from the milkweed
plants.
Oral Response Task
Question why the milkweed secretes a
milky juice?
monarch
Monarchs are a type of butterfly
whose caterpillar eats the milkweed
plant.
Many monarch
butterflies spend the
winter in parts of
California where
different kinds of
milkweed are easy to
find.
Oral Response Task
Formulate why monarchs are different
from the rest of the butterflies.
oxygen
Oxygen is a gas animals need to live.
Plants release
oxygen into the
air.
Oral Response Task
Explain why oxygen is an important gas.
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a gas made
of carbon and oxygen particles.
Plants use energy
from sunlight to make
their own food from
water and carbon
dioxide.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate the environmental importance
of the carbon dioxide.
shelter
Shelter is protection from adverse
conditions.
Many animals find
shelter among plants.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate the uses of a shelter.
fiber
A fiber is a fine, threadlike piece of a
plant.
The cotton plant
provides fibers for
cotton cloth.
Oral Response Task
Illustrate the different uses of a fiber.
4th Grade
Science
Unit B: Life Sciences
Chapter 5: Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 4: How do plants depend on animals?
pollen
Pollen is the fertilizing element of
flowering plants.
Pollen is made in a
flower’s male parts,
called stamens.
Oral Response Task
Predict the importance of the pollen for
plant reproduction.
fertilization
Fertilization is the process by which an
egg cell and a sperm cell combine.
After fertilization,
the flower goes
through many
changes.
Oral Response Task
Describe the process of fertilization.
stamen
A stamen is the male structure in a plant.
Pollen is made in a
flower’s male parts,
called stamens.
Oral Response Task
A stamen is _____________________.
pistil
A pistil is the female structure in a plant.
The pollen has
to get from the
stamens to the
female parts,
called pistils.
Oral Response Task
Define the word pistil.
egg cell
Egg cells are the eggs that are fertilized
by pollen in a plant.
Sperm cells from the
pollen move down the
pollen tube and
combine with egg
cells.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate the importance of the egg cells
for the plants.
petal
A petal is the colored segment of the
corolla of a flower.
The plant does not
need the petals or
stamens any longer,
so they dry up and
fall off.
Oral Response Task
Estimate why the petals are so colorful.
seed dispersal
Seed dispersal is the process of scattering
plant seeds.
Some plants simply
drop their seeds, and
the seeds sprout.
Scattering seeds, or
seed dispersal, is not
always that easy
though.
Oral Response Task
Evaluate the importance of seed
dispersal.