Mrs. Cone's 4th Grade Science

Course Description

Welcome to science with Mrs. Cone (formerly Ms. Lawson). This year we will cover topics including weather, the water cycle, seasons, space, moon phases, ecosystems, light, sound, and force and motion. I look forward to an exciting year!

Posts

End of the Year!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to our last 2 1/2 days of school! It has been a wonderful year despite all of the challenges, and I am so glad that I had the privilege to teach all of your students!
 
This week and next we are just wrapping up our last topics and reviewing. We are keeping things relaxed and fun as we finish out the year! If you have any parting questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me as always!
 
I can't wait to see everyone again in the fall, and I will miss those that are rolling out! 
 
Have an amazing and safe summer! 

Week of May 10th - 14th

Happy Thursday! I hope you have all had a wonderful week and are getting excited for the last few days of school! This week in science we have been discussing sound! 
 
First, we completed a mystery science activity in which students explored what makes high sounds and low sounds different. They used string to explore how to physically make different waves. 
 
We also watched a BrainPOP video on sound and explored what sounds we could and could not hear. 
 
Next week, we will cover our last topic - forces!
 
Have a great weekend and a great field day! 

Week of May 3rd - 7th

Hello and happy Tuesday! I hope you all have had a great start to this (wet) week! Only a few weeks left! This week in science we are studying light and its properties. 
 
First, we are discussing what light is and some important vocabulary terms. Students are then going on a scavenger hunt to find objects that are transparent, translucent, or opaque. 
 
Later in the week, students will do a refraction experiment before watching the Bill Nye video on light and color. 
 
Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Week of April 26th - 30th

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is enjoying this warm weather! This week in science, we are finishing up our ecosystem unit. 
 
First, we are using drawings the students made and string to physically make food chains and food webs. This helps students review what producers, consumers, and decomposers are and grasp the overall concept.
 
Later in the week, we will also practice creating food chains on paper. Last, we will do a fun review Kahoot to wrap up the unit. 
 
Have a wonderful week! 
 

Week of April 19th - 23rd

Hello and happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far. This week in science we are continuing with our ecosystem unit and are more specifically moving into discussing food chains. 
 
First, students are looking at the different living things in our ecosystem and how they are similar and different. We also related this to the terms producer, consumer, and decomposer. 
 
Next, we are using a ball of yarn to see how we can physically connect all of these living things to create a food chain and a food web. We will also watch a video on the various roles in an ecosystem. 
 
Have a great rest of your week and weekend!

April 12th - 16th

Hello everyone, happy Thursday! Hopefully you have had a great week so far and are looking forward to the weekend! This week in science we are continuing our study of ecosystems. 
 
Our main goal for this week is to do ecosystem research. Each student was able to pick an ecosystem of their choice to research. Some of these included the rain forest, tundra, and grassland. Students found information such as what animals and plants live in that ecosystem, how organisms interact, and how sunlight is important in that ecosystem. 
 
After doing research, students got to color their research papers, do a fun ecosystem crossword, and then we watched an ecosystem review video. 
 
Have a great weekend! As always, feel free to reach out to me. 

Week of March 29th - April 2nd

Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! I hope you are all having an excellent week so far! I'm sure everyone is getting excited for spring break! This week in science, we are continuing our study of ecosystems. 
 
First, we looked at various pictures, some of which did show and ecosystem and some of which did not. We discussed as a class why they thought that was the case for each picture. Students then discussed with a partner what they thought an ecosystem is before identifying features of additional ecosystem pictures.
 
Next, we are watching a Discovery Ed video to finally answer the question "what is an ecosystem?" After which, we will complete a graphic organizer and create a list of living and nonliving things in our ecosystem. 
 
Have a wonderful spring break and Easter!

Week of March 15th - 19th

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday! This week in science we are finishing up our unit on space with a study of stars. 
 
First we will see what we know about our own star, the sun. We will also discover characteristics of all stars in general. Then we will watch a student favorite video that shows the size difference between the smallest and biggest stars. 
 
Later in the week, we will do a sorting activity that compares stars to planets. We will also play a fun round of stars and planets bingo!
 
I hope you have a great rest of your week! 

Week of March 8th - 12th

Hello all! I hope conferences went well for everyone. This (short) week in science we are focusing on Pluto! 
 
The students have been dying to know more about Pluto, so this week we are having Pluto day in class. 
 
Students will watch a BrainPOP video and will read a short article for background information on Pluto. Then we will test our knowledge in a game of Kahoot. Students will also get to hear a fun song about the dwarf planets!
 
I hope you have a great rest of your week! Please reach out with nay questions. 

Week of March 1st - 5th

Hello everyone! I hope you have had a wonderful week so far! This week in science we are beginning to wrap up our study of the planets. 
 
Our main activity for this week is the students creating their own planets. Each student came up with a name and many different characteristics for a planet of their own design. Then they drew their planet and wrote a descriptive paragraph for them. Everyone came up with very creative designs and enjoyed making them. 
 
After that we did a planet Kahoot that the students did a great job on. Next week, we will have a day all about Pluto and then we will move onto the study of stars.
 
Have a great rest of your week!

Week of February 22nd - 26th

Hello everyone, welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful break! This week in science we are focusing in on the planets in more detail. 
 
First we are going through a slide show that provides many interesting facts about each of the planets and the solar system in general. While we go through this slideshow, students will fill out their planet research booklet and write down 1-2 facts about each planet.
 
Next we will create a mini solar system model on cardstock. This model will help students compare planet sizes and compare the size of the planets to the size of the sun. 
 
I hope you all have a great week. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions!
 

Week of February 8th - 12th

Hello everyone! Hopefully you have had a good week so far. Only a few more days until the break! This week in science we have continued our study of the planets and the solar system.
 
First, we practiced putting the planets in order and doing a planet scavenger hunt. We also watched a video that discussed what makes a planet a planet.
 
Next we watched the solar system episode of The Magic School Bus as a nice pre-break treat. We also listened to a fun planet song to help students remember important characteristics about each planet. 
 
I hope you all have a wonderful break!

Week of February 1st - 5th

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful week! This week in science we our continuing our exploration of space!
 
First, we finished up our study on moon phases. The students played a fun round of moon phases kahoot and put the moon phases in order as a group. 
 
Next, we started an introduction of the planets. We completed a mystery science activity that explore the major details of each planet. We then created a model of the planets in order to compare the sizes of each planet. 
 
Let me know if you need anything, and I hope you have a fabulous weekend. 

Virtual Learning

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break! It's time to get back at it, and as you already know, we are starting virtual learning tomorrow, January 14th, and continuing through January 25th.
 
Below, you will find a link for the zoom session as well as the actual session ID and password. These are posted on google classroom as well so that you or your student can simply click on the link to join the zoom session. 
 
Thank you for being patient and supportive as we go through this difficult time. If you need anything from me, please feel free to reach out! As I mentioned in a previous post, my email is now [email protected]. I am here for your support!
 
ZOOM CODE FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING:
 
 
Zoom Code: 735 4782 4416
Zoom Password: Science
 
We will be zooming during our normal class time. So students will get on at 2:15 on the days they normally have science. (Either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday).

December 14th - 18th

Hello everyone! I hope you are all looking forward to the upcoming break and the holidays! This week in science we are finishing up our study or earth's tilt and the seasons. 
 
First, we are watching a brain pop video and answering the review questions. After that we will complete a seasons crossword puzzle to review our major vocabulary words.
 
Later we will wrap up the week with a fun game of kahoot and some seasons bingo to end the unit on a "jolly" note!
 
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!