Fourth Grade, Science, Set Two

Elementary Life Science

• Chapter Six: More Forest Biomes
• Activity: Put a thermometer in a white sock and in a black sock, then put them both in the sun; compared the temperatures after 15 minutes
• Chapter Seven: Tundras and Desert
• Activity: Made permafrost by mixing dirt and water, then freezing it. Set a building (made of clay) on stilts (toothpicks) and then on the permafrost. Let the permafrost melt and watched what happened to the house. We also looked at pictures on the internet of houses effected by thawing permafrost.
• Chapter Eight: Aquatic Biome
• Activity: Fix three glasses of water with different concentrations of salt, add a different food color to each glass. Insert the straw into the salt-free water, cover the end to keep the water in. Insert the straw into the the low-salt water, remove your finger to allow water to enter; cover again. Do the same with the high-salt water. Here are directions.
• Chapter Nine: Species and Offspring
• Chapter Ten: Plant Structure
• Activity: Put beans in small zippered bags and compared their sprouting after a week.
• with moist paper towel in dark place
• with moist paper towel in direct sun
• with moist paper towel in indirect sun
• with dry paper towel
• with a cup of water