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Subject Area - 3:
Science and Technology and Engineering Education
  • Standard Area - 3.3: Earth and Space Sciences
  • Organizing Category - 3.3.A: Earth Structure, Processes and Cycles
  • Grade Level - 3.3.4.A: GRADE 4
Standard - 3.3.4.A3

Recognize that fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time.

Eligible Content:
20 Total
Assessments
  • Assessment Anchor - S4.A.3

    Systems, Models, and Patterns
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.A.3.1 Identify systems and describe relationships among parts of a familiar system (e.g., digestive system, simple machines, water cycle).
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.1.1 Categorize systems as either natural or human-made (e.g., ballpoint pens, simple electrical circuits, plant anatomy, water cycle).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.A.3.1.1a Identify whether a system is natural or human-made (e.g., plants vs. electrical systems).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.1.2 Explain a relationship between the living and nonliving components in a system (e.g., food web, terrarium).
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.1.3 Categorize the parts of an ecosystem as either living or nonliving and describe their roles in the system.
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.1.4 Identify the parts of the food and fiber systems as they relate to agricultural products from the source to the consumer.
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.A.3.2 Use models to illustrate simple concepts and compare the models to what they represent.
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.2.1 Identify what different models represent (e.g., maps show physical features, directions, distances; globes represent Earth; drawings of watersheds depict terrain; dioramas show ecosystems; concept maps show relationships of ideas).
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.2.2 Use models to make observations to explain how systems work (e.g., water cycle, Sun-Earth-Moon system).
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.2.3 Use appropriate, simple modeling tools and techniques to describe or illustrate a system (e.g., two cans and string to model a communications system, terrarium to model an ecosystem).
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.A.3.3 Identify and make observations about patterns that regularly occur and reoccur in nature
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.3.1 Identify and describe observable patterns (e.g., growth patterns in plants, weather, water cycle).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.A.3.3.1a Identify patterns, cycles or trends seen in nature (e.g., seasonal, day/night, life cycles).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.A.3.3.2 Predict future conditions/events based on observable patterns (e.g., day/night, seasons, sunrise/sunset, lunar phases).
  • Assessment Anchor - S4.C.1

    Structure, Properties, and Interaction of Matter and Energy
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.C.1.1 Describe observable physical properties of matter.
      • Eligible Content - S4.C.1.1.1 Use physical properties [e.g., mass, shape, size, volume, color, texture, magnetism, state (i.e., solid, liquid, and gas), conductivity (i.e., electrical and heat)] to describe matter.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.C.1.1.1a Identify solid or liquid states of matter.
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.C.1.1.2 Categorize/group objects using physical characteristics.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.C.1.1.2a Compare objects by shape, size, weight, or texture.
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
  • Assessment Anchor - S4.D.1

    Earth Features and Processes that Change Earth and Its Resources
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.D.1.1 Describe basic landforms in Pennsylvania.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.1.1 Describe how prominent Earth features in Pennsylvania (e.g., mountains, valleys, caves, sinkholes, lakes, rivers) were formed.
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.D.1.1.1a Identify prominent Earth features (limited to mountains, valleys, beaches, oceans, lakes, and rivers).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.1.2 Identify various Earth structures (e.g., mountains, watersheds, peninsulas, lakes, rivers, valleys) through the use of models.
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.1.3 Describe the composition of soil as weathered rock and decomposed organic remains.
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.D.1.2 Identify the types and uses of Earth’s resources.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.2.1 Identify products and by-products of plants and animals for human use (e.g., food, clothing, building materials, paper products).
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.D.1.2.1a Identify food or clothing products that come from plants or animals.
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.2.2 Identify the types and uses of Earth materials for renewable, nonrenewable, and reusable products (e.g., human-made products: concrete, paper, plastics, fabrics).
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.D.1.2.2a Identify products that can be recycled or reused (e.g., paper, plastic, cans, fabrics, lumber).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.2.3 Recognize ways that humans benefit from the use of water resources (e.g., agriculture, energy, recreation).
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.D.1.3 Describe Earth’s different sources of water or describe changes in the form of water.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.3.1 Describe types of freshwater and saltwater bodies (e.g., lakes, rivers, wetlands, oceans).
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.3.2 Explain how water goes through phase changes (i.e., evaporation, condensation, freezing, and melting).
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.3.3 Describe or compare lentic systems (i.e., ponds, lakes, and bays) and lotic systems (i.e., streams, creeks, and rivers).
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.1.3.4 Explain the role and relationship of a watershed or a wetland on water sources (e.g., water storage, groundwater recharge, water filtration, water source, water cycle).
        Assessments
        Continuum of Activities
  • Assessment Anchor - S4.D.2

    Weather, Climate, and Atmospheric Processes
    • Anchor Descriptor - S4.D.2.1 Identify basic weather conditions and how they are measured.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.2.1.1 Identify basic cloud types (i.e., cirrus, cumulus, stratus, and cumulonimbus) and make connections to basic elements of weather (e.g., changes in temperature, precipitation).
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.2.1.2 Identify weather patterns from data charts or graphs of the data (e.g., temperature, wind direction, wind speed, cloud types, precipitation).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.D.2.1.2a Identify weather conditions using symbols or pictures (limited to temperature, types of precipitation, visibility, and sunlight).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S4.D.2.1.3 Identify appropriate instruments (i.e., thermometer, rain gauge, weather vane, anemometer, and barometer) to study weather and what they measure.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S4.D.2.1.3a Select the appropriate tool to measure the weather (limited to temperature, wind direction, and precipitation).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
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