Welcome to Grade 4

BACK TO MAIN TK–5 PAGE

Amplify Science California is so effective you can cover 100% of the NGSS in half the time of other programs.

You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing all you need is:

  • 88 days per year
  • 2-3 lessons per week
  • 45 minutes per lesson
Students engage in various science experiments, including testing conductivity with a lamp, playing with slime, examining objects, and using sand trays.

What students learn

When you’re ready:

  • Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  • Click on the orange “See how the unit works” link to download a helpful Unit Guide. These guides make great companions to busy reviewers looking for a big-picture understanding of how each unit works.
Illustration of a nighttime cityscape with illuminated windows and streetlights, a visible moon, and stars in the sky. A solitary figure stands out in one of the windows.

Unit 1

Energy Conversions


Student role: System engineers


Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. Their electrical system seems to be failing.

See how this unit works

A gecko prepares to catch a cricket under a streetlight at night. The yellow arrows illustrate the lamplight hitting the cricket and reflecting in the gecko's eyes.

Unit 2

Vision and Light


Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.

See how this unit works

Illustration of a rocky coastline with angular cliffs in reddish tones on the left and a body of blue water below.

Unit 3

Earth’s Features


Student role: Geologists


Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.

See how this unit works

Two dolphins swim underwater in a blue-tinged environment, facing each other, and one appears to open its mouth slightly.

Unit 4

Waves, Energy, and Information

Student role: Marine scientists


Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park communicate with their calves despite the distance between them.

See how this unit works

How teachers teach

When you’re ready:

  • Scroll down and take a closer look at your classroom resources.
  • Click on the orange links below each component to see grade-specific samples.
A laptop displays a PowerPoint presentation in presenter view, with slides about observing objects in plastic containers and related sensory instructions.

Classroom Slides

These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.

Video introduction to Classroom Slides

Sample Classroom Slides

Sample Classroom Slides (Spanish)

A computer screen displays an educational website titled "Earth's Features" with chapters and illustrations of canyons; a printed teacher’s guide is shown beside it.

Teacher’s Reference Guide

Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.

Login to platform below to access

A variety of craft materials arranged on a white surface, including cardboard sheets, plastic cups, yarn, binder clips, pink balls, yellow pom-poms, and other assorted supplies.

Materials Kits

Our kits include enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumable items to support 72 students. In other words, each kit can last two years! Plus, our unit-specific kits mean you just grab the tub you need and then put it all back with ease.

List of investigations by unit

List of materials by unit

Two book covers titled "¡Apagón!" and "BLACKOUT!" show a dark city street with headlights from a car illuminating the scene at night.

Student Books

Our award-winning Student Books include content-rich nonfiction and informational texts designed to introduce concepts and also deepen understanding. Books are read to, with, and by students with ample scaffolding and support provided by the teacher in whole-class, small-groups, and student pairs.

List of Student Books by unit

Systems

Energy Past and Present

Sunlight and Showers

Blackout!

It’s All Energy

A laptop displays a diagram showing the upper river, floodplain, and river delta with labeled cross-sections above a landscape map of a river flowing to the sea.

Simulations and Practice Tools

Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration and data collection, and allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.

Video overview of digital tools

Device calendars by unit

List of digital tools by unit

Two science workbooks, one in Spanish and one in English, titled "Energy Conversions: Blackout in Ergstown" with white covers and orange labels at the bottom.

Consumable Notebooks

Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.

Sample Student Investigation Notebook

Sample Student Investigation Notebook (Spanish)

A man wearing glasses and a maroon shirt smiles at the camera on a laptop screen with the words "MYSTERY doug" and a speech bubble saying "Doug.

Mystery Science

Our exclusive partnership with Mystery Science means you get our NGSS core curriculum plus two years of free access to Mystery Doug and his extensive library of captivating videos that deepen students’ understanding of each unit’s phenomenon.

Mystery Science lesson alignment

A person with headphones works on a laptop; a line from their head transforms into a rocket, symbolizing imagination, innovation, and the foundational skills essential for multilingual learners.


Coming Soon

Unlike other publishers, we don’t make you wait until your next adoption to get the latest and greatest from Amplify. We’re always launching new and exciting features. What’s more, we’ll push them out to you even after you adopt us!

See what’s coming for 2020-2021