Sra: Imagine It!, Themes, Risks and Consequences, Nature's Delicate Balance, a changing America, Science Fair, America on the Move, Dollars and Sense, Level 4 [Grade 4]



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Science Fair: Theme Connections

Within the Selection

1. What are some of the many job titles Ben Franklin holds?

2. How does Ben Franklin save the townspeople from lightning fires?

Across Selections

3. How are Ben Franklin and Benjamin Banneker alike?

4. What other selection have you read that discusses electricity?

Beyond the Selection

5. What is your favorite invention of Ben Franklin's, and why?

6. What recent inventions can you think of that have made life easier or better?

Write about It!

Describe a time you or someone you know tried to invent something.

Remember to look for poetry and art about the theme Science Fair to add to the Concept/Question Board.

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Science Inquiry: Energy

Genre


An interview is a conversation conducted by a reporter to gather facts from someone.

Feature


Diagrams are drawings that are used to show the relationship among different items in a system.

Juan: Mr. March, my goal is to find out all I can about energy. I know that energy is what heats, lights, and moves everything we see. We use energy every day. It can take on many forms.

Mr. March: I am impressed, son. You should be a scientist.

Juan: It is one of my dreams to be a genuine scientist someday. I read that Thomas Edison is a hero of yours. What did Edison do that made him famous?

Mr. March: He had many inventions. The lightbulb is his most famous one. He put a thin, metal wire called a filament in a glass tube. He saw that electricity could make the wire glow with light.

Juan: Fascinating. So, what can you tell me about heat?

Mr. March: Matter is made of tiny particles called atoms and molecules. Heat is caused when these tiny parts move quickly and constantly.

Juan: What does electricity have to do with heat?

Mr. March: A large electrical charge passes through a thin wire and the wire becomes hot. This is what we call a heating element. The element changes electricity to heat.

Juan: Thanks so much, Mr. March, for your help!

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Think Link
screw fitting

glass bulb

fillament

argon gas

Captions with the class attribute value "label" correspond to content that appears in labels associated with this image.

Look at the diagram of the lightbulb. In your own words, explain the purpose of each part of the lightbulb.

You read that a heating element transforms electricity into heat. Two examples of heating elements are an electric blanket and a toaster. What other heating elements might be found in someone's home?

When water gets hot, it boils. Based on what you read in the selection, why is this?

Try It!

As you work on your investigation, think about how diagrams can help illustrate your ideas.


Production note: this image crosses the gutter to appear both on page 436 and page 437 in the print version.

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Vocabulary: Warm-Up
Read the article to find the meanings of these words, which are also in "How Fast Do You Eat Your Ice Cream?":

pace

common

previous

major

randomly

publication

questionnaire

rejected

Vocabulary Strategy



Context Clues are hints in the text that help you find the meanings of words. Use context clues to find the meanings of common and major.

Do you like to write? What kinds of things have you written? A poem? An essay? A hundred journal entries? What would it be like to write something and have it be read by millions of people? If that is your goal, get started now. Most successful authors began writing at a young age. It is never too early--or too late--to start.

If you dream of writing a book someday, where do you begin? There is no need to rush it. Write at your own pace. Start small. Read as much as you can. Write whenever you get a chance.
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What should you write about? You can write about anything. Write about common things like school and pets. Write about your family. Write about a previous experience that changed your life. Write down your thoughts about a major issue like world hunger. Write funny things. Write sad things. Choose topics randomly . Write a little about each one.

When you feel ready, try writing a piece for publication . Many children's magazines would love something written by a young person. You could write about kids' opinions on a certain topic. You could pass out a questionnaire to your friends and classmates.

Try not to worry about failure. If your article is rejected , just try, try again. Most successful writers have been rejected many times. You have many years to get something published. If you love to write, keep doing it. Do not let anything get in the way of your dream.

Concept Vocabulary

Memory Game

Write each of the eight selection vocabulary words in a notebook. Beside each word, write its definition. Study the words and definitions for a few minutes with a classmate. On another page, write only the vocabulary words. Without looking, see whether you can write the correct definition beside each word from memory. Have your classmate grade your "quiz."

Concept Vocabulary

This lesson's concept word is sample. A sample is a group of people chosen to represent a much larger population. If you were going to choose a sample of ten students to represent your entire school, what kinds of things would you have to consider? Would you choose all girls? Why not? If your school has a lot of ethnic variety, how could you represent that in the sample? Is your school a good sample of the city where you live? Is your city a good sample of the United States?

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How Fast Do You Eat Your Ice Cream?

by Maya Kaczorowski

Genre

Expository Text tells people something. It contains facts about real people, things, or events.

Comprehension Skill: Author's Purpose

As you read, understand why the author wrote the text and what she wants you to take from it.
Production note: this image crosses the gutter to appear both on page 440 and page 441 in the print version.

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Production note: this image crosses the gutter to appear both on page 440 and page 441 in the print version.

Focus Questions

Where do scientists get their ideas? Why is it important for scientists to communicate their ideas?

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I didn't set out to write a major paper. My plan was to get an award at the science fair. But when I didn't get any awards at the fair, I decided to write an article and send it to a medical journal and prove the judges wrong.



This all started because I love ice cream. I eat it every day. It doesn't matter what flavor. So when all the gifted eighth graders at Dalewood Middle School had to do a science fair project for the Bayside Engineering Science Fair, I decided to do a project on ice cream headaches.

Sometimes I get ice cream headaches, and I wanted to know if it had to do with how fast or slow I eat my favorite dessert.


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After doing a little research, I found out that ice cream is the most common cause of "brain freeze." Previous researchers found that the pain starts a couple of seconds after swallowing cold foods or drinks and hurts the most after 30 to 60 seconds. For most people, the pain goes away in 10 to 20 seconds. No one knows whether people who get regular headaches are more or less likely to get ice cream headaches.

One scientist hypothesized that it only occurs in one-third of a randomly sampled population. I didn't agree with this, because a lot of my friends get ice cream headaches, not just one-third of them. This same researcher claimed that ice cream headaches can happen only during the summer or hot weather. I didn't agree with this either.


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So, for my science fair project, I came up with three hypotheses:

That middle school students would get ice cream headaches at this time of year (winter);

That the middle school students who were told to eat their ice cream fast were more likely to get ice cream headaches; and

That more than 33 percent of the middle school students who were tested would get ice cream headaches.

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For my "sample population," I tested the 145 students at my school. After getting the okay from the principal and all the middle school teachers to come into the classrooms to test the students, I wrote up a questionnaire for the students to fill out before and after they ate their ice cream.



The questionnaire was pretty simple. The "before eating ice cream" questions were:

* Gender? Age?

*How often do you get headaches?

*Have you ever gotten an ice cream headache/brain freeze before?

The "after eating" questions were:

* Did you get an ice cream headache?

*If so, how long did it last?

To find out if eating ice cream fast or slow made a difference, I divided my 145 questionnaires into two sets of 73 and 72. The set with a red dot said to eat the ice cream fast. The other set had a green dot and said to eat it slowly or at a more normal pace.

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With my questionnaires ready, I went to each classroom. I did all the eighth-grade classes first. I passed out the questionnaires along with polystyrene plates filled with 100 milliliters of vanilla ice cream. I went through seven two-liter containers of vanilla ice cream in total.

The fast group had to eat their ice cream in under five seconds. They were warned two seconds before the time was up to put all their remaining ice cream into their mouths. The "normal" or slow eaters had to take more than 30 seconds to eat. This group was asked to have about half of the ice cream they were originally given left at the end of 30 seconds. I used a stopwatch to tell them when it was time.

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I found that:



* Overall, 20 percent, or 29 of the 145 students tested, got ice cream headaches.

* Students in the fast group were significantly more likely to get headaches than students in the normal group (27.4 percent vs. 12.5 percent).

* Fifty-nine percent of the headaches lasted 10 seconds or less.

* Of all the students, 79.3 percent reported that they had had ice cream headaches in the past.

* I also found that the original research was, in part, wrong. Since my study was done from December to January, this contradicted the original conclusion that ice cream headaches can happen only during the summer.

Description of Groups

Category

Slow group (n=72)

Fast group (n=73)

Overall (n=145)

% Female

58.3%

37.0%

47.6%

Age (mean)

12.7

12.7

12.7

% with history of ice cream headaches

80.6%

78.1%

79.3%

% with regular headaches (weekly)

25.0%

26.0%

25.5%

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The following is a pie chart of my results.


Duration of ice cream headaches (n = 29)

Getting my paper accepted for publication wasn't easy.

The science fair was in April and I submitted the paper in June. I wrote it up following the guidelines found on the British Medical Journal Web site. My dad, a medical researcher, helped me edit it because he writes this kind of paper fairly often. The Journal initially rejected it and said that they wanted a few changes. So my dad and I rewrote it and submitted it again. They rejected it again, so we rewrote it again. This time, they wrote back and said that it was too long. If I wanted to shorten it, they would consider publishing it. So we did. By this time, it was September. When they finally published it in December, I was jumping up and down, I was so excited!

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Then someone from the Reuters News Agency called. I think they thought that it would make a cute story. But once they found out that I was only 13, they made it into a big article. Then I got all kinds of calls from newspapers and television shows such as the CBS Early Show . But my favorite was appearing on a local kids' interview show aired on commercial-free TV here in Canada. I used to watch that show all the time when I was younger, so I thought this was really cool.

But the best part was that everyone gave me ice cream! For some reason, they all thought I liked it!

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Meet the Author

Maya Kaczorowski

Kaczorowski is a student living in Canada. As part of a science project, she conducted a study on the "brain freeze" sometimes caused by eating ice cream too quickly. One hundred forty-five students from her school participated in her study. Kaczorowski's study was published in the British Medical Journal . She has appeared on television to discuss what she learned. Kaczorowski says she decided to study "brain freeze" because she loves ice cream and sometimes gets ice cream headaches, and she was curious about what caused them.
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Science Fair: Theme Connections

Within the Selection

1. Why does Maya Kaczorowski choose ice-cream headaches for her science fair topic?

2. When does "brain freeze" start, and how long does it last?

Across Selections

3. Kaczorowski's paper is published in a journal. What other selection discusses publishing scientific results in journals?

4. How did Kaczorowski use the concept of control groups and variable groups, which you read about in "The Scientific Method?"

Beyond the Selection

5. If you were going to investigate an idea for a science fair, what would it be about?

6. When Kaczorowski published her paper, she included a section listing all her data. Why is that necessary?

Write about It!

Describe a time you ate ice cream.

Remember to look at other people's questions and try to answer them on the Concept/Question Board.
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Science Inquiry: Inherited or Learned?

Genre


Expository Text tells people something. It contains facts about real people, things, or events.

Feature


Captions explain what is happening in a photograph.

There are many likenesses between a parent and a child. This is true for animals too. Some traits are inherited. Other traits are learned. Inherited traits are passed through genes. Learned behaviors must be taught.

We have choices about what we like and do. We do not have much choice about how we look. Our eyes, hair, and skin color do not happen randomly. Neither do our height and body shape. We inherit these physical traits from our parents.

Some behaviors are inherited. They do not need to be taught. Human babies know how to drink milk at birth. They can suck their thumbs before they are born. Many animals know how to swim without being taught. Most birds are born knowing how to fly.

Learned behaviors must be taught and often require much practice. Humans must be taught how to talk. They learn by listening to their parents. Mother bears teach their cubs how to catch fish. Cheetahs teach their babies how to hunt. Baby eagles must be taught how to fly.

Some animal babies do not need their parents, but most babies do.

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Think Link
Can you tell which traits this child inherited from her parent?
Many adult animals teach their young how to find food.

Look at the photos and captions that go with this selection. Draw your own picture that fits the selection and write an interesting caption underneath it.

What does "inherited traits" mean? What are physical traits?

Why do you think baby eagles must be taught to fly when many other birds are born knowing how? How do you think an eagle teaches its young to fly?

Try It!

As you work on your investigation, think of a picture that would illustrate your ideas. What would the caption say?


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What Is Science?

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich



illustrated by Virginia Halstead

Focus Questions

Do scientists all know the same things? What is not science?

What is science? So many things.

The study of stars-- Saturn's rings.

The study of rocks-- geodes and stones-- dinosaur fossils, old-chipped bones. The study of soil, oil, and gas.

Of sea and sky, of seed and grass. Of wind and hurricanes that blow; volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, snow.

What is science? the study of trees.

Of butterflies and killer bees. Glaciers, geysers, clay, and sand; mighty mountains, the rolling land.

The power of trains-- planes that soar. Science is this and so much more. So into the earth and into the sky; we question the how the where when and why.


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The Microscope

by Maxine Kumin



illustrated by Robert Byrd

Focus Questions Why are some people frightened by scientific discoveries? What would the world be like without science?


Anton Leeuwenhoek was Dutch.

He sold pincushions, cloth, and such.

The waiting townsfolk fumed and fussed

As Anton's dry goods gathered dust.

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He worked, instead of tending store,



At grinding special lenses for

A microscope. Some of the things

He looked at were:

mosquitoes' wings,

the hairs of sheep, the legs of lice,

the skin of people, dogs, and mice;

ox eyes, spiders' spinning gear,

fishes' scales, a little smear

of his own blood,

and best of all,

the unknown, busy, very small

bugs that swim and bump and hop

inside a simple water drop.

Impossible! Most Dutchmen said.

This Anton's crazy in the head.

We ought to ship him off to Spain.

He says he's seen a housefly's brain.

He says the water that we drink

Is full of bugs. He's mad, we think!

They call him Dummkopf , which means dope.

That's how we got the microscope.
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Unit 4: Test Prep

Skimming and Prioritizing Items

Test-Taking Strategy: Skimming and Prioritizing Items

Some questions on a test are easier to answer than others. You might find it helpful to skim all the questions and answer the easiest ones first.

You do not have to answer the questions on a test in the order that they appear. Good test takers answer the easiest questions first. They answer the harder questions later.

Read the questions. Decide which question seems hard and which one seems easy.

At the end of the story, Chris felt --

A proud.

B clever.

C happy.

D tired.

What is the author's main purpose for writing this story?

A To explain the differences among the types of clouds

B To inform the reader about how clouds are formed

C To show how some clouds are more likely to cause rain

D To persuade the reader to spend more time watching clouds

The first question seems easy. It has fewer words. The second question is harder. It takes longer to read. You might want to skip this question and answer the easier ones first. You can return to the harder questions later.

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Test-Taking Practice

Read the story "The Project." Then answer Numbers 1 through 4.

"What should we do for our science project?" Jose asked his group.

Nora looked at the notes their teacher had given them. The group had to observe something one day a month from September to May. "Let's choose something on the beach because we all live near there."

"What about checking the weather every month?" Jenna asked.

Jose groaned. "That is a dumb idea.

It is sunny here 361 days out of the year."

Nora frowned. "Remember what Mr. Ortiz said? When you brainstorm, you should not criticize any ideas. Here, I will write all our ideas, and we can pick the best one."

Nora wrote quickly as everyone suggested possible projects. When the group was finished, she read the ideas. "I like the idea of watching the loggerhead turtles lay their eggs," she said.

"That won't work," Jenna said. "Loggerheads lay eggs from around May through September. The eggs hatch in about sixty days, and then the baby turtles go into the ocean. We cannot observe them in the winter."

Jose wanted to observe high and low tides. He hoped to learn how tides change during phases of the moon. But they would need to go to the beach twice a day instead of once a month. They looked at their other ideas. The best one was Jose's idea to check pollution.


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"Didn't Mr. Ortiz say we need a five-minute video?" Jenna asked. "Filming the beach might be boring."

"It might be interesting if stuff washes up," Jose said. "Maybe we should find out what is happening at sea in the days before we go to the beach. If there is a big storm or strong winds, maybe more stuff will wash up."

"Good idea. Let's go early in the morning because that is when we will find the most junk," Nora said.

Jenna groaned. "You are right. We will have to do it at 6:00 A.M. on the first of every month. That way, we will keep our observation times the same."

On September 1, the group members met at the beach. At exactly 6:00 A.M., Jose turned on the video camera and filmed the beach between two piers. Jenna drew a picture of the beach. She added a number where they found each object. Nora wrote the numbers on another paper and described what item they found at each spot.

After filming, Jose told them what he had read about the weather. Nora wrote that information along with the date and time of their observation. Then they hurried off to catch the school bus. All of them had a good feeling about the project.
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Use the information you learned from the story "The Project" to answer questions 1 through 4. Write your answers on a piece of paper.

In this story, brainstorm means--

A to understand and use facts.

B to think about what you have learned.

C to remember things from the past.

D to think of many ideas quickly.

Why did the children decide not to observe loggerhead turtles?

A There were no turtle eggs on the beach.

B They could not observe turtles in winter.

C They would need to go to the beach two times a day.

D Turtles could be seen only late at night.

What did Jose want to check if they observed pollution?

A What was happening at sea a few days before

B What types of pollution washed up on the beach

C Whether or not the pollution was natural

D Who was causing the pollution so they could stop it

Why did Jenna groan?

A They cannot observe turtles in the winter.

B Filming the beach might be boring.

C She did not want to get up early.

D It is sunny most of the year.

Test Tips

* Look for important words in the questions and answer choices.

* Choose the best answer to the question.

* If you do not know the answer, guess.

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