S.4.11.B | TEKS Guide

SCIENCE.4.11.B — Vertical Alignment

Vertical alignment shows student expectations in the same subject area at different grade levels that are related to or build upon one another.

Previous grade

S.1.11.B

explain why water conservation is important; and

S.1.11.C

describe ways to conserve water such as turning off the faucet when brushing teeth and protect natural sources of water such as keeping trash out of bodies of water.

S.2.11.B

describe how human impact can be limited by making choices to conserve and properly dispose of materials such as reducing use of, reusing, or recycling paper, plastic, and metal.

S.3.11.B

explain why the conservation of natural resources is important; and

S.3.11.C

identify ways to conserve natural resources through reducing, reusing, or recycling.

S.4.11.B

explain the critical role of energy resources to modern life and how conservation, disposal, and recycling of natural resources impact the environment; and

S.6.11.A

research and describe why resource management is important in reducing global energy poverty, malnutrition, and air and water pollution, and

S.6.11.B

explain how conservation, increased efficiency, and technology can help manage air, water, soil, and energy resources.

ENVIR.6.A

compare and contrast land use and management methods and how they affect land attributes such as fertility, productivity, economic value, and ecological stability;

ENVIR.6.F

evaluate the impact of waste management methods such as reduction, reuse, recycling, upcycling, and composting on resource availability in the local environment.

EARTH.13.A

analyze the policies related to resources from discovery to disposal, including economics, health, technological advances, resource type, concentration and location, waste disposal and recycling, mitigation efforts, and environmental impacts; and

EARTH.13.B

explore global and Texas-based careers that involve the exploration, extraction, production, use, disposal, regulation, and protection of Earth's resources.

ENVIR.12.A

evaluate cost-benefit trade-offs of commercial activities such as municipal development, food production, deforestation, over-harvesting, mining, and use of renewable and non-renewable energy sources;

ENVIR.12.B

evaluate the economic impacts of individual actions on the environment such as overbuilding, habitat destruction, poaching, and improper waste disposal;

ENVIR.12.C

analyze how ethical beliefs influence environmental scientific and engineering practices such as methods for food production, water distribution, energy production, and the extraction of minerals;

Next grade

Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content

Recurring themes and concepts provide a connective structure for scientific ideas across disciplines. The connection(s) below show some ways that teachers can help students understand how the content they are learning fits into the broader understanding of science. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made but highlight some that are appropriate for this grade level.

Cause-and-effect relationships

Cause-and-effect relationships are relationships between two or more variables or phenomena whereby one variable or event leads to a predictable response. Events have causes—sometimes simple, sometimes multi-faceted.

Conservation, proper disposal, and recycling of materials (cause) allows resources with a limited supply to be preserved for future use (effect). Inappropriate disposal or lack of conservation (cause) can negatively affect the environment. Modern life and technologies require electricity (cause), so humans heavily rely on energy resources (effect).

Flow of energy and cycling of matter through systems

Matter and energy are conserved, changing forms but maintaining quantities. Energy flows within a system or between systems through transfers and transformations. Matter is cycled within systems through physical and chemical processes.

As natural resources are used to support modern life and technologies, matter is cycled and energy flows through Earth's systems. For example, when gasoline is burned in a car (cycling of matter), it transforms the energy in the gasoline into energy of motion.

Stability and change

Stability describes a system that does not change at the observed scale. In a stable system, a small disturbance will die out and the system will return to a stable state. Change in the system can come from modifying a factor or condition.

Environments are inherently stable but can be disrupted by human activity. Decisions about conservation, disposal, and recycling can minimize the impact of those changes.

Cross-curricular Connections

The cross-curricular connections are designed to help educators make content connections between the science TEKS and math, English language arts and reading, social studies, and technology applications. The standards below illustrate alignment between grade level content areas which may help educators develop cross-curricular lessons. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made.

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English Language Arts and Reading

Science.4.11.B

SCIENCE.4.11.B — Vertical Alignment

Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content

Cross-curricular Connections