NB G4 Scientific Literacy study plan
NB G4 Scientific Literacy · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Life Science & Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills
Classify at least 15 local organisms as producer, consumer, or decomposer and justify each placement with one observable trait.
Construct a dichotomous key that separates six organisms using two traits per step.
Trace two food chains into a single food web and predict the effect of removing one organism.
Distinguish inherited traits from learned behaviors in five examples and label each.
Write five testable questions from a habitat observation and name the variable in each.
Your checkpoint
A one-page food web for a chosen habitat, a working six-organism dichotomous key, and a scored 15-item self-quiz with written corrections for every miss.
Physical Science & Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills
Measure and record mass, volume, and temperature for five household samples using correct metric units and tool choices.
Design a fair test comparing how well two materials insulate, listing the independent, dependent, and at least three controlled variables.
Explain the difference between physical and chemical change with three examples and a labeled particle-level sketch.
Complete 20 practice items on properties and states of matter, scoring at least 80 percent.
Your checkpoint
A lab-notebook page holding a measurement table with units, the insulation fair-test plan with variables listed, and the scored 20-item practice set.
Life Science & Physical Science
Build a lever or pulley and record the effort needed to lift a fixed load at three positions, then graph effort against position.
Match three animal or plant structures to human-designed tools that copy them and state the shared function.
Solve 10 mixed items that use food-chain and force or simple-machine vocabulary, scoring at least 80 percent.
Summarize in five sentences how energy moves through an ecosystem and through a simple machine.
Your checkpoint
A one-page graph of effort versus position with a written conclusion, plus a three-pair biomimicry comparison table.
Earth and Space Science & Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills
Classify eight rock, mineral, and soil samples by observable properties in a structured table.
Model erosion in a stream table and record three changed variables alongside the resulting outcomes.
Label a cross-section of Earth's layers and separate two rapid changes from two slow changes at the surface.
Score at least 80 percent on a cumulative Domain 1 and Domain 2 diagnostic of 25 items.
Your checkpoint
A complete erosion investigation write-up with a data table and a claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph, plus the scored cumulative diagnostic.
Earth and Space Science & Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills
Diagram the water cycle and trace one water droplet through four named stages with the energy source for each.
Record five days of weather data and describe one pattern visible in the graph.
Explain day, night, and the seasons using a lamp-and-globe model and a written paragraph that corrects the distance-from-Sun misconception.
Score at least 80 percent on a 20-item Earth and space quiz.
Your checkpoint
A five-day weather log with a labeled line graph and a written pattern summary of at least 60 words that names the trend and a plausible cause.
Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills & Science, Technology, Society, and Environment
Design and run a controlled experiment with at least three trials, then report the mean result and the spread.
Identify error and bias sources in two sample investigations and propose one fix for each.
Evaluate two local environmental or technology decisions by listing evidence, costs, benefits, and one stakeholder for each.
Write a hypothesis in if-then-because form and revise it once against the collected data.
Your checkpoint
A full investigation report containing question, hypothesis, variables, data table, graph, and conclusion, plus a two-row cost-benefit evaluation table.
Science, Technology, Society, and Environment & Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills
Compare the energy use of three household appliances using published figures or a meter and rank them from least to most.
Critique one news science claim against three criteria: source credibility, strength of evidence, and independent confirmation.
Draft a three-action conservation plan with a measurable target and a way to check progress for each action.
Answer 10 items on science, technology, and society, scoring at least 80 percent.
Your checkpoint
A one-page infographic of the ranked appliances and conservation plan, plus a three-row claim-critique table scoring the news item on each criterion.
Life Science & Physical Science & Earth and Space Science & Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills & Science, Technology, Society, and Environment
Complete two timed 40-item mixed practice sets, scoring at least 85 percent on the second attempt.
Re-teach your five weakest topics on a single self-made summary sheet using diagrams and one worked example each.
Verify every item on a five-domain mastery checklist and mark each as secure, shaky, or unknown with evidence.
Rewrite every missed practice item with the correct reasoning and the trap that caused the error.
Your checkpoint
A scored full-length practice test with a complete error log: item number, domain, correct reasoning, and error type for each miss.
Milestones
Week 2: Both physical-science skill sheets are finished, the insulation fair-test plan lists all three variable types, and the measurement table shows correct units for all five samples.
Week 4: Cumulative Domain 1 plus Domain 2 diagnostic scores at least 80 percent and the erosion write-up contains an explicit claim, cited data, and reasoning; if under 80 percent, add two 45-minute review blocks to week 5.
Week 6: The investigation report is complete and reproducible by a classmate from the written procedure alone, and at least three error or bias sources are named with fixes.
Week 8: Second timed mixed practice set scores at least 85 percent, the error log holds every missed item, and no domain on the mastery checklist remains marked unknown.