20040 AC Science Year 4 Physical sciences

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Teachers notes
FOUR-PAGE FORMAT (continued)
Student page 1
The second page in the four-page format is a science literacy text which introduces the topic. This page provides the following infonnation:
• A shaded tab down the side gives the Science -
Understanding substrand.
-
,......
• The title of the unit is given. This is in the fonn of
a question to incorporate science inquiry skills and
overarching ideas.
• Instructions are given for reading the text.
• The science literacy text is provided.
• Relevant diagrams or artwork enhance the text, ,
or are used to assist student understanding of the
concepts.
Student page 2
W _h_ _t-is- t h_ _ l_i_ _ c _
a e e
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e a e e
p _h_ _n t _ ?- . --- 1 --- a
1
Read the text.
An elephant Is the largest Wving land mammal. Mammals give birth to live young,
Instead of laying eggs as many onlmols, such as birds, reptiles and Insects,
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odolescent--adult.
Baby
A baby elephant, called a coif, develops inside its mother for 22 months. Thot
is the longest time for any land animal to be pregnant! Among other mammals.
humans are pregnant for 9 months, whle a dog is pregnant for only 9 weeks.
A female elephant, called a cow, usuolly gives birth to only one calf at a time. A
newborn calf has ginger coloured hoir over its hood and back. It loses this as i1
grows oldar.Itsmother usesher lrunk to help the
newborn stand up. The catr must do this right away
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ild,
a: n"e;: ii: v-4:::r :; ,' ·' . ·;
o
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:y tih n
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litres of milk ooch doy. After it grows too1ti, ot obout 3 ,' ,· :
years of age, it starts to eat grass and other vegerotion.
The calfs molher and the other adult females in the herd help look aner ii. The
coif learns how to use its trunk for feeding, ckinking water and bathing.
Adolescent
An elephant is called an adolescenl when it stops drinking milk entirely and eols
only vegetation. This happens between 5 and IO years of age.
Male elephants are coiled bulls. Young
buls play-fight by charging each other and
maki'lg a lot of trumpeting noises wilh lheir
: Y h
o::i : ;!;
Olher young bulls.
Female elephants, the cows, stoy wilh the herd all their ves. The herd is ruled by
tt,e oldest female, coiled the matria1ch .
Adult
AA elephant is an adult at about 18 yeors of oge. Male and female elephants
begin to mate at about 20 years d age. A cow will hove six or seven calves during
her lif e time. She stops having calves at about 50 years of age. An elephant con
live untl it is abaut70.
The second student page consists of a series of questions or activities relating to the literacy text. They aim to gauge student understanding of the
concepts presented in the text. Many of these questions relate to overarching ideas relevant to that age level as stated in the Australian Curriculum
Science.
IWhat Is the life cycle of on elephant? - 2
Use the text on page I I to complata the following.
I. What ore two chorocleristics mammals hove in common?
dog for only 9 weeks?
2. Why do you think o female elephant is pregnant for 22 months and o
3. (a) What must o newborn coif do os soon as it is born?
• The title, which is the same as the text page, is given.
• A shaded tab gives the Science Understanding substrand.
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(b) Why must it be able lo do this?
If. What skills do the mother and other herd members teach a coif?
• Questions or activities follow. These relate to the text on
the previous page.
P1
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5. When does on elephonl beoome on adolescent?
6. Describe one difference between the life
of a bull and a cow.
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Visit this website lo dislXJver facts zoologists have discovet about the
uses of on elephanfs trunk.