Evidence of Energy Transfer Activities for 4th Grade Science

The Kesler Science Evidence of Energy Transfer 4th Grade Complete 5E Lesson simplifies lesson planning by providing all the materials needed for an engaging, multi-day lesson. With minimal prep and student-led learning, this resource focuses on helping students understand how energy is transferred between objects and how currents flow in circuits. The lesson is aligned with the 5E Model—Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation—ensuring comprehensive learning.

Students engage with the lesson through differentiated materials and multimodal learning formats, offering flexibility for both printable and digital formats. The lesson includes editable PowerPoints, Spanish translations, and a variety of activities across all five stages of the 5E Model. The Exploration section features a student-led station lab with nine differentiated stations, allowing students to explore energy transfer through experiments, readings, research, and videos. The output stations enable students to demonstrate their learning through hands-on activities, writing, and illustrations.

In the Explanation stage, teachers can use interactive PowerPoints and notebooks, providing additional opportunities for differentiation. The Elaboration section includes student-choice projects to extend learning, while the Evaluation stage offers assessments in multiple formats for diverse learning needs. Whether for in-class or virtual learning environments, this lesson supports both educators and students in mastering the evidence of energy transfer concept.

The Kesler Science Evidence of Energy Transfer Station Lab offers a dynamic, student-led learning experience for 4th grade classes, providing comprehensive materials that save prep time while allowing students to take charge of their learning. In this station lab, students explore how energy can be transferred through sound, light, heat, and electric currents, making observations to gather evidence of energy transfer.

Each station lab includes eight differentiated activities, allowing students to create a personalized learning experience, with a ninth challenge station for early finishers. The stations are modular, enabling independent or small group work, and providing resources like signage, literature, and task cards. The lab also includes materials for the Explore It! station, which can be used with common classroom supplies.

The nine stations feature a variety of input and output activities. Input stations offer multimodal ways for students to engage with new concepts, including experiments, readings, research tasks, and videos. Output stations give students the opportunity to showcase their learning through hands-on activities, illustrations, written responses, and assessments. The Challenge It! station provides additional opportunities for early finishers or advanced learners to expand their understanding. The lab is designed for both in-person and virtual learning environments.

The Kesler Science Evidence of Energy Transfer Student Choice Projects allow 4th grade students to select from a variety of project options that align with their preferred output style. The project page offers six student-led project choices and a “design your own” option, with a flexible grading rubric that can be used by teachers, peers, or students themselves. These projects are adaptable, allowing teachers to modify the rubric to meet specific grading needs, while providing students with multimodal ways to express their understanding of energy transfer.

The Student Choice Projects include nine project options plus the “design your own” choice, along with teacher directions and editable rubric pages that assess vocabulary, concepts, presentation, clarity, and accuracy. These resources cater to a wide range of learning styles, ensuring that each student can engage with the content in a way that suits them best. For students needing remediation, the modified version includes three options targeted to provide extra support.

Designed to be flexible and practical, the projects can be completed with common classroom supplies such as paper, markers, and scissors, while some crafting materials may be useful for model-building. Many projects are also suitable for digital completion, making it easier to adapt for both in-person and remote learning environments.