NGSS Resource Hub
Three-dimensional breakdowns, phenomenon ideas, misconceptions, and engagement activities for every NGSS standard.
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4th Grade NGSS Standards
Pick any standard. Each page is your full lesson-planning workspace for that standard.
Transferring Information: Using Patterns to Send a Message
"Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information."
"Examples of solutions could include drums sending coded information through sound waves, using a grid of 1's and 0's representing black and white to send information about a picture, and using Morse code to send text."
The three dimensions packed into this standard
Every standard bundles a DCI (the content), a SEP (the science practice), and a CCC (the crosscutting lens). They run in the same task, not in sequence.
"Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices, such as computers or cell phones, can receive and decode information (convert it from digitized form to voice) and vice versa."
"Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints."
This standard is really about codes. A code is a pattern that stands for something else, like two drum beats meaning "come home" or a black square meaning "on." 4th graders design more than one way to send a message using a pattern, try each one, and decide which works best. The science and the design happen together: they use the code to solve a real problem (getting a message across the room), then test which solution wins.
"Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the design solution."
The key word is multiple. 4th graders don't build one code and stop. They build more than one, then line them up against the same goals: Did the message get through? Was it fast? Could a partner read it? Comparing two real solutions, with reasons, is the actual skill here.
"Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort and classify designed products."
Every code in this lesson is a pattern. The reason a code works is that the pattern stays the same every time, so a partner can tell beats apart and figure out the message. 4th graders compare patterns from different codes and sort which ones are easy to read and which get mixed up.
📍 Where This Standard Fits in the K-12 Progression
Use this to plan the year. Knowing what students should already know and what they're heading toward keeps the lesson focused.
In 1st grade, students design a device that uses light or sound to communicate over a distance, like a flashlight signal or a noisemaker. They learn that light and sound can carry a message. They have not yet built a real code or compared more than one solution.
Transferring Information: Using Patterns to Send a Message
In middle school, students dig into why digitized signals (the 1's and 0's) are a more reliable way to send and store information than analog signals. They explain the science behind the codes 4th graders only build and test.
🌎 Phenomena for 4-PS4-3
Anchor the lesson in one puzzling phenomenon kids keep coming back to. Use the two investigative phenomena to sharpen specific facets.
Sending a Secret Message Across the Room
You can't talk, you can't walk over, and you can't pass a note. Your partner is on the other side of the room. You have to get them a message using only a flashlight, a drum, or your hands. Teams try it and notice something: some codes get through perfectly, some turn into a mess. 4th graders will want to know why.
"How can you send a message all the way across the room without talking, and which way works best?"
- "Why did my partner read my flashlight code but not my drum code?"
- "Does the message have to be a pattern, or can it be random?"
- "How do real phones send a message that fast and that far?"
Drumbeat Code
Two teams agree on a drum code: one beat means "yes," two beats means "no," three beats means "come here." Then they sit back to back and send messages. When the beats are clear and spaced out, it works. When they rush, the partner can't tell two beats from three. This sharpens the anchor: the pattern has to be easy to tell apart.
"What makes a drum code easy to read, and what makes it get mixed up?"
- "Why does my partner mix up two beats and three beats?"
- "Would a slower, clearer beat work better than a fast one?"
- "Could we add more beats to send a longer message?"
Picture on a Grid
Give partners a small grid, like 5 squares by 5 squares. One partner colors a simple shape, then reads it out square by square: "filled, empty, filled." The other partner colors what they hear and tries to copy the picture without ever seeing it. This shows how a picture can travel as a pattern of "on" and "off" squares.
"How can you send a picture to a partner using only the words "filled" and "empty"?"
- "Does every square have to be in the exact same order?"
- "What happens to the picture if you skip one square?"
- "Could you send a bigger picture the same way?"
⚠️ Misconceptions Your Students Will Walk In With
These come up almost every year. Knowing them in advance lets you head them off in the first lesson.
"A code only works if it's a secret nobody else knows."
A code isn't about secrets. It's about a pattern that two people agree on ahead of time. Both partners have to know that two beats means "no" or the message won't get through. Sharing the code is what makes it work, not hiding it.
"There's only one right way to send a message, so there's nothing to compare."
This standard is all about having more than one way. A drum, a flashlight, and Morse code can all send the same message. The whole point is to build two or more and figure out which one is faster, clearer, or easier. Comparing is the real work.
"The message itself travels across the room, like the words fly through the air."
The words themselves don't fly through the air. What travels is a pattern carried by sound or light: the drum beats, the flashlight blinks. Your partner senses that pattern and turns it back into the message in their own head. The code is the bridge between your message and theirs.
"Real phones and computers send the actual picture or voice through the air."
At a 4th-grade level, here's the idea: phones turn voices and pictures into a pattern of signals first, send the pattern, then turn it back into voice or picture on the other end. It's the same trick as a drum code, just much, much faster. The deep science waits for middle school.
🙋 Common Student Questions and How to Respond
These come up almost every time this standard gets taught. Plan a response and you'll keep the lesson focused.
Don't answer it for them. Ask, "Best at what? Fastest? Easiest to read? Works the farthest?" Push them to set the goals first, then test. "Best" only means something once the class agrees on what they're comparing. That's the heart of this standard.
Reframe it as evidence, not failure. Ask, "Where did it break? Did your partner mix up two signals?" A code that falls apart tells you exactly what to fix. Steer them to redesign one piece and test again, not start over.
Honor the curiosity, then keep it grade-level. Tell them a phone turns the message into a pattern of signals, sends it, and turns it back, just like their drum code but lightning fast. Say the why of digital signals is a great question they'll answer in middle school.
Great instinct. Let them try it. Then ask what happens to their partner: "Is a longer code easier or harder to read without mistakes?" That trade-off, more message versus more mix-ups, is exactly the comparing this standard wants them doing.
📚 Vocabulary Students Need for 4-PS4-3
The terms students need to access this standard. Definitions in plain-English, classroom-ready language.
💡 Free Engagement Ideas for 4-PS4-3
Flashlight vs. Drum Showdown
Partners send the same three messages two ways: once with flashlight blinks, once with drum beats. They agree on the code first, sit far apart, and score how many messages each partner reads correctly. Then they decide which code won and why. This turns the anchor into a head-to-head design comparison.
Morse Code Name Send
Give each team a Morse code chart (dots and dashes). They spell a partner's short name using flashlight blinks: quick blink for a dot, long blink for a dash. The partner writes down what they read. It's a real, classic code that shows letters becoming a pattern of signals.
Grid Picture Telephone
One partner colors a simple shape on a 5-by-5 grid, then reads it out square by square ("filled, empty, filled"). The other colors a blank grid from only those words. They compare pictures at the end. Great for showing a picture traveling as a pattern of on/off squares.
Design-Your-Own Code Challenge
Teams invent two of their own codes to send the message "meet me at recess," using anything allowed: claps, hand signals, colored cards. They test both, then build a quick poster comparing which was faster and which was clearer. Pushes them to generate AND compare multiple solutions.
📝 Assessment Ideas for 4-PS4-3
Three short tasks that hit all three dimensions. Doable in one class period each.
4th graders are given two finished codes for the same message (for example, a drum code and a flashlight code) and a list of goals the class agreed on. They write which code is better and back it up with at least two reasons tied to the goals, like "faster" or "easier for my partner to read." Mirrors the standard: compare multiple solutions against criteria.
Show a code where two signals look almost the same (one beat vs. two fast beats) so the partner keeps mixing them up. Students explain what's going wrong with the pattern and redesign one part to make it clearer. Tests whether they connect a clear pattern to a working solution.
4th graders design two codes of their own to send a short message, then pick one and explain, in writing or drawing, why their choice meets the goals better than the other. A picture of the pattern plus reasons shows they can both build and compare solutions.
🎯 What Proficient Student Work Looks Like
Same prompt, three student responses at different proficiency levels. Use as anchor papers when scoring.
"You built a drum code and a flashlight code to send the same message. Compare them. Which one is the better solution, and what is your evidence?"
- A specific claim backed by data or observation
- Use of standard-specific vocabulary in context
- Connection between what students observe and the underlying science idea
- A question they're still wondering about (curiosity stays alive)
"I liked the flashlight one better. It was cooler and my partner liked it too. The drum was loud."
Picks a code but judges it on "cooler," not on goals. No real comparison against criteria like clear or fast. Names both codes but gives no evidence about how well each sent the message.
"The flashlight code was better than the drum code. With the flashlight my partner read 3 out of 3 messages right. With the drum she only got 1 right because she mixed up two beats and three beats. The flashlight blinks were easier to tell apart."
Compares two real solutions using a clear goal (how many messages got through) and points to the pattern problem with the drum. This is exactly what the standard asks a 4th grader to do.
"The flashlight code was the better solution. We set two goals: fast and easy to read. My partner read all 3 flashlight messages right and only 1 drum message, because long blinks and short blinks are easy to tell apart but fast drum beats run together. The drum was faster, but faster doesn't help if she can't read the pattern. So I chose the flashlight because a clear pattern matters more than speed for getting the message across."
Names the criteria up front, compares both codes against them with evidence, AND reasons about a trade-off (speed vs. clarity). Ties the win back to the pattern being easy to tell apart, reaching the CCC without being asked.