Four Kinds of Science Models

Four Kinds of Science Models: Grade 4 Science Worksheet

Is a map a model? A model shows what something looks like or how it works, and scientists use four kinds. Students learn the four kinds of models with clue words (hold, flat, computer, picture), then name the kind of model for a globe, a U.S. map, a hurricane path on a laptop, and the Moon and Earth pictured in your head, plus four Florida examples.

Key Science Vocabulary

• model: something that shows what a thing looks like or how it works
• 3D model: a model you can hold and turn, like a globe
• 2D model: a flat model on paper, like a map
• computer model: a model made on a computer, like a hurricane path
• mental model: a model you picture in your mind

What Students Do

• Read a short teach box on the four kinds of models with clue words
• Part A: four picture cards; circle the kind of model
• Part B: four Florida examples; circle the kind of model
• Answer key with a red reason line

Standards

Florida SC.4.N.3.1: Explain that models can be three dimensional, two dimensional, an explanation in your mind, or a computer model.

Where It Fits in Grades 3 to 8

Earlier grades use simple models like globes and drawings. Grade 4 names four kinds of models. In grade 5 and middle school, students build models, compare their strengths and limits, and use them to make predictions.

Teaching Tip

Have students draw a 2D model of the classroom, then close their eyes and picture it as a model in their mind. Prints clearly in black and white and takes 8 to 10 minutes.