What Can a Model Show?

What Can a Model Show? Worksheet: What a model shows and what it misses (Grade 4 Science, TEKS 4.2A)

Students see the real Earth next to a globe, with the sizes printed under each picture, mark four things as shown well or not shown by the globe, then answer three short questions about what a model is. The page teaches the skill first, so no prior lesson is needed, and every student task is sort, circle, or fill in. One sheet is one page, with two short parts and nothing to write from scratch.

What's Inside

• A short teach box on what a model is
• Side by side pictures of the real Earth and a globe, with the size of each printed
• Part A: write S (shows it well) or C (cannot show it) for four things, first one done
• Part B: three circle the answer questions, first one done
• A visual answer key with answers marked in red, plus a short teacher note with what to watch for

How Teachers Use It

Each sheet follows the same three steps: read the short teach box, work the sort with the first item done for you, then answer three quick questions with the first one done for you. It takes 6 to 8 minutes and prints clearly in black and white. The focus skill is what a model shows and what it misses, part of TEKS 4.2A: analyze and interpret data to derive meaning, identify features and patterns, and discover relationships or trends.

Why It Works

These sheets teach children how to read and analyse data, not test what they know. Every answer is readable from the data printed on the page: the numbers sit on the bars, the sizes sit under the pictures, and the equations sit beside the boxes. Each sheet stays inside one investigation, every question is one step, and wrong choices are believable, not silly. Pair it with the other eleven Grade 4 Analyzing Data sheets to cover models, patterns, conclusions, errors, calculations, and design criteria.