Mr Nolde's Fourth Grade Page!!

Many of the activities linked on this page still use Flash.

At this point in time, my best suggestion is to use Chrome browser. When doing so, be sure to add the RUFFLE extension. You can download that extension by going to this site.

HTML5 activities are being posted here as more of them become available on the world wide web.

If a site uses flash, you will see this symbol next to the link:

If a site uses HTML5, you will see this symbol next to the link:

Classifying Living Things -In this activity, you will see a large grid of green square tiles. Each tile will have a different plant or animal on it. See if you click on the correct tiles that belong to the category shown in each round of the game. When you think that you have clicked on all of the correct tiles, then click the "GO" button on the bottom of the screen. You will then find out if you got them all correct. BE SURE TO PLAY THIS ACTIVITY MORE THAN ONCE!!! When you find out your final score, be sure to click the "Play Again" button for more fun.

Animal Classification Game -Before playing this activity, be sure to click on "Animal Classes" for an overview of animal classification before playing the games on this site. Click here for the overview of the animal classes.

Classification of Vertebrates -See how well you know the basic characteristics that each class of vertebrates have in common. If you're having trouble with this activity, be sure to review the basic characteristics of each class of vertebrates.

Animal Classification Game -This is another fun game that tests your ability to place each animal into the correct animal group. Again, if you're having trouble with this activity, be sure to review the basic characteristics of each class of vertebrates.

Fun with Venn Diagrams (Java) -Did you enjoy our Venn Diagram activity in class? In this activity, take the Venn Diagram challenge! See if you can figure out the rules of the Venn Diagram by placing the correct sizes, shapes, & colors into the appropriate circles. When you think that you have finished, be sure to select the rule for each circle by selecting from the drop-down menu. Once you have selected the appropriate rules click the "Check Rule" box to see if you were correct. Good luck! If you enjoyed this activity, why don't you try your hand at these other math Venn Diagrams:

Walking with Beasts- Camouflage -Whether you are a predator or prey, your color and color pattern can help you survive depending on the environment that you live in. Try different combinations of colors and patterns and see how they look in different environments!

Evolving Butterflies! -In class, we learned that certain butterflies that are either poisonous or distasteful have evolved to have patterns and colors that warn others that they are not good to eat. This game is an interesting similulation of how this type of evolution works.

Brains vs. Prawns! -This is a really cool activity that comes from the University of Exeter in England. Prawns are a type of crustacean that is closely related to shrimp. The chameleon prawn is a small species occupying several seaweed species in shallow rock pools throughout the United Kingdom. They get their name for their ability to switch between being green or red to camouflage. Some types of chameleon prawns can take on an intermediate brown color, while others are largely transparent with only a few visible stripes. The University of Exeter is interested in understanding more about prawn coloration and its ability to survive when seen against native and non-native species of seaweed. Using this game to help them in their research, you are a prawn predator. Click on each prawn as fast as you can find them!

Spot the Ladybirds! -Like some species of butterflies, ladybugs (also called ladybirds in England) use warning coloration to warn predators that they are either distasteful or poisonous. See how quickly you can spot the ladybugs in this research game from the University of Exeter.

Dazzle Bug -This is another game that tests your ability to see how well you are able to spot insects that camouflage.

Bird Beak Adaptation Game -Do you remember playing the bird beak adaptation activity in class? This game will really test your ability to figure out what type of beak works best for different ways of feeding! Click here for an even more challenging version of this game!

Build a Fish -We learned in class that all birds have a certain design to their beak that enables them to capture specific types of food. But the survival strategy of having a specific body design can be applied to just about any creature out there in the world! In this activity, see if you can design a fish with the right adaptations to survive. Try different combinations and see which ones work together.

Mare's Build a Fish -Here is another activity that puts you in charge of designing a fish that best suits its environment. What I particularly like about this activity, is that it lets you choose from 6 different environments. Be sure to click on "instructions" before playing this activity.

Design a Caterpillar -Have you ever spotted an unusual looking caterpillar and wondered why it had such an unusual color or appearance to it? This activity will allow you to design different caterpillars that live in different environments. As you are designing each caterpillar, ask yourself the following questions: "Who is the caterpillar's enemy?" "How can the caterpillar avoid being eaten?" "Can it blend into its surroundings?" "Can it scare away or startle its enemy?"

Design an Insect -This is a fun activity that gives you the opportunity to design an insect in which you get to choose different common types of wings, mouths, and legs. You also get to choose the color of these body parts as well. Once you've designed your insect, test it in different types of environments and see how well it survives.

Food Chains -This activity provides a nice overview of the basic parts of a food chain. Once you've reviewed the basic parts, see if you can put all of the plants and animals in the correct spots for 3 different habitats: a woodland area, a river, and a seashore habitat.

The Food Chain Game -This activity starts out REALLY easy and then gets more difficult as you go along. See if you can correctly place each organism in the correct spot for each food chain. Click here for the flash version.

Producers, Consumers, & Decomposers -All living things need energy in order to survive. Play this activity to learn how organisms can be classified by how they obtain their energy. Click here for the flash version.

Carnivore, Herbivore, or Omnivore Part 1 -As you learned in the activity above, organisms that do not make their food directly from the Sun's energy are called consumers. Consumers have different names based on the type of diet that they eat. Click on this activity to learn more!

Build a Food Web -In this activity, your job is to build a food web. Move each arrow from the predator and place it directly over what it eats. If you are correct, the arrow will lock into place. HINT: Feel free to move the pictures around on the screen so that you can easily see all of the feeding relationships!

Food Chain Challenge- The Savanna -How familiar are you with the African Savanna ecosytem? The African Savanna ecosytem is a tropical grassland with warm temperatures all year long. Be sure to use the left and right arrows to explore this habitat. Click here to see a short video about the animals that live in the Savanna ecosytem!

Food Chain Challenge- The Tundra -How familiar are you with the Arctic Tundra ecosytem? The Arctic Tundra is the coldest biome on earth. It supports only the hardiest of plants and animals. Be sure to use the left and right arrows to explore this habitat. Click here to see a short video about the Tundra ecosystem!

Food Chain Challenge- The Woodland Habitat -How familiar are you with the Woodland ecosytem? If you've done any exploring in our forests in the United States, you might already be familiar with some of the plants and animals that live in this ecosystem. Be sure to use the left and right arrows to explore this habitat.

Make an Ocean Food Web -In third grade, you got a chance to learn about ocean habitats when you took your field trip to Sandy Hook. In this activity, see if you can correctly place each marine organism in its feeding level in a giant ocean food web. Be sure to use the hints and pay careful attention to the arrows drawn in the food web. For best results, start by determining what producers belong at the bottom of the food web and work your way up from there!

Food Chain Reaction -A lot of people don't realize just how much the survival of each plant and animal affects the balance of a food web. Play this game to learn more.

How Wolves Change Rivers (Movie) -In 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife services reintroduced wolves back into Yellowstone National Park. This fascinating short film explores how the reintroduction of wolves has had a far-reaching impact, not just on the entire ecosystem of Yellowstone, but even on the land and rivers themselves.

The Minibeast Identification Game -Scientists oftentimes use what's called a dichotomous key to classify living things. See if you can follow the flow of this chart to correctly identify the various minibeasts in this activity.

Life Cycle Games -See if you can correctly place the various life cycle stages of three different organisms in this game.

Life in the City -You might not think that the city would be a habitat that would support a great diversity of life. This activity takes you to a city park and gives you a closer look at the surprising world around us!

Natural Selection Simulation -This is a simulation of how animal traits evolve over time. This is a bit advanced for 4th graders, but it is really cool nonetheless!

Who Wants to Live a Million Years? -Why do giraffes have long necks? Why do polar bears have thick fur? In this activity, you will learn about Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. After doing so, play the Survival Game and see if you can survive for a million years!

Mixing Light Beams and Mixing Paint -This activity allows you to create an almost infinite amount of colors by mixing different amounts of red, green, & blue light beams. Be sure to click on the "Mix to Match" button and test your ability to match the color given by controlling the various amounts of these 3 light beams. Also, be sure to check out the Mixing Ink/Paint section as well!

Color Vision Simulation -Have you ever stopped to wonder why certain things around us are the colors that they are? This simulation will help you to better understand that the colors that we see are actually the reflection of certain speeds of light back to our eyes. This simulation will also help model what happens when we use different colored filters.

Interactive Optical Illusions -Certain patterns confuse our eyes and our brain. Scientists are still riddled by why some of these illusions trick our brain. There are over 30 interactive optical illusions on this page. Which one is your favorite?

Why is the Sky Blue? -This is an age-old question that I get asked all of the time. This website does a good job of explaining why the sky is blue and why we have the different colored sunrises and sunsets

Sound Beats -In class, we learned that pitch (highness & lowness) is controlled by the frequency of the pitch. This sound experiment allows you to listen to sounds that have a similar frequency. When you play two pitches that are similar in frequency, you will hear pulses (or beats) due to the interference of the sound waves.

Sight vs. Sound Reflexes -Which will you respond to faster, seeing something flash on the screen or hearing a sound? This activity will explore this question by letting you design your own experiment. The results just might surprise you?

Dangerous Decibels Virtual Exhibit -If you're not careful, you can actually do permanent damage to your ears if you don't take care of them. Remember, you're only born with 2 good ears. If you don't take care of them, you could suffer from permanent hearing loss. This site has a lot of great activities to learn about how you can protect your ears.

Layers of the Earth -This site does a great job of quickly explaining the three basic layers of the Earth.

Test Your Soil IQ -Let's see just how well you understand the basics of soil and why soil is so very important to us. See if you are a soil expert by getting all 8 questions correct in this activity.

"The Dirt on Soil"- Soil Safari -Get ready to take the pilot's seat of the Earth Ship as you travel on a microscopic safari through the soil beneath your feet! Your help is desperately needed in this area where a toxic chemical is making its way through to the underground water. Your job is to discover what kind of soil organism can actually eat this toxic chemical. Can you find this organism in time to save the meadow? Let the adventures begin!

Soil Composting -Plants need soil that is enriched with nutrients. You can help enrich the soil by composting. In this activity, decide which items get recycled, and which items need to be put in the composting bin.

Fossil Fun!- Burying Bodies -A lot about what we have learned about the Earth's history comes from its fossil record. This activity helps you understand what are the perfect conditions in order for a fossil to be formed. Click and drag the dead beast in this activity and place it in different parts of the picture to see what happens!

Making Fossils -A once living organism must go on a lengthy journey before it can reappear at the surface as a fossil. It's very rare that all the conditions are right for this strange process to happen. This website does a very nice job of giving you an overview of the types of fossils and how they form.

Layers of Time -This is a really cool game. Using the fossils found in each layer of rock, see if you can correctly place the rock layers in order from the oldest layer (being on the bottom) to youngest layer (being on the top.) When doing this activity, be sure to use the fossil clues in each layer to help you match layers of rock that belong together.

Journey Through Time -This is also a really cool activity. Take a journey through time to look at some of the creatures that lived on our planet millions of years ago.

How are Fossils Formed? -This site gives you a nice overview of how dinosaur fossils formed. Be sure to click on the other tabs to continue your adventure.

Shape it Up! -In science lab, we explored how the Grand Canyon was formed by the powerful eroding force of water. This activity explores how wind, water, volcanoes, and glaciers have an impact on the shape of our land over time. Be sure to play this game more than once! Although you might get the same landform with the same erosional force, it might be showing you a different length of time!

The Water Cycle Explained (Video) -Click on the various parts of this interactive to learn more about all of the processes that are involved in the water cycle.

Water Cycle Diagram -Click on the various parts of this interactive diagram to learn more about all of the processes that are involved in the water cycle.

Water Cycle Game -This activity is a great way to learn about and remember all of the important parts of the water cycle.

How much do I weigh on Mars? - Go to the weighing station to find out! As you learned in third grade, gravity is the force that pulls things towards the center of the Earth. When we weigh something, we are actually measuring this force! Your bodyweight will be different, depending on what planet you're standing on!

Planet Size Comparison -You might be wondering why Pluto is no longer considered a planet in our solar system. Several of the reasons as to why it lost its planetary status all have to do with the fact that it is not very large. In fact, Pluto is even smaller than our Moon! This activity does a great job doing side-by-side comparisons of our planets. Just make two selections and then click on the "compare" button.

Solar System Jigsaw Puzzle -In the first level of this game, see if you can put all of our planets in their correct place. The second level tests your ability to place all of the moons found in our solar system in the correct place. Don't forget to play the third level of this game called the "Hardware Level." This level tests your ability to correctly place all of the probes & telescopes found in our solar system.

Name the Planets -Do you know your solar system? Warm up with this activity! Click and drag the correct name over the correct picture. This activity came out a long time ago! How do I know that?? Well... scientists don't even consider Pluto to be a "planet" anymore. Due to its small size, we now consider Pluto to be a dwarf planet.

How Much Light Pollution is in Our Sky? -This site will give you a great idea as to how much light pollution there is in our area. It will also give you a little bit different perspective of the night sky depending upon what latitude you place yourself in the world. If you move the other slider closer towards the street light, you will see how much more of the night sky that you are missing out on!

Mr. Nolde's Pictures from the Nov. 8th 2003 Lunar Eclipse -As we learned in class, eclipses of the moon are more commonly seen. If you ever get a chance to witness a lunar eclipse, I highly recommend documenting its progress with a digital camera just like I did!

Mr. Nolde's Pictures from the Oct. 27th 2004 Lunar Eclipse -Here is my second attempt at documenting a lunar eclipse. This time, I was able to do some more experimenting with the shutter speed to capture more of the red & orange colors when the moon was completely eclipsed by the Earth.

Solar Eclipse Animations -Did you know that there are actually three types of solar eclipses? Click here to see animations of all three types of solar eclipses.

Balloons and Static Electricity -Have you ever rubbed a balloon against a wool sweater and then attached the balloon to a nearby wall? What really happens when we do this? This website provides a great visual as to what happens to the electrical charges when we do this.

The Hidden Dangers of Electricity -Every year, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. are killed or injured from contact with electricity. Play this game to learn more about how you can protect you, your friends, & family from the dangers of electricity. See if you can get a perfect score of 16,500 points by being able to correctly identify each dangerous electrical situation in all three of the neighborhoods in this game. Good luck!

Power UP! -Your mission in this activity is to provide enough power for your city without running out of money or making too damaging an impact on our environment. BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE "?" in the upper left corner of the screen to learn more about how to play! What might surprise you in this activity, is that almost ALL power plants have a negative impact on our environment. It's just that some power plants have a more negative impact on our environment than others. The most interesting thing that I learned from playing this activity, is that it is a difficult job as a city planner to keep spending costs in mind while still trying to do what's ultimately best for the health of our planet.

Make the Safe Choice -Making the wrong decisions when it comes to electricity could cost you your life! Test your ability to handle electrical hazards in the home by playing this game. See if you can get a perfect score of 12.

The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits -This is a great website that lets you explore how & why electrical circuits work. This guide has five sections. Use the buttons on the bottom of the screen to jump to each section. Click on the "?" to learn more about each section, and be sure to play the activity that is found in each section as well.

The Fusebox-Building Circuits -This activity on building circuits has 3 different levels. Level one allows you to build simple circuits. Level two lets you build series circuits. Level three is all about building parallel circuits.

Conductors & Insulators Experiment -Did you enjoy our experiment testing different materials to see whether or not they conduct electricity in science lab? If so, you're going to LOVE this activity! There are even a few items that might still surprise you! Just click on the pickle to start the activity.

Magnets & Electromagnets Around the House -Find as many of the magnets and electromagnets as you can in this house. I think that you will be surprised just how many magnets and electromagnets are found in many common items around the house.

Build an Electromagnet -Try to build the strongest electromagnet that you can by picking up all 500 iron filings! In this experiment, you can change the type of wire, the wire thickness, the number of coils, the type of current, and how much current. Only when you use the correct combination of these five ingredients, will you be able to pick up all 500 iron filings!

The Circuit Construction Kit -This is one of the best interactive sites that I've seen on electricity. This site allows you to build all of the circuits that we have built in class plus much, much more!

The Skeleton Games Tutorial -Before playing both levels of this game linked below, please go through the skeleton tutorial first. Click on each bone and carefully read the description that appears in the white box to learn more about each bone. When you have finished the tutorial, play skeleton games listed below!

The Skeleton Game Level 1 -Be sure to go through the skeleton tutorial that is linked above. When you have finished the tutorial, play this game and see if you can get a perfect score of 25/25! Once you've gotten a perfect score on the 1st skeleton game, see if you can get a perfect score of 25/25 on the second skeleton game linked below.

The Skeleton Game Level 2 - Once you've gotten a perfect score on the 1st skeleton game, see if you can get a perfect score of 25/25 on the second skeleton game.

Digestive System Games -Before playing both levels of this game, go through the digestion tutorial. Click on each part of the digestive system and carefully read the description that appears in the tan-colored box to learn more about each organ. When you have finished the tutorial, play digestion game 1 first. See if you get a perfect score of 10/10. Once you've gotten a perfect score on that game, see if you can get a perfect score of 10/10 on the second game as well. Once you've done that, then you're ready to play the quiz game! See if you can get a PERFECT score of 20/20! Please keep in mind that some organs are used more than once in the quiz!

Build a Skeleton -In this activity, you will get to build the skeletons of 4 different animals. You will start with an animal that has an exoskeleton instead of real bones. As we learned in class, lobsters really don't have bones that protect their body, but have a semi-hard outer covering called an exoskeleton. As you are building each one, think about the similarities that you see in each animal's skeletal system.

Bones of the Human Body -See if you can correctly label this human skeleton by clicking on the correct place for each question asked.

Bertie's Body -Bertie had his vital organs out for spring cleaning but, unfortunately, the doctors forgot to put them back in properly. Can you help Bertie by putting them back in the correct places?

The Crazy Calcium Caper -It is so very important to make sure that we get enough calcium in what we eat every day. Play this game to discover how we can do this!

What Makes You YOU? -Did you ever wonder what makes each of us different from one another? This movie will give you a clearer understanding of what genetics is and why we are all different.

Changing our Perception -We know how to put one foot in front of the other. With a bit of practice, our brain has learned how to perceive the world in the "correct" way. What happens when our "correct" world of perception is changed? Try to see how fast you can work the typewriter in this experiment!

Click on any of the subject areas to quickly get to that section of the 4th Grade Page.
Classifying Living Things	Color, Light, & Sound	Electricity & Magnetism
The Human Body	Landforms	The Solar System


To Fourth Grade!!