CONTENTSOn this page
Draft curriculum content
This page is based on the draft Year 4 content for Science, which is currently open for feedback. Schools are not required to implement changes until the consultation process is confirmed.
Have your say:
In Year 4, your child will investigate how energy and forces work, how materials behave and change, how plants and animals grow and survive, and how Earth and space influence life.
Students begin to explain their thinking using evidence from their observations. They notice patterns and differences and start using basic scientific methods, such as measuring and comparing results.
They learn that good science explanations are based on what they see and test, not just what they think. They will begin to understand that science has its own unique way of thinking and communicating.
Physical Science#
Materials#
With your child, you could:
- watch ice cubes melt in a glass, and talk about how the ice changes from a solid to a liquid as it absorbs heat and the more heat it absorbs, the faster the ice melts
- boil a pot of water and watch the steam rise
- make ice blocks together and talk about how when water freezes into a solid block, it takes up more space
- breathe on a mirror or cold window, watch water droplets form, and talk about how water vapor, in the warm air we breathe out, can turn into liquid when cooled
- compare different types of solid object materials at home, those that hold their shape (like a key or a glass) and those made of tiny grains that can flow (like sugar or sand), notice how for those that can flow the tiny grains hold their shape, but the material as a whole behaves differently (can flow).
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child's understanding of the three states of matter, how heating and cooling cause changes of state, and how matter behaves differently in each state.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- explain how matter has mass, takes up space, and exists in three different states: gas, liquid and solid
- describe solids as having a definite shape and volume, liquids as having a definite volume but taking the shape of their container, and gases as having neither definite shape nor volume
- identify changes of state: melting (solid to liquid), boiling or evaporation (liquid to gas), freezing (liquid to solid) and condensation (gas to liquid)
- state that at sea level pure water boils at 100°C and freezes at 0°C
- demonstrate that heating causes most materials to melt or change state, and cooling causes them to freeze or condense
- recognise that some solids, like powder and grains, can be poured like liquids.
Matter interactions and energy#
With your child, you could:
- pour warm water into a cold glass, observe how the glass warms up, and explain how heat moves from the water to the glass
- put ice cubes in a glass of water and observe how the ice melts and the water cools, and explain how heat from the water melts the ice
- use a thermometer to measure the temperature of a warm drink, something from the fridge or tap water
- place two objects in sunlight, one dark (like a black wallet or belt) and one light (like a light-coloured container), and compare which one feels hotter after a minute
- leave a metal spoon and a plastic spoon in a cup of warm water, then remove them after a few moments, feel which one is warmer and talk about how different materials absorb or ‘hold’ heat differently.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child's understanding of sources of thermal energy, how heat transfers from warmer materials to cooler ones, how to measure temperature, how thermal energy can be transferred by light and how different materials absorb and release thermal energy.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- identify thermal energy sources, including the Sun, fire, friction and electricity
- explain that thermal energy moves from warmer materials to cooler materials, not the other way around, and continues until both materials reach the same temperature
- measure temperature using a thermometer in degrees Celsius
- describe how light warms objects by being absorbed and transforming into thermal energy
- demonstrate that different materials and colours absorb light and heat up at different rates.
Motion and forces#
With your child, you could:
- push and pull a toy car to make it go at different speeds, and talk about how strong pushes and gentle pushes affect its movement
- roll a toy on carpet, tile and grass, notice how the car slows down faster on rough surfaces, and talk about how the type of surface changes its movement
- compare speeds using a scooter or bike to walking or running.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child's understanding of how forces push and pull objects, how speed and direction describe movement, how friction depends on surfaces, and how forces can change motion.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- explain that forces are pushes or pulls that can make objects move, stop, and change direction or change shape
- describe speed as how fast or slow something moves, and compare which object is faster by observing distance or time
- identify friction as a force that opposes movement between surfaces that are in contact with each other
- demonstrate that different surfaces create different amounts of friction, affecting how objects move
- compare the speed of movement using everyday language like fast, slow, constant, or changing speed
- use simple diagrams with arrows to show where a force is pushing or pulling an object, and how strong that force is.
Earth systems#
With your child, you could:
- on a sunny day after it rains, mark puddles with chalk and check them throughout the day to see how the puddle gets smaller and disappears (evaporation), and discuss where the water goes
- watch water boiling on the stove, and talk about how the steam rising into the air is water turning into vapour
- observe how the mirror fogs up after a hot shower (condensation), and compare this to how rain is formed
- watch clouds move across the sky, appearing and disappearing, and talk about how clouds are made of tiny water droplets
- go for a walk in the morning and observe dew or frost on the grass or spider webs, and discuss how water vapour in the air condenses at night when it is cooler, settles on surfaces, but dries when the sun heats it
- when it rains, hails or snows, talk about the water falling from clouds.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child's understanding of how the Sun's heat causes water to evaporate, how water vapour condenses into clouds, how changes of state create weather, and how water constantly cycles between Earth and the atmosphere.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- explain that the Sun’s heat causes water to evaporate from oceans, rivers, lakes and soil
- describe how water vapour condenses into visible liquid droplets, forming clouds
- identify that changes of state (evaporation, condensation, freezing) create different types of weather
- recognise precipitation as rain, snow or hail that falls from clouds to Earth
- draw and explain the water cycle and show how water moves between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere through different states.
Earth and Space#
With your child, you could:
- during Matariki (June or July), wake up early and look at the eastern sky before sunrise to find Matariki, a small cluster of stars close together that appears at the same time each year
- explain that Matariki marks the start of the new year for Māori and signals the beginning of winter, and attend Matariki celebrations in your area
- look at pictures of Matariki online and notice that it has several clusters together, and compare it to other constellations you can see in the sky
- over several weeks, notice where Matariki appears in the sky and talk about its position changing throughout the year
- explain that the Earth’s movement makes stars, like the Sun, appear to move across the sky, but they do not, as the Earth moves around the Sun, we can see different constellations.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child's understanding of Matariki as a seasonal marker, its changing position throughout the year, and its cultural significance to Māori and other cultures worldwide.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- identify Matariki as a star cluster visible in the eastern morning sky during mid-winter in New Zealand
- explain that Matariki marks the Māori new year and signals seasonal change for many iwi
- observe and describe the position of Matariki at different times and recognise how it changes throughout the year
- list some of the different names for this star cluster in different cultures, for example, Subaru in Japan
- relate the position of Matariki to seasonal and environmental patterns in New Zealand.
With your child, you could:
- visit a museum and look at skeletons of animals, find the backbone in each, compare displays of insects, crabs, snail shells, and ask if these animals have backbones
- discuss extinct animals like the dodo and moa
- look at the underside of ferns, identify the spores, and talk about what they do for the plant
- make bread and watch it rise and talk about the tiny organisms called yeast that make it rise.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on explaining scientific classification systems and why scientists use categories to organise plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. They use simple criteria, such as classifying animals as vertebrates or invertebrates, and plants as flowering or non-flowering, as well as identifying and grouping common types of fungi by observable structures, including mushrooms, moulds, and yeasts. Students will learn about how bacteria can be classified according to whether they are harmful (causing disease) or beneficial (gut bacteria that aid in digestion).
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- know that organisms can be organised into groups (animals, plants, fungi, algae, bacteria)
- know that animals can be vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) or invertebrates (snails, worms, insects, spiders)
- know that plants are either flowering (like trees and grasses) or non-flowering (like ferns and mosses)
- describe a species as a group of organisms that are of the same kind, each with its own special name, that can have offspring together
- know that some organisms cannot be seen with the naked eye, microorganisms
- identify that some bacteria are helpful, such as those in the human digestive system, and some are harmful, such as those that cause disease
- recognise that there are many extinct plants and animals, like dinosaurs and moa
- use examples from their knowledge of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria to demonstrate that similar organisms are often closely related, and those that look very different are less likely to be closely related.
