Autumn Term

Unit 1: Electricity

• Electricity is everywhere and just like light from Year 3, it is important that children understand the integral part it plays in keeping the world moving and thriving. Children will know common electrical appliances and will be able to identify plugs, sockets etc. Children will be given the opportunity to investigate a simple series of electrical circuits. The children will be introduced to each of the basic parts of a circuit and will continue to develop this by attempting to make a bulb light, including using switches.

Unit 2: Sound

• Sound is a part of everyday life and this unit is to educate the children in how sound is transported from an object into the ear through vibrations. Children will find patterns between objects and the sounds they make and categorise them, using this knowledge which will in turn help them make predictions. Sound will be investigated in a variety of ways including volume and distance.

Spring Term

Unit 3: States of Matter

• Using their knowledge of materials from Year 1 and 2, children will explore a variety of everyday materials including categorising states of matter into solids, liquids and gases.  They will develop knowledge about how particles move in different materials and be able to compare and group them.

Unit 4: Living Things and Their Habitats

• Children will use the knowledge they have developed about different types of habitats in year 2 to help them understand how environments can change and how this can sometimes pose a danger to living things. Children’s understanding of food chains and how animals obtain their food, which is taught in Year 2 will also be vital in ensuring children understand how changes to the environment can pose danger to living things

Summer Term

Unit 5: Animals Including Humans

• Building on Y2 knowledge of food chains, Y4 begin to construct and interpret a variety of food chains and identify producers, predators and prey, within the animals and humans unit. In Year 3, children developed their knowledge and understanding of the human body as they began to look more closely at the skeleton and muscles in the body. They learned about how our body can move and how our body is supported and protected. In Year 4, they will be able to make connections with this learning as they begin to learn about the basic parts of the digestive system and its functions.