Year 4 Science Resources and Lesson Plans
Explore ready-to-teach Year 4 Science resources, lesson plans and schemes of work designed to support the Year 4 Science curriculum. Covering key National Curriculum Science topics including living things and their habitats, animals including humans, states of matter, sound and electricity, our Year 4 Science lessons include practical activities, experiments, worksheets and opportunities to develop children's Working Scientifically skills.
Popular Year 4 Science Schemes of Work:
What should children learn in Year 4 Science?
Year 4 Science develops children's understanding of living things, the human body, materials and physical processes. Across topics including habitats, digestion, states of matter, sound and electricity, children continue to build their Working Scientifically skills through practical investigation, observation, measurement and recording results.
Explore living things and habitats
Group living things in different ways, use classification keys to identify plants and animals, and explore how changes to an environment can affect the living things found there.
Learn about digestion and food chains
Explore the basic parts and functions of the human digestive system, identify different types of teeth and their functions, and construct and interpret simple food chains.
Investigate states of matter
Compare and group materials as solids, liquids or gases, observe how some materials change state when heated or cooled, and explore evaporation, condensation and the water cycle.
Explore sound
Investigate how sounds are produced by vibrations, explore how sound travels through different materials and discover how pitch and volume can be changed.
Investigate electricity
Construct simple electrical circuits, identify common appliances that use electricity, recognise whether a circuit will work and explore conductors, insulators and switches.
Develop scientific enquiry skills
Ask relevant questions, set up practical enquiries and fair tests, make careful observations and measurements, record findings and use evidence to identify patterns and draw conclusions.
Everything you need to teach Year 4 Science
Planning the whole year? Our Year 4 Science Bundle brings together ready-to-teach schemes of work covering the key Year 4 Science curriculum topics, including living things and their habitats, animals including humans, states of matter, sound and electricity.
Explore the Year 4 Science Bundle →Ready for the whole year
Explore our Year 4 Science Resources
Browse our complete collection of Year 4 Science resources, lesson plans and schemes of work. Discover engaging Year 4 Science topics including living things and their habitats, animals including humans, states of matter, sound and electricity, with practical activities, investigations and ready-to-teach lessons designed to support the Year 4 Science curriculum and develop Working Scientifically skills.
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Planning Year 4 Science
When planning Science in Year 4, give children plenty of opportunities to explore scientific ideas through practical investigations, observation and discussion. Year 4 Science topics should cover living things and their habitats, animals including humans, states of matter, sound and electricity, helping children build on their earlier KS2 learning and make connections between different areas of scientific knowledge.
Continue to develop Working Scientifically skills across each topic by encouraging children to ask relevant questions, set up practical enquiries and fair tests, make careful observations and measurements, and record their findings using tables, diagrams, charts and graphs. Year 4 Science experiments and investigations should also help children identify patterns, use results to draw conclusions, make predictions and use scientific evidence to explain what they have discovered.
Planning Science for your whole school? Explore our Science Curriculum Packs →Frequently Asked Questions about Year 4 Science
What Science topics are taught in Year 4?
The Year 4 Science curriculum covers five main areas: Living Things and Their Habitats, Animals Including Humans, States of Matter, Sound and Electricity. Children also continue to develop their Working Scientifically skills through practical investigations, observations, measurements and scientific enquiry.
What do children learn about living things and their habitats in Year 4?
In Year 4, children learn to recognise that living things can be grouped in different ways. They use classification keys to identify and group living things and explore how environments can change, including how these changes may affect the plants and animals that live there.
What do children learn about animals including humans in Year 4?
Year 4 children explore the human digestive system and learn about the functions of its main parts. They also investigate different types of teeth and their functions and construct and interpret simple food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.
What do children learn about states of matter in Year 4?
Children compare and group materials according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases. They investigate how heating and cooling can cause materials to change state and learn about evaporation and condensation, including the role these processes play in the water cycle.
What do children learn about sound in Year 4?
Children investigate how sounds are produced by vibrations and how these vibrations travel through a medium to the ear. They explore pitch and volume and investigate how factors such as the strength of vibrations and distance from a sound source can affect what we hear.
What do children learn about electricity in Year 4?
Year 4 children learn how to construct simple electrical circuits using components such as cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers. They investigate whether a circuit will work, explore the role of switches and identify common electrical conductors and insulators.
What Working Scientifically skills should Year 4 children develop?
Year 4 pupils should have opportunities to ask relevant questions, set up simple practical enquiries and fair tests, make systematic observations and measurements, record and present data, identify patterns and draw conclusions. They should also begin to use scientific evidence to support their findings and suggest improvements or further questions.
What are some good Year 4 Science experiments and activities?
Useful Year 4 Science activities include creating classification keys, investigating the effects of environmental change, modelling the digestive system, exploring melting and freezing, investigating evaporation, making simple musical instruments to explore sound and building electrical circuits. Practical activities work particularly well when they are used to develop both scientific knowledge and Working Scientifically skills.
How can I plan Year 4 Science lessons?
A Year 4 Science lesson should usually combine clear scientific knowledge with opportunities for children to investigate, observe, discuss and record their findings. Across a sequence of lessons, children can revisit key vocabulary and concepts while gradually developing greater independence in planning investigations, collecting evidence and drawing conclusions.
Where can I find Year 4 Science lesson plans and resources?
PlanBee's Year 4 Science resources include ready-to-teach lesson plans, teaching slides, worksheets, activities and practical investigations covering the key Year 4 National Curriculum Science topics. You can also use the Year 4 Science Bundle for ready-to-teach coverage across the year.
