Key Stage 2 · Years 3 and 4 · ages 7 to 9
Years 3 and 4 science: what your child learns
Years 3 and 4 are when children begin planning fair tests and measuring in standard units, with thermometers and data loggers. Year 3 covers flowering plants, nutrition, skeletons, rocks, light, forces and magnets; Year 4 covers grouping living things, digestion, states of matter, sound and electricity. Children record results in tables and bar charts and use them to draw simple conclusions.
Guides for parents
Years 3 and 4 science
Fair tests and enquiries
How children in Years 3 and 4 ask scientific questions, plan fair tests, take careful measurements with standard units and record data, with a worked plan and home ideas.
Years 3 and 4 science
Results and conclusions
How children in Years 3 and 4 record science results in tables and bar charts, explain what they found, make predictions and suggest improvements, with a worked example.
Everything in the Years 3 and 4 science curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Years 3 and 4, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.
Working scientifically
Plants
Animals, including humans
- Nutrition, skeletons and muscles (Year 3)
- Digestion, teeth and food chains (Year 4)
Rocks
- Rocks, fossils and soils (Year 3)
Light
- Light, reflection and shadows (Year 3)
Forces and magnets
- Forces, friction and magnets (Year 3)
Living things and their habitats
States of matter
Sound
- How sounds are made and travel (Year 4)