Year 4 Science skills

explain the roles and interactions of consumers, producers and decomposers within a habitat and how food chains represent feeding relationships

identify sources of water and describe key processes in the water cycle, including movement of water through the sky, landscape and ocean; precipitation; evaporation; and condensation

identify how forces can be exerted by one object on another and investigate the effect of frictional, gravitational and magnetic forces on the motion of objects

examine the properties of natural and made materials including fibres, metals, glass and plastics and consider how these properties influence their use

examine how people use data to develop scientific explanations

consider how people use scientific explanations to meet a need or solve a problem

pose questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations

use provided scaffolds to plan and conduct investigations to answer questions or test predictions, including identifying the elements of fair tests, and considering the safe use of materials and equipment

follow procedures to make and record observations, including making formal measurements using familiar scaled instruments and using digital tools as appropriate

construct and use representations, including tables, simple column graphs and visual or physical models, to organise data and information, show simple relationships and identify patterns

compare findings with those of others, consider if investigations were fair, identify questions for further investigation and draw conclusions

write and create texts to communicate findings and ideas for identified purposes and audiences, using scientific vocabulary and digital tools as appropriate