Sierra Leone Primary 4 Curriculum - Science

This curriculum for Science is based on the National Curriculum Framework and Guidelines for Basic Education in Sierra Leone. It was developed through nationwide consultations and workshops, taking into account accelerated learning needs.

First Stage of Basic Education (Class 1-3)

This stage focuses on foundational science concepts, introducing students to their immediate environment and basic life processes.

Class 1:

• The Child and His or Her Home Environment: This topic introduces the concept of living and non-living things, focusing on the child's immediate surroundings. Students learn to identify themselves as part of a family and community, and explore the characteristics of plants and animals. They also learn about Sierra Leone's national animal, the chimpanzee, and its importance in the ecosystem.
• Movement and Physical Development: This topic focuses on the human body, its parts, and their functions. Students learn about the effects of losing a body part and the importance of physical well-being.
• Nutrition and Health: This topic introduces the concept of food and its importance for health. Students learn to identify and classify local foods, and discuss their food choices.
• Physical Health: This topic focuses on health practices, including identifying sick and healthy individuals, and understanding the role of health facilities.
• Places Where People and Animals Live: This topic introduces the concept of habitats and explores the interdependence of humans and animals. Students learn about the importance of respecting and protecting animals, particularly Sierra Leone's national animal.

Class 2:

• The Child and His or Her Home Environment: This topic builds on the previous year's learning, exploring the characteristics of living organisms in more detail. Students learn about the chimpanzee's characteristics and its endangered status. They also explore the uses of plants and animals in their environment.
• Changes in the Physical Environment: This topic focuses on changes in the environment, including discussions on conservation and the role of organizations like the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary.
• Movement and Physical Development (Personal Hygiene): This topic emphasizes personal hygiene, covering topics such as handwashing, teeth cleaning, bathing, and overall body care.
• Nutrition and Health: This topic focuses on food sources and the importance of keeping the environment clean. Students identify raw food materials and discuss the importance of sanitation.
• The Earth, Sea, Land, Stars, and Moon: This topic introduces basic concepts about the Earth and its place in the universe. Students learn about the Earth's shape, its surrounding water bodies, and the movement of the Earth around the sun.

Class 3:

• The Child and His or Her Home Environment: This topic delves deeper into the study of plants and animals, including their classification, life cycles, and uses. Students learn about the parts of a flowering plant and the diversity of animal life.
• Some Materials in the Environment: This topic introduces the properties of matter, classifying materials into solids, liquids, and gases. Students explore concepts like floating and sinking, and learn about sound and air pressure.
• Movement and Physical Development: This topic focuses on good health practices and environmental sanitation.
• Nutrition and Health: This topic explores the food we eat, balanced diets, and the effects of food shortages.
• Diseases: This topic covers animal-borne diseases, children's illnesses, and the importance of immunization.
• Physical Health: This topic introduces physical fitness and the sense organs.
• The Stars, Planets, and Moon: This topic expands on previous learning about the universe, exploring the solar system and the importance of the stars and moon.
• The Human Body and Development: This topic introduces the different body systems and vital organs, emphasizing respect for personal space and the uniqueness of individuals. It also includes a preliminary discussion of similarities and differences between bodies.

Second Stage of Basic Education (Class 4-6)

This stage builds upon the foundational knowledge from the first stage, exploring more complex scientific concepts and their applications. Details for this stage are less comprehensive in the provided syllabus.

Class 4:

• Science and the Environment: This topic covers living and non-living things, their characteristics, and classification based on habitat. It also touches on the role of Sierra Leone's national animal in forest health.
• Plants and Animals in the Environment: These topics explore the benefits of plants, their classification, and the life cycles of both plants and animals.
• Life Cycles of Some Plants and Animals: This topic focuses on the life cycles of various organisms.
• Matter: This topic covers the identification of common substances, grouping materials into solids, liquids, and gases, changes in materials (with a focus on the effect of water on paper), and the properties of materials before and after heating. It also introduces processes that lead to the formation of new materials and methods for separating mixtures.
• Balancing and Weighing: This topic explores the principles of balance and weight, including factors like weight, pivot, and load position.
• Food and Nutrition: This topic covers human feeding habits, classes of food, testing for nutrients, the digestive system, balanced diets, and the importance of nutrition. It also touches on excretion and waste removal in humans.
• The Earth, the Solar System, and the Moon: This topic explores the components of the solar system, the movement of the moon, and the phases and uses of the moon.
• Light and Sound: These topics cover sources of light, how light travels, shadows, reflection, refraction, and the properties of sound.
• Electricity: This topic introduces the concept of electricity, circuits, and the use of switches.
• Local Industries in Our Community: This topic explores local industries and their processes.
• Personal Hygiene: This topic focuses on body odor, its causes, and prevention, as well as care of the skin.
• The Human Body and Development: This topic includes a discussion of similarities and differences between bodies, emphasizing respect and tolerance. It also introduces the concept of chimpanzees' similarities to humans.

Class 5 and 6: The syllabus provides less detail for these classes, but indicates a continuation and expansion of topics covered in Class 4, including water, machines, ecology and conservation, chemical reactions, disease prevention, puberty, gender, reproduction, contraception, HIV/AIDS, drugs, and accessing prenatal and antenatal services. It also introduces more complex concepts like the kinetic theory of matter, states of matter, motion in plants and animals, and specific body systems.

Third Stage of Basic Education (JSS 1-3)

This stage integrates science concepts into a more comprehensive understanding of the natural world and human interaction with it. It includes topics like introduction to science and society, measurement, matter, chemical reactions, energy, machines, ecology and conservation, life cycles, organs and systems, reproduction, personal hygiene, and gender-based violence. It also covers specific scientific concepts like the periodic table, separation techniques, electricity, magnetism, light, sound, force, work, and power. The syllabus provides increasing detail for each subsequent year, indicating a progression in complexity and depth of understanding.