Singapore Primary 4 Science Syllabus

This syllabus outlines the key concepts, skills, and values students are expected to acquire in Primary 4 Science. The curriculum is structured around five core themes: Diversity, Cycles, Systems, Interactions, and Energy.

Diversity

This theme explores the variety of living and non-living things. Students learn to classify organisms and materials based on their characteristics.

• Diversity of Living and Non-Living Things: Students learn to describe the characteristics of living things, such as needing water, food, and air, and their ability to grow, respond, and reproduce. They also learn to classify living things into broad groups like plants (flowering and non-flowering), animals (amphibians, birds, fish, insects, mammals, reptiles), fungi (mold, mushroom, yeast), and bacteria.
• Diversity of Materials: Students explore the properties of various materials (wood, metal, ceramic, rubber, glass, plastic, fabric) and relate these properties to their uses. They compare materials based on strength, flexibility, ability to float/sink, waterproof properties, and transparency.

Cycles

This theme focuses on repeated patterns of change in nature.

• Cycles in Matter and Water (Matter): Students learn that matter has mass and occupies space. They also learn to differentiate between the three states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) based on shape and volume.

Systems

This theme explores how parts work together to form a whole.

• Human System (Digestive System): Students identify the main parts of the human digestive system (mouth, gullet, stomach, small intestine, large intestine) and describe their functions. They are also introduced to other human systems (respiratory, circulatory, skeletal, and muscular) and their overall functions.
• Plant System (Plant Parts and Functions): Students identify different plant parts (leaf, stem, root) and their functions.

Interactions

This theme examines the actions between and within living and non-living things.

• Interaction of Forces (Magnets): Students learn that magnets exert pushes and pulls, identify their characteristics (poles, attraction/repulsion), and recognize their uses in everyday objects.

Energy

This theme investigates different forms of energy and their uses.

• Energy Forms and Uses (Light): Students learn that objects can be seen when they reflect light or emit light. They investigate how shadows are formed and how the shape, size, position of the object, and distance from the light source affect the shadow.
• Energy Forms and Uses (Heat): Students identify common sources of heat, learn that temperature measures the degree of hotness, and understand that heat is a form of energy. They also explore how heat flows from hotter to colder objects, the effects of heat gain/loss, and differentiate between good and poor conductors of heat.

This comprehensive overview provides a detailed look at the Singapore Primary 4 Science syllabus, equipping students with a strong foundation for future scientific learning.