Year 4 Science Achievement Standard – Australian Curriculum v9
This Achievement Standard describes what students are expected to know and do in Year 4 Science by the end of the year. Teachers can use it to guide assessment design, collect evidence of learning, and ensure planning stays aligned with the Australian Curriculum v9.
What Students Should Know
By the end of Year 4 students identify the roles of organisms in a habitat and construct food chains. They identify key processes in the water cycle and describe how water cycles through the environment. They identify forces acting on objects and describe their effect. They relate the uses of materials to their properties. They explain the role of data in science inquiry. They identify solutions based on scientific explanations and describe the needs these meet.
Students pose questions to identify patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observations. They plan investigations using planning scaffolds, identify key elements of fair tests and describe how they conduct investigations safely. They use simple procedures to make accurate formal measurements. They construct representations to organise data and information and identify patterns and relationships. They compare their findings with those of others, assess the fairness of their investigation, identify further questions for investigation and draw conclusions. They communicate ideas and findings for an identified audience and purpose, including using scientific vocabulary when appropriate.
Content Descriptors by Strand
This standard is supported by 12 Content Descriptors:
Science as a human endeavour
Nature and development of science
AC9S4H01 examine how people use data to develop scientific explanationsUse and influence of science
AC9S4H02 consider how people use scientific explanations to meet a need or solve a problemScience inquiry
Questioning and predicting
AC9S4I01 pose questions to explore observed patterns and relationships and make predictions based on observationsPlanning and conducting
AC9S4I02 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 AC9S4I03 follow procedures to make and record observations, including making formal measurements using familiar scaled instruments and using digital tools as appropriateProcessing, modelling and analysing
AC9S4I04 construct and use representations, including tables, simple column graphs and visual or physical models, to organise data and information, show simple relationships and identify patternsEvaluating
AC9S4I05 compare findings with those of others, consider if investigations were fair, identify questions for further investigation and draw conclusionsCommunicating
AC9S4I06 write and create texts to communicate findings and ideas for identified purposes and audiences, using scientific vocabulary and digital tools as appropriateScience understanding
Biological sciences
AC9S4U01 explain the roles and interactions of consumers, producers and decomposers within a habitat and how food chains represent feeding relationshipsEarth and space sciences
AC9S4U02 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 condensationPhysical sciences
AC9S4U03 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 objectsChemical sciences
AC9S4U04 examine the properties of natural and made materials including fibres, metals, glass and plastics and consider how these properties influence their useAt a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science as a human endeavour | Nature and development of science | 1 | 5 |
| Science as a human endeavour | Use and influence of science | 1 | 6 |
| Science inquiry | Questioning and predicting | 1 | 4 |
| Science inquiry | Planning and conducting | 2 | 8 |
| Science inquiry | Processing, modelling and analysing | 1 | 4 |
| Science inquiry | Evaluating | 1 | 6 |
| Science inquiry | Communicating | 1 | 6 |
| Science understanding | Biological sciences | 1 | 7 |
| Science understanding | Earth and space sciences | 1 | 8 |
| Science understanding | Physical sciences | 1 | 8 |
| Science understanding | Chemical sciences | 1 | 6 |
| Total | 12 | 68 | |