These are the buttons for going to teacher resources.
Above right is the search button. You can get to this 'toolkit' screen from the search, too. Most useful when students have a specific word in mind.
This is the main textbook. It opens in a new tab or window. To close the book, close the tab or window. On a mobile you can swipe to turn pages and also pull corners. On the top right there is a button for searching within the book. You can also zoom in on a page and drag the page to where you want it. Some books have videos embedded.

If there is an 'explorer' book opposite with a similar title it is also a textbook, but with a 2 year reading level lower than the main book.
These creative topics books cover specific topics and reinforce the main book. Use them as further reading, or when more detail is needed for project work.

The books are colour banded using a system of reading ability levels as is standard across British schools. If there are coloured dots, they tell of reading level and also guide you as to how hard the subject matter is: the more dots the harder it is.
This is the interactive topic. It covers the same ground as the book, but with less text and it focuses on read-outs. Suited to whiteboards as well as individual use. Each text passage can be read out and stopped by mouseover or tap. There is a question with interactive answer. Especially helps those with reading challenges.
This is the video gallery. It contains all of the videos in the i-topic and more. You can use this if you wish to manage videos rather than have them as part of the i-topic.
This is an interactive audio-visual experience. It contains a wide variety of topics to help students approach a topic in a less formal way. They select items and hear them read out. Copyright restrictions apply: the material cannot be used in other websites.
These are additional resources, such as topic books.
  • Statutory programme of study.

• The books below cover the ground needed for each statutory requirement.

• If you need guidance on how to teach the topic, take the academy course by clicking the 'Lessons' icon. (Also suited to parent use.)

• Remember you can enhance this by using our safe search. For example, search bear, lion, beaver.
• Also remember each book has its own search, top right immediately above the page.
• For teacher guides and more visit the academy links.

Year 4 has the following 5 themes. Please select the one you want:

1. Groups of living things

2. Teeth, digestion and food chains

3. States of matter

4. Sound (scroll down)

5. Electricity

4. Sound

Guidance
Pupils should explore and identify the way sound is made through vibration in a range of different musical instruments from around the world; and find out how the pitch and volume of sounds can be changed in a variety of ways.
Pupils might work scientifically by: finding patterns in the sounds that are made by different objects such as saucepan lids of different sizes or elastic bands of different thicknesses.
They might make earmuffs from a variety of different materials to investigate which provides the best insulation against sound. They could make and play their own instruments by using what they have found out about pitch and volume.

• (a) identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating
recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear



Text books and academy to use:


Specially written book for this topic.

Textbook.



Additional reading books to use:



• (b) find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it


Text books and academy to use:


Textbook.


Additional reading books to use:

• (c) find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases



Text books and academy to use:


Textbook.


Additional reading books to use: Note earthquakes and thunder make the world's largest vibrations.



Go to section 5: Electricity