Natural Sciences and Technology in Grade 4 combines science investigation with basic technology design, giving learners a foundation for understanding both the natural world and how humans interact with it. The CAPS curriculum is structured around four knowledge strands: Life and Living, Matter and Materials, Energy and Change, and Planet Earth and Beyond. Learners conduct simple investigations, ask questions, make predictions, observe and record results. The Technology component introduces learners to the design process — identifying a problem, designing and making a solution, and evaluating it.
- Structure and function of plants: roots, stem, leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds
- How plants make food: photosynthesis — sunlight, water, carbon dioxide
- Conditions for plant growth: light, water, soil, temperature
- Plant adaptations: succulents, water plants, desert plants
- Technology: design and build a simple plant watering system
- Investigation: test what plants need to grow (fair test)
- Classification: flowering vs non-flowering plants
- SA indigenous plants and their importance
- Properties of materials: hard/soft, rough/smooth, transparent/opaque, flexible/rigid
- Metals and non-metals — properties and uses
- Magnetic and non-magnetic materials — investigation
- Conductors and insulators of heat and electricity
- Physical changes: dissolving, melting, evaporation
- Technology: choose appropriate materials for a design task
- Mixtures: sand and water, sand and salt — separating mixtures
- Responsible use and recycling of materials
- Forms of energy: light, heat, sound, kinetic, potential, electrical
- Sources of energy: sun, fire, electricity, food
- Sound: vibration, pitch, volume — investigation
- Light: reflection, shadows, transparent vs opaque
- Electricity: simple circuits — battery, wire, bulb, switch
- Technology: design and build a simple electrical circuit
- Non-renewable vs renewable energy sources
- Energy conservation in South Africa
- Structure of the Earth: crust, mantle, core
- Rocks: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic — formation and properties
- Soil: components, types and importance for plant growth
- Erosion: causes, effects and prevention
- The solar system: the Sun, eight planets and their order
- Day and night: rotation of the Earth
- Seasons: revolution of the Earth around the Sun
- Technology: make a model of the solar system
Understand the process of investigation. In tests you are often asked to describe a fair test. Remember: change only ONE variable, keep everything else the same, and observe what happens.
Use diagrams — they earn marks. Labelled diagrams of plants, animals, circuits or the solar system are worth marks. Practise drawing and labelling them from memory.
Learn the key vocabulary. Natural Sciences uses specific technical words. Words like 'photosynthesis', 'conductor', 'transparent' and 'metamorphic' have precise meanings — learn and use them correctly.
Connect concepts to real life. The best way to remember science content is to connect it to something you have seen. When you study erosion, think of a hillside after heavy rain. This makes answers easier to recall in exams.