Physical science

2 areas

Materials: Objects and materials

• The difference between an object and the material it is made of
• Common materials such as wood, metal, plastic, glass, fabric and rock
• Describing materials by look and feel: smooth, rough, hard, soft, flexible, stiff
• Sorting materials into groups

Matter interactions and energy: Light, shadows and sound

• Light sources, and dark as the absence of light
• How shadows form, and how they change when the light moves
• Never looking straight at the Sun
• Sounds made by shaking, tapping and plucking, and loud and quiet sounds

Biological science

2 areas

Organism diversity: Living things

• Plants, animals, fungi and bacteria as big groups of living things
• Grasses, ferns and trees, and animal groups from fish to mammals
• Why mushrooms are fungi, not plants, and are never touched
• A survey of living things nearby, shown as a tally and picture graph

Life processes: What the body needs

• Air, food and water, and why the body needs them
• How food, water and air get in, and how waste leaves
• Drawing arrows and labels to show what goes in and out

Summarised by Vertex Academy from the New Zealand Curriculum, Science Years 0 to 10 (August 2026), Ministry of Education. Vertex Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ministry of Education.