What your child learns in Year 5 Science
New curriculum, taught from 2027
Lessons
1Mass, volume and density: why things float or sinkMaterials2Heat: where thermal energy comes from and where it goesMatter Interactions and Energy3Weight, friction, and air and water resistanceMotion and Forces4Earth's tilt, the seasons, Matariki and PuangaEarth and Space5Sorting living things: plants, animals and keysOrganism Diversity6Fungi, bacteria, species and scientific namesOrganism Diversity7Digestion, part 1: from your mouth to your small intestineLife Processes8Digestion, part 2: absorbing nutrients and getting rid of wasteLife Processes9Food webs: who eats what in a New Zealand forestEcosystems
Physical science
4 areasMaterials: Volume and density
- Mass in grams and kilograms, and volume in millilitres, litres and cubic metres
- Measuring with scales and measuring cylinders, and finding a stone's volume by displacement
- Density as mass divided by volume
- Predicting and testing which objects float or sink in water
Matter interactions and energy: Heat
- Where thermal energy comes from: the Sun, fire, friction and electricity
- Thermal energy always moves from warmer things to cooler things, until they match
- How sunlight warms the things it shines on
- Asking testable questions and running fair tests, such as melting ice on different trays
Motion and forces: Forces that oppose motion
- Weight as gravity pulling on mass, and why heavier things need bigger pushes
- Friction between surfaces, and where we use it or reduce it
- Air resistance and water resistance
- Repeating tests and checking how consistent the results are
Earth and space: Earth's tilt and the seasons
- Earth's axis tilt of about 23.5 degrees
- How the tilt gives New Zealand a high sun and long days in December, and the opposite in June
- Reading real day-length data for Auckland and Invercargill
- Matariki and Puanga as stars that mark the new year
Biological science
3 areasOrganism diversity: Classifying living things
- Plant groups: flowering plants, cone-bearing plants, ferns and mosses; and why algae are separate
- Vertebrates and invertebrates, and the main groups of each
- Fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms
- Species, two-part scientific names, and extinct species such as the moa
- Building and using classification keys
Life processes: Digestion in humans
- Mechanical and chemical digestion, and enzymes
- The path of food: mouth, oesophagus, stomach and small intestine
- How nutrients are absorbed into the blood, and helpful gut bacteria
- How the large intestine takes back water, and how waste leaves the body
Ecosystems: Food webs
- Habitats and how living things use them for food and shelter
- Producers and consumers: herbivores, carnivores and omnivores
- Drawing food chains and food webs for a New Zealand forest or garden
- Predicting what happens when one living thing is removed
How is Year 5 maths going?
See the Year 5 maths guideSummarised 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.