Oxford International Primary Science

List of resources

Year 4
1 Skeleton and Muscles
 Plastic examples of bones, e.g. skull, spine (extension).

Human and animal skeletons

 Plastic bones (extension); materials to create a poster (extension).
 Rulers; pictures or examples of animal skeletons, including tiger, frog, turtle, horse,
bird and elephant skeletons.

Super skeletons
 Tape measures; rulers; coloured crayons; pictures of skeletons of older people.
 Pictures of the heart, lungs, the brain, skull, ribcage and spine; sticky tape; scissors;
poster of the human skeleton.
 Materials to create posters; sorting cards showing pictures of vertebrates and
invertebrates (extension).

Muscles and skeletons

 Stiff card; string; scissors; glue sticks.

How muscles work together

 Scissors; glue sticks; materials to create a poster (extension); picture of bones in the
arm (extension).

Medicines
 Medicine labels from over-the-counter medicines, e.g. cough medicine,
antihistamine, cold remedy, antibiotic (make photocopies of the set of labels);
creative materials to produce an information leaflet (extension).
  Information leaflets about asthma and diabetes; asthma inhaler; peak-flow meter;
glucose blood test kit; creative materials for poster or leaflet production; research
materials about other long-term health issues (extension).

2 Solids, Liquids and Gases

 Kettle of boiling water.

Are they solids, liquids or gases?

 Small pieces of (or small objects made from) wood, metal, plastic; small bottles filled
with olive oil, oxygen and carbon dioxide, labelled with their contents. You can make
samples of the gases to put in the oxygen and carbon dioxide bottles, but this isn’t
necessary as both these gases are transparent and present in air.
 No additional resources are needed.
 Transparent containers of different shapes: bottles, beakers, flasks, cups or jugs;
measuring cylinders or jugs; water; sugar lumps; plastic bowls; pestle and mortar or
two pieces of wood; grain sugar (if the lumps cannot be crushed); hand lenses or
microscopes with microscope slide; sand (extension); different powders (extension).
 Thin wires (about 20 centimetres long) that are easy to bend; bubble mix (half a cup
of washing up liquid, 2 cups of water and 2 spoonfuls of sugar should make enough
for the class); balloons, small funnels; baking soda; vinegar; small clean empty plastic
bottles; large flat tray (extension); coat hanger (extension).

Heating and cooling

 Squares of chocolate; heatproof Pyrex (or similar) bowls; saucepans (or similar);
spoons; very hot water.
 Kettle or pan of water; electric hotplate.
 Ice cubes; beakers or jars; plastic bowls (larger than the beaker or jar); cloth (such as
cotton); newspaper; water.

Melting and freezing

  Electric hotplate; candles; large metal pan; small metal pan; newspaper; modelling
clay; objects to press into the clay to make moulds; fruit juice (extension); plastic
containers (extension); solid carbon dioxide (extension).
 Beakers; large test tubes or boiling tubes; warm water; thermometers; ice cubes;
freezing mixture (ice and salt); water; clamp stand (although the investigation can be
done without this).

Investigating steam
 Metal pan and lid; hotplate or Bunsen burner; heatproof glove; water; kettle; paper
windmill; balloon; thermometer.
 Kettle; mirror or metal lid that has been in the refrigerator.

3 How Magnets Work

 Plastic-coated wires with crocodile clips at each end; steel nails or screws 10–15
centimetres long; batteries 1.5 to 9 volts; small steel nails; a selection of different
magnets; posters about magnetism.

May the force be with you!

 A long rope (optional); pairs of bar magnets with N–S (at least one pair per student
group); Internet picture of a lodestone; some ‘treasure’ for students to find;
compasses (one per group); set of instructions for finding the treasure using
compass directions (one per group).
 Bar magnets (at least two per group, ideally two per student); steel paperclips (about
12 per group of students).

Which things are magnetic?

 Metal objects (made of steel, copper, aluminium, iron, brass, tin, gold and silver if
possible); non-metal objects (made of wood, glass, plastic, vinyl, cloth); bar magnets;
steel nails (10–12 centimetres); pictures of the Earth’s magnetic field or the Northern
lights; hammer. Note: The easiest way to obtain objects for students to test is to use
items that are available in the classroom and school.
  Slices cut from a large cork; steel needles; bowls; bar magnet; steel paperclips; glue;
compasses; magnetic strip; magnetic door catch; picture of machines using
electromagnets; examples of everyday devices that use magnets (e.g. drill, hair
dryer, speakers, telephone, battery-driven toy cars); an old motor showing the
magnets and wire; a bicycle dynamo; store catalogues.

4 Habitats
Investigating habitats
 Pooter (or equipment to make pooters: glass jars with screw tops, plastic tubing, fine
net); quadrats or hoops; sweep nets (or equipment to make sweep nets: wire coat
hangers, netting; lengths of bamboo cane); creative materials for making posters.
 Pooters; quadrats/hoops; access to suitable habitats; identification photographs of
small creatures that students are likely to find; clipboards and paper for collecting
results; aerial map of the school grounds (or other local area to be investigated).
 Rulers and coloured pencils for creating bar charts.
 Photos of animals that live in the polar regions.
 Pictures of different desert-dwelling creatures.
 Pictures of different creatures that are adapted to different types of habitat.

Identification keys
 Pictures of a range of creatures not used in the Student Workbook (extension); glue;
scissors.
 Pictures of different varieties of the same type of plant, e.g. roses.

How we affect our world

 Rulers and coloured pencils for creating bar charts.
 Coloured pencils; clear plastic bowl of water; plastic aprons; 3 flat rocks of different
sizes; 1-metre ruler; creative materials for leaflets.
 No additional resources are needed.
 Modelling clay (you can make dough by mixing 6 cups flour, 2 cups salt, 4
tablespoons cooking oil and 2 cups of water); small containers (e.g. plastic bottles,
 glass jars – make sure the opening is not too wide); a plastic tray to contain the
‘eruption’; baking soda (sodium bicarbonate); warm water; white vinegar (acetic
acid); washing up liquid; food colouring; jugs.
 No additional resources are needed.
 Model seismograph; Internet images of a seismologist at work and earthquake-proof
buildings; pencils and coloured pencils for designing an earthquake-proof house;
craft materials to make models from designs, sand trays, cardboard, world maps,
sticky tack (extension).

5 Making Circuits
Constructing circuits
 Wires, bulbs/lamps, lamp-holders, connectors (crocodile clips), batteries.
 Wires, bulbs/lamps, lamp-holders, connectors (crocodile clips), batteries.
 Large sheets of paper, felt-tip pens, colouring pencils, etc. for making posters, an
electric plug.

Break in the circuit

 Bulbs/lamps wires, bulbs/lamps, lamp-holders, crocodile clips, batteries/cells,
switches, brass paper fasteners, large paperclips, small pieces of corrugated card.
 Wires, bulbs/lamps, lamp-holders, crocodile clips, batteries, buzzers, switches made
in earlier unit or standard kit switches.

Electrical current flows

 Balls (one for each student in the class), baseball cap or large sticker with the word
‘Battery’.

6 Sound
Making and measuring sound
 Plastic rulers, drums, tuning forks, rice, containers of water, empty tissue boxes or
similar, pencils or dowelling, elastic bands, cardboard tubes, glue, sticky tape.
  Guitar from last unit; tuning forks, drums, cymbals or any instruments that are
available; sound-level meter.

How does sound travel to our ears?

 Access to windows, doors and walls; bell jar (if available); video clip of a phone
ringing in a bell jar or the Student Workbook photograph.
 Easy access to doors, benches, desks, windows, floors, walls, curtains, rugs, etc.;
empty bottles, water.
 Tuning forks, cardboard tubes, paper cups, 1-metre lengths of string, empty wooden
boxes.

Some materials stop sound travelling

 A variety of materials to test for sound insulation: paper, fabric, carpet, cotton wool,
plastic, polystyrene, bubble wrap; empty boxes; radios or sound generators; sound-
level meter.

Investigating pitch and volume

 Recording of a piece of music, plastic rulers, guitar from previous unit, oscilloscope
(or Internet video of an oscilloscope), oscilloscope traces (if available).
 Paper plates or card cut into circles, bells, shells, dry pasta or anything that will make
a sound when shaken, string, elastic bands, balloon, A3 sheets of card, tape.

Making music
 Plastic rulers, clean empty bottles (sterilised at the neck), water, glasses or jars,
pencils, all the instruments that students have made, disposable cups, rice, beads,
plastic bottles, pencils.