Saskatchewan · Grade 4
Science, Grade 4
Saskatchewan’s Grade 4 science course, from Life Science — Habitats and Communities to Earth and Space Science — Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion.
- Units
- 3
- Lessons
- 11
- Skills
- 30
- Provincial exam
- None
- Official curriculum
- Saskatchewan Ministry of Education
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, with its official code.
Unit 1 · 9 skills
Life Science — Habitats and Communities
Living Together in Habitats
Populations, communities, and habitats
I can explain what a population, a community, and a habitat are.
Official code: HC4.1
Food chains and food webs
I can build a food chain and name each living thing's role.
Official code: HC4.1
What happens if one is removed
I can predict what happens to a community if one living thing is removed.
Official code: HC4.1
Built to Survive
Structures and behaviours for surviving
I can name structures and behaviours that help living things survive.
Official code: HC4.2
Investigating a habitat
I can plan and carry out a study of a habitat and record what I find.
Official code: HC4.2
Adaptations for a habitat
I can predict the adaptations an animal needs to live in a certain habitat.
Official code: HC4.2
Protecting Habitats
How people change habitats
I can tell how people's activities affect habitats.
Official code: HC4.3
Habitat loss and extinction
I can explain how losing a habitat can put living things at risk.
Official code: HC4.3
Restoring and protecting habitats
I can suggest and take actions to protect or restore a habitat.
Official code: HC4.3
The official wording · 9 outcomes
- HC4.1
- the interdependence of plants and animals, including humans, within habitats and communities
- HC4.1
- the interdependence of plants and animals, including humans, within habitats
- HC4.1
- Investigate the interdependence of plants and animals
- HC4.2
- the structures and behaviours of plants and animals that enable them to exist in various habitats
- HC4.2
- Analyze the structures and behaviours of plants and animals that enable them to exist in various habitats.
- HC4.2
- structures and behaviours of plants and animals that enable them to exist in various habitats
- HC4.3
- the effects of natural and human activities on habitats and communities
- HC4.3
- the effects of natural and human activities on habitats
- HC4.3
- propose actions to maintain or restore habitats
Key ideas
A habitat is the place a living thing lives and finds what it needs.
Structures are body parts that help survival, like a duck's webbed feet or a thorny stem.
Human activities like farming, building, and logging change habitats.
A population is all the members of one kind in a place; a community is all the different populations living together.
Behaviours are things animals do to survive, like migrating, living in groups, or growing toward light.
Watch out for
- Mixing up a population (one kind) with a community (many kinds).
- Thinking a structure and a behaviour are the same thing.
- Thinking people never affect habitats.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 14 skills
Physical Science — Light and Sound
Sources of Light
Natural and artificial light
I can tell natural light sources from artificial ones.
Official code: LI4.1
How light travels
I can describe how light travels.
Official code: LI4.1
Making shadows
I can predict and change how a shadow looks.
Official code: LI4.1
Light and Materials
Opaque, transparent, translucent
I can sort materials by how much light passes through them.
Official code: LI4.2
Reflecting light
I can describe how light reflects off different surfaces.
Official code: LI4.2
Bending light and rainbows
I can bend light with a lens and split white light into colours.
Official code: LI4.2
Light Technology
Optical devices that help us see
I can name optical devices and tell how each helps us see.
Official code: LI4.3
Choosing light and saving energy
I can choose a good light source and tell how to save energy with light.
Official code: LI4.3
Exploring Sound
Natural and artificial sounds
I can sort sounds into natural and artificial and tell how sounds are used.
Official code: SO4.1
Making and hearing sound
I can explain how sound is made and how we hear it.
Official code: SO4.1
Sound comes from vibrations
I can show that sound comes from vibrations and travels through materials.
Official code: SO4.2
Pitch and loudness
I can describe pitch and loudness and change them.
Official code: SO4.2
Sound and Us
Devices that work with sound
I can name devices that work with sound and how rooms handle sound.
Official code: SO4.3
Loud sounds and hearing protection
I can tell how loud sounds can harm hearing and how to protect my ears.
Official code: SO4.3
The official wording · 14 outcomes
- LI4.1
- the characteristics and physical properties of natural and artificial sources of light in the environment
- LI4.1
- characteristics and physical properties of natural and artificial sources of light
- LI4.1
- sources of light in the environment
- LI4.2
- how light interacts with different objects and materials to create phenomena such as shadows, reflection, refraction, and dispersion
- LI4.2
- Analyze how light interacts with different objects and materials to create phenomena such as shadows, reflection, refraction, and dispersion.
- LI4.2
- how light interacts with different objects and materials to create phenomena
- LI4.3
- impacts of light-related technological innovations including optical devices
- LI4.3
- Assess personal, societal, and environmental impacts of light-related technological innovations including optical devices.
- SO4.1
- natural and artificial sources of sound in the environment and how those sounds are detected by humans and animals
- SO4.1
- sources of sound in the environment and how those sounds are detected by humans and animals
- SO4.2
- the characteristics and physical properties of sound, including pitch and loudness, based on observation
- SO4.2
- Draw conclusions about the characteristics and physical properties of sound, including pitch and loudness, based on observation.
- SO4.3
- impacts of sound-related technologies
- SO4.3
- impacts of sound-related technologies
Key ideas
Natural light comes from nature — the sun, stars, lightning, and fireflies.
Transparent materials let light through and we can see clearly, like clear glass.
Optical devices use lenses to help us see things better — magnifiers enlarge small things, telescopes bring far things closer.
Natural sounds come from nature — wind, birds, thunder — and artificial sounds are made by people or machines.
Devices like hearing aids, microphones, amplifiers, and speakers help us produce, transmit, or detect sound.
Watch out for
- Thinking the moon makes its own light.
- Mixing up translucent and transparent.
- Thinking all optical devices do the same job.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 3 · 7 skills
Earth and Space Science — Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion
Rocks and Minerals
Properties of rocks and minerals
I can describe the properties of rocks and minerals.
Official code: RM4.1
Sorting rocks and testing hardness
I can sort rocks and minerals and test how hard a mineral is.
Official code: RM4.1
How We Use Rocks and Minerals
Everyday uses of rocks and minerals
I can name objects made from rocks and minerals and how they are used.
Official code: RM4.2
Mining in Saskatchewan
I can name minerals mined in Saskatchewan and describe the effects of mining.
Official code: RM4.2
Weathering, Erosion, and Fossils
Weathering and erosion
I can explain how wind, water, and ice wear down and reshape the land.
Official code: RM4.3
Three kinds of rock
I can name the three kinds of rock and how each forms.
Official code: RM4.3
Fossils and the story of the land
I can explain how fossils tell us about the Earth's past.
Official code: RM4.3
The official wording · 7 outcomes
- RM4.1
- physical properties of rocks and minerals, including those found in the local environment
- RM4.1
- Investigate physical properties of rocks and minerals, including those found in the local environment.
- RM4.2
- how human uses of rocks and minerals impact self, society, and the environment
- RM4.2
- Assess how human uses of rocks and minerals impact self, society, and the environment.
- RM4.3
- how weathering, erosion, and fossils provide evidence to support human understanding of the formation of landforms on Earth
- RM4.3
- weathering, erosion, and fossils provide evidence to support human understanding of the formation of landforms on Earth
- RM4.3
- Analyze how weathering, erosion, and fossils provide evidence to support human understanding of the formation of landforms on Earth.
Key ideas
Rocks and minerals have properties we can observe: colour, lustre (shine), hardness, and crystal structure.
Many everyday objects come from rocks and minerals — table salt, cement, bricks, jewellery, and copper wiring.
Weathering breaks rocks into smaller pieces, and erosion carries those pieces away by wind, water, or ice.
We use tools like a hand lens safely to observe them closely.
People have used rocks and minerals for a very long time, from flint tools to today's electronics.
Watch out for
- Thinking all rocks look the same.
- Thinking rocks and minerals are not part of everyday objects.
- Thinking landforms never change.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
The official curriculum
This page follows Saskatchewan’s own curriculum for Science, Grade 4.
Textbooks
The textbooks Saskatchewan Ministry of Education lists for Science, Grade 4:
- Pearson Saskatchewan Science 4
From core resources, read October 27, 2026. curriculum.gov.sk.ca
Study it in MapleMind
MapleMind teaches Science, Grade 4 one skill at a time. Each skill gets a short lesson, practice as you go and a check worth up to three stars. It remembers where you stopped.
Course Companion
Your year in one workbook
A fun way to keep Science, Grade 4 organized, get to know your child better and see early when they need a hand. Fill it in on a screen, or print it.
- Pages
- 26
- Fillable fields
- 1,368
- Price
- $4.99
Questions about Science, Grade 4
What is Science, Grade 4?
Saskatchewan’s Grade 4 science course: 3 units and 30 skills, from Life Science — Habitats and Communities to Earth and Space Science — Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion.
What units are in Science, Grade 4?
1. Life Science — Habitats and Communities, 2. Physical Science — Light and Sound and 3. Earth and Space Science — Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion.
Is there a provincial exam for Science, Grade 4?
No. Saskatchewan gives no provincial exam for Science, Grade 4.
What textbook does Science, Grade 4 use?
The textbooks Saskatchewan Ministry of Education lists for Science, Grade 4: Pearson Saskatchewan Science 4.
What comes after Science, Grade 4?
Science, Grade 5.
Can MapleMind help with Science, Grade 4?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of Science, Grade 4, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
Get ready for Science, Grade 4
Practise every skill of Science, Grade 4 in MapleMind, free with daily limits.
