Science in Year 4: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 4 of Swedish school (around age 10), Lärkompis practises 13 skills in science (biology, physics and chemistry), linked to 18 of 33 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 4–6. The areas are nature and environment; physics in nature and society; chemistry in nature, society and the human body; body and health; and systematic investigations and examination of information. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 5 mini-games, including Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt), Labbet (The Lab) and Vändspelet (The Flip Game).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 4–6), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 4, this means that 8 skills start this year and 5 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 18 of 33 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 4
The 13 skills in science in Year 4 are grouped into 5 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Nature and environment
- Mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Evolution, natural selection, species and biodiversity Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
Physics in nature and society
- Batteries, switches, conductors, insulators and closed circuits Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, read below-zero temperatures on a thermometer and answer harder guess-first questions.
- Planets, the Sun and the Moon Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Chemistry in nature, society and the human body
- Solubility, acidic or alkaline, magnetism and conductivity Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Solids, liquids and gases in the particle model Level 1: Choose from all the options. Level 5: Mixed, with all the examples.
- The water cycle, clouds and wind Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Body and health
- The heart and blood circulation Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Systematic investigations and examination of information
- Critically examining and using information about biology, physics and chemistry Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Planning and carrying out investigations, evaluating the results and recording them in tables Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order, spot the faulty measurement and answer harder guess-first questions.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 4–6 in science, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 4. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- What life is, evolution, biodiversity and how animals, plants and fungi are grouped.
- Food chains and natural cycles, and how humans affect nature.
- How day, night and the seasons come about, and how weather such as wind and rain forms.
- Different energy sources, their impact on the environment, and how heat moves between objects.
- That substances are made up of tiny particles, and how substances can be sorted by, for example, how well they dissolve and whether they are acidic or alkaline.
- The properties of water and air, and the water cycle.
How to help at home with science in Year 4
Year 4 starts the middle stage (Years 4–6). A new stage often means a new pace and more concepts in a short time, so give your child time and ask how the new things feel, rather than how many they got right. Ask curious questions (“why do you think that happens?”) and try small experiments at home, for example in the kitchen or on a walk.
- Talk maths and language in everyday life. Count kronor in the shop, measure in the kitchen, read signs and talk about the time of day. Short, cheerful moments in everyday life seem to help more than taking over the homework, especially if you feel unsure about maths yourself. Works in everyday life: about 10 minutes.
- Watch how you talk about maths and school. Avoid “I was bad at maths too”. Say instead “I never got to learn it properly, let’s find out together”. It shows that hard things can be learned. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- A set time and place for homework. Decide together when and where homework is done, for how long, and that screens are put away. In the research review, clear routines showed the strongest link to better homework habits, more than direct help. Works in everyday life: about 10 minutes.
- Sit beside your child with your own book. You don’t need to know the answer. Have your own book or computer open, and answer questions with questions (“what is the question asking for?”). Being there without taking control supports independence. When it is hard going: about 15 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 4
- Common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled: Your child recognises the hazard symbols for corrosive and flammable.
- Solids, liquids and gases in the particle model: Your child can draw how the particles are arranged in a solid, a liquid and a gas.
- The heart and blood circulation: Your child can tell arteries and veins apart.
- Planning and carrying out investigations, evaluating the results and recording them in tables: Your child changes only one thing at a time in an experiment.
Common pitfalls in Year 4
- How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development: Thinks the right of public access means you can do whatever you like in nature.
- Energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat: Thinks cold flows into things.
- The water cycle, clouds and wind: Mixes up evaporation and condensation.
- Planets, the Sun and the Moon: Mixes up the sizes of the Moon and the Earth.
If science practice in Year 4 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 4 science, Lärkompis uses 5 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 4, the game practises 13 skills: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects; evolution, natural selection, species and biodiversity; how people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development; batteries, switches, conductors, insulators and closed circuits; and more.
Labbet (The Lab)
Guess first, then find out. The tasks are based on checked facts. In Year 4, the game practises 13 skills: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects; evolution, natural selection, species and biodiversity; how people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development; batteries, switches, conductors, insulators and closed circuits; and more.
Vändspelet (The Flip Game)
A memory game where two cards that go together stay face up, for example 3 + 4 and 7. In Year 4, the game practises 5 skills: how people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development; energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat; common household chemicals, their labels and how they should be handled; critically examining and using information about biology, physics and chemistry; and more.
Tidslinjen (The Timeline)
Your child puts cards on a line in the right order, for example events, steps or numbers. A card in the right place turns over and shows the answer. In Year 4, the game practises 2 skills: the water cycle, clouds and wind; and planning and carrying out investigations, evaluating the results and recording them in tables.
Sorteringsbandet (The Sorting Belt)
A calm conveyor belt of things that your child puts in the right box by following a rule. In Year 4, the game practises 1 skill: energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat.
Questions about science in Year 4
What does Lärkompis practise in science in Year 4?
Lärkompis has 13 skills in science in Year 4, for example “Mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects”; “Evolution, natural selection, species and biodiversity”; “How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development”; “Batteries, switches, conductors, insulators and closed circuits”; and “Energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat”. Each skill has five levels. In “Mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects”, for example, level 1 is “Choose from three options” and level 5 is “Mixed, in all formats”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What comes after Year 4 in science?
In Year 5, Lärkompis practises 16 skills in science, and new that year are “How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development”; “Producers, consumers and decomposers”; and “Puberty, identity, relationships and consent”. Most of it builds on what your child practised in Year 4.
Which mistakes are common in science in Year 4?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Thinks the right of public access means you can do whatever you like in nature” in “How people depend on and affect nature: ecosystem services, the right of public access and sustainable development” and “Thinks cold flows into things” in “Energy flow between objects at different temperatures, and materials that conduct or insulate heat”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in science in Year 4?
Yes. Every exercise in science in Year 4 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 4–6; 18 of 33 items in science (biology, physics and chemistry) have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise science in Year 4 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try science in Year 4 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
