STE for 4th Class

What your school gets

Everything a teacher needs to teach STE for 4th Class this year.

In class

36 lessons, ready to teach Each one planned step by step, taught from the interactive whiteboard. 18 interactive activities across the course.
Try the first lesson: STEM That Changed Ireland

On paper

Pupil Investigation Journal Science, Technology & Engineering

Teacher Resource Book Science, Technology & Engineering

Investigation JournalA page for every lesson, for each pupil to record their work.
Look inside The sample lesson's page
Teacher Resource BookThe whole course laid out for the teacher, lesson by lesson, ready to print.
Look inside The sample lesson's pages

The whole books come with the course, in each class's Resources.

For planning

Yearly plan See the first two pages
Fortnightly schemes See the first two pages
Curriculum coverage See the first two pages
Programme progression See the first two pages

Included with the course, in English and in Irish. Teachers find them in their class's Resources.

The curriculum it covers

Every lesson is mapped to the specification. This course teaches 12 of the 12 outcomes for this class.

NCCA STE Education Specification (2025)

Nature of STEM 1 of 1 outcome

Living things 3 of 3 outcomes

Materials 2 of 2 outcomes

Energy and forces 3 of 3 outcomes

Technology 2 of 2 outcomes

Engineering 1 of 1 outcome

See every outcome

Curriculum Area

Outcomes

Nature of STEM

S1.3.1

Living things

S2.3.1 S2.3.2 S2.3.3

Materials

S3.3.1 S3.3.2

Energy and forces

S4.3.1 S4.3.2 S4.3.3

Technology

S5.3.1 S5.3.2

Engineering

S6.3.1

Tap any outcome to read it. The coloured ones are taught in this course. The curriculum does not include official reference codes for individual learning outcomes, so we have assigned a code scheme to make it easier to identify and track coverage.

The course, module by module

36 lessons in 5 modules. The lesson marked Sample opens in full.

1 Living Things: One Organ in Depth, Classifying and Ecosystems 8 lessons · about 8 hours

Deepen how one organ works, keeps healthy and reacts to stimuli; classify Irish living things with self-chosen criteria; and investigate ecosystems, food chains, interdependence and adaptation through a two-lesson school-ecosystem mini-project.

STEM Stories and the Human Body
1 STEM That Changed Ireland Sample lesson
2 One Organ in Action: Investigating the Heart
3 The Brain, Senses and Fast Reactions: How Fast Can You React?
Classifying Irish Living Things and Adaptation
4 Classifying with Our Own Criteria
5 Adapted to Survive
Our School Ecosystem
6 Survey Our School Ecosystem
7 Food Chains and Interdependence
When Habitats Change
8 Change a Habitat: What Happens?

2 Materials: Properties, Open-ended Heating and Cooling, and Heat Conductors 7 lessons · about 7 hours

Deepen choosing materials by properties, states of matter and changing state, reversible and irreversible changes; run a two-lesson open-ended heating and cooling fair test that groups plan themselves; and investigate heat conductors, insulators and environmental impact.

Properties, States and Changes
9 Properties and the Right Material for a Job
10 States of Matter and Changing State
11 Reversible and Irreversible Changes
Heating and Cooling Inquiry
12 Plan and Run Our Heating and Cooling Inquiry
13 Repeat, Evaluate and Share
Heat Flow and Materials in the Environment
14 Conductors and Insulators of Heat: Which Spoon Stays Cool?
15 Materials and the Environment

3 Energy and Forces: Simple Machines, Energy and Light 7 lessons · about 7 hours

Deepen force investigations with pupil-designed fair tests, explore simple machines that make work easier, investigate renewable energy and energy transformation, and study light through colour and the spectrum, reflection, refraction and magnification.

Forces and Simple Machines
16 Forces Change Motion: An Open Force Investigation
17 Fair-testing Forces: Design Your Own
18 Simple Machines Do Work: Levers and Pulleys
Energy Sources and Transformation
19 Energy: Renewable, Non-renewable and Sustainability
20 Storing and Transforming Energy
Light: Colour, Reflection, Refraction and Magnification
21 Light: Colour and the Spectrum
22 Light: Reflection, Refraction and Magnification

4 Technology: IPO, Algorithms, Makecode Arcade and Micro:bit 7 lessons · about 7 hours

Deepen inputs–processes–outputs of real systems, algorithms and debugging, then code on devices through a two-lesson MakeCode Arcade game build and micro:bit lessons that follow precise instructions and respond to inputs, finishing with advantages and drawbacks of technology in Irish life.

Systems and Algorithms
23 Inputs, Processes and Outputs in a Real System
24 Algorithms and Debugging: Unplugged to Sequenced
Make a Makecode Arcade Game
25 Start and Build a MakeCode Arcade Game
26 Build, Debug and Share a Fuller Game
Micro:bit and Technology in Irish Life
27 Program a Micro:bit: Follow Precise Instructions
28 Micro:bit Responds to an Input
29 Technology in Irish Life: Advantages and Drawbacks

5 Engineering: Strong Shapes, Spans, Joins and a Load-bearing Build 7 lessons · about 7 hours

Learn why triangles hold, how span shape decides strength, and which joins hold under load; then use those ideas in a three-lesson design-build for a real load-bearing school job, finishing with a live evidence-led showcase.

Strong Shapes, Spans and Joins
30 Triangles Hold Their Shape
31 Spanning a Gap: Beams, Arches and Triangles
32 Which Join Actually Holds?
Build Something That Carries a Load
33 Choose the Job, Then Test a Small Version First
34 Build It Full Size
35 Load It, Improve It, Load It Again
Show What Holds and Why
36 Engineer of the Year: Show What Holds and Why

What pupils learn

Students investigate living things and Irish ecosystems, test material properties and heat transfer, explore forces, energy sources and light, and learn inputs, outputs and algorithms through coding on MakeCode Arcade and micro:bit. They apply the engineering design process to research real user needs, build, test and iterate working prototypes. The course weaves scientific enquiry, Irish innovation and practical making throughout.