STE for 4th Class

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This course immerses primary pupils in the interconnected fields of science, technology, and engineering through hands-on Irish-focused investigations. Students classify native wildlife, explore human body systems, test material properties, design fair-test inquiries into heating and cooling, investigate forces and simple machines, trace energy transformations, program micro:bits and MakeCode games, and apply the full engineering design process to solve real problems for actual users. Distinctive emphasis on local STEM heritage, pupil-led experimentation, and iterative prototyping equips learners with practical scientific thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
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Pupils deepen their understanding of how a single organ works, keeps healthy and reacts to stimuli; classify Irish living things with criteria they choose and justify; and move outward into ecosystems, food chains, interdependence and adaptation, finishing with a two-lesson school-ecosystem mini-project. Nature of STEM is woven throughout: the story of how people worked these ideas out and where we meet them in Irish life.

STEM, the Human Body and Classifying
STEM That Changed Ireland
One Organ in Action: Investigating the Heart
The Brain, Senses and Reflexes: How Fast Can You React?
Classifying with Our Own Criteria
Adapted to Survive
Our School Ecosystem (Project)
Survey Our School Ecosystem
Food Chains and Interdependence
Change a Habitat: What Happens?

Pupils deepen the Materials strand: choosing the right material by its properties, states of matter and changing state, and reversible versus irreversible change. They then run a two-lesson open-ended heating and cooling fair test they plan themselves, investigate conductors and insulators of heat, and weigh the environmental impact of materials. This is where the plan-your-own fair test skill is deepened.

Properties, States and Change
Properties and the Right Material for a Job
States of Matter and Changing State
Reversible and Irreversible Changes
Heating and Cooling Inquiry (Project)
Plan and Run Our Heating and Cooling Inquiry
Repeat, Evaluate and Share
Conductors and Insulators of Heat: Which Spoon Stays Cool?
Materials and the Environment

Pupils deepen Energy and Forces with open force investigations and pupil-designed fair tests, simple machines that make work easier, renewable energy and energy transformation, and a fuller look at light: the spectrum and colour, reflection, refraction and magnification. Nature of STEM surfaces in how studying forces, energy and light shaped transport, industry and instruments in Ireland and beyond.

Forces and Simple Machines
Forces Change Motion: an Open Force Investigation
Fair-testing Forces: Design Your Own
Simple Machines Do Work: Levers, Pulleys and Gears
Energy and Light
Energy: Renewable, Non-renewable and Sustainability
Storing and Transforming Energy
Light: Colour and the Spectrum
Light: Reflection, Refraction and Magnification

Pupils deepen technology into the inputs, processes and outputs of a real system, algorithms and debugging, and real coding on devices: a two-lesson MakeCode Arcade game build, then programming a micro:bit to follow precise instructions and respond to an input. Pupils write, run and debug real programs, meeting loops and events through the build. The coding lessons reuse Coding Ireland's classroom-tested lessons.

Systems and Algorithms
Inputs, Processes and Outputs in a Real System
Algorithms and Debugging
Make a Makecode Arcade Game (Project)
Start and Build a Makecode Arcade Game
Finish, Debug and Share the Game
Programming a Micro:bit
Program a Micro:bit to Follow Precise Instructions
Micro:bit Responds to an Input
Technology in Irish Life
Technology in Irish Life: Advantages and Drawbacks

Pupils apply the Stage 3 design process at depth: use empathy to weigh user needs, risks and limits, build and test simple mechanisms, research an Irish engineering problem, and run a three-lesson design-build with peer feedback and iteration. This is where systematic plan, make, test, evaluate and iterate, and presenting the design, deepen the strand, finishing with an end-of-year showcase.

Empathy, Mechanisms and Irish Engineering
Empathy and User Needs, Risks and Limits
Mechanisms: Make Something Move
Irish Engineering and a Problem to Solve
Design-build for a Real User (Project)
Define and Plan the Build
Build the Prototype
Test, Iterate and Present with Peer Feedback
Engineer of the Year: Reflect and Showcase

Pupils deepen their understanding of how a single organ works, keeps healthy and reacts to stimuli; classify Irish living things with criteria they choose and justify; and move outward into ecosystems, food chains, interdependence and adaptation, finishing with a two-lesson school-ecosystem mini-project. Nature of STEM is woven throughout: the story of how people worked these ideas out and where we meet them in Irish life.

STEM, the Human Body and Classifying
STEM That Changed Ireland
One Organ in Action: Investigating the Heart
The Brain, Senses and Reflexes: How Fast Can You React?
Classifying with Our Own Criteria
Adapted to Survive
Our School Ecosystem (Project)
Survey Our School Ecosystem
Food Chains and Interdependence
Change a Habitat: What Happens?

Pupils deepen the Materials strand: choosing the right material by its properties, states of matter and changing state, and reversible versus irreversible change. They then run a two-lesson open-ended heating and cooling fair test they plan themselves, investigate conductors and insulators of heat, and weigh the environmental impact of materials. This is where the plan-your-own fair test skill is deepened.

Properties, States and Change
Properties and the Right Material for a Job
States of Matter and Changing State
Reversible and Irreversible Changes
Heating and Cooling Inquiry (Project)
Plan and Run Our Heating and Cooling Inquiry
Repeat, Evaluate and Share
Conductors and Insulators of Heat: Which Spoon Stays Cool?
Materials and the Environment

Pupils deepen Energy and Forces with open force investigations and pupil-designed fair tests, simple machines that make work easier, renewable energy and energy transformation, and a fuller look at light: the spectrum and colour, reflection, refraction and magnification. Nature of STEM surfaces in how studying forces, energy and light shaped transport, industry and instruments in Ireland and beyond.

Forces and Simple Machines
Forces Change Motion: an Open Force Investigation
Fair-testing Forces: Design Your Own
Simple Machines Do Work: Levers, Pulleys and Gears
Energy and Light
Energy: Renewable, Non-renewable and Sustainability
Storing and Transforming Energy
Light: Colour and the Spectrum
Light: Reflection, Refraction and Magnification

Pupils deepen technology into the inputs, processes and outputs of a real system, algorithms and debugging, and real coding on devices: a two-lesson MakeCode Arcade game build, then programming a micro:bit to follow precise instructions and respond to an input. Pupils write, run and debug real programs, meeting loops and events through the build. The coding lessons reuse Coding Ireland's classroom-tested lessons.

Systems and Algorithms
Inputs, Processes and Outputs in a Real System
Algorithms and Debugging
Make a Makecode Arcade Game (Project)
Start and Build a Makecode Arcade Game
Finish, Debug and Share the Game
Programming a Micro:bit
Program a Micro:bit to Follow Precise Instructions
Micro:bit Responds to an Input
Technology in Irish Life
Technology in Irish Life: Advantages and Drawbacks

Pupils apply the Stage 3 design process at depth: use empathy to weigh user needs, risks and limits, build and test simple mechanisms, research an Irish engineering problem, and run a three-lesson design-build with peer feedback and iteration. This is where systematic plan, make, test, evaluate and iterate, and presenting the design, deepen the strand, finishing with an end-of-year showcase.

Empathy, Mechanisms and Irish Engineering
Empathy and User Needs, Risks and Limits
Mechanisms: Make Something Move
Irish Engineering and a Problem to Solve
Design-build for a Real User (Project)
Define and Plan the Build
Build the Prototype
Test, Iterate and Present with Peer Feedback
Engineer of the Year: Reflect and Showcase

Curriculum Mapping

See exactly how this course maps to official curriculum specifications

NCCA STE Education Specification (2025)
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

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.

What Students Will Learn

Learning Goals

  1. Investigate human body systems, classify Irish organisms and analyse school ecosystems through surveys, food chains and interdependence
  2. Examine properties of materials, states of matter, reversible and irreversible changes while planning and conducting fair tests on heating and cooling
  3. Explore forces, design fair tests, build and test simple machines, and investigate energy sources, transformations, light reflection and refraction
  4. Analyse inputs, processes and outputs in digital systems, write and debug algorithms, and create games and programs using MakeCode Arcade and micro:bit
  5. Develop empathy for users, apply engineering design processes, build and iterate prototypes, and reflect on Irish engineering achievements

Learning Outcomes

  1. Research Irish STEM figures and inventions, map their impacts, and formulate relevant questions about their contributions.
  2. Design and conduct a fair pulse-rate investigation, record measurements, and draw conclusions about the effect of different activities on heart rate.
  3. Create a classification system for Irish wildlife using criteria such as family, habitat, and diet, then explain how specific adaptations help organisms survive in their environments.
  4. Survey a school habitat, construct food chains and a food web from the collected data, and predict the effects of removing a species or changing environmental conditions.
  5. Plan, carry out, and evaluate a fair test to compare how different materials affect heating or cooling, then present findings with supporting evidence.
  6. Identify properties of materials and select the most suitable one for a given practical task through testing and evaluation.
  7. Distinguish between reversible and irreversible changes through practical observations and explain examples of each.
  8. Design and run a fair test to investigate the effect of a chosen force, record results accurately, and communicate conclusions clearly.
  9. Build and test a pulley, lever, or gear system, describe the forces involved, and explain the trade-off between force and distance.
  10. Sort Irish energy sources by sustainability, debate a local energy choice, and trace the transformation and storage of energy in a built device.
  11. Split white light to produce a spectrum and demonstrate reflection, refraction, and magnification using mirrors, water, and lenses.
  12. Map the inputs, processes, and outputs of a real Irish digital system such as a Leap card reader or weather app.
  13. Write, test, debug, and refine an algorithm for a everyday task, then explain the importance of precision in instructions.
  14. Build, debug, and extend a simple MakeCode Arcade game that uses loops, variables, and responsive inputs.
  15. Program a micro:bit to respond to button presses, shakes, or tilts, then test and correct errors in the code.
  16. Interview a real user to identify a genuine problem, create a detailed design brief with success criteria, and build and iterate a prototype to meet those needs.
  17. Construct a simple mechanism such as a lever linkage or rotating wheel to produce controlled movement from an input force.
  18. Evaluate a personal engineering project by presenting the user need, design process, iterations made, and final outcomes to peers.

What You'll Need

Required Equipment

Equipment used in some of the lessons in this course. Items can be shared among students.

IWB/Projector/Large Screen
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

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