Science // Area
Waves, Light & Sound
Age coverage
Ages 6 to 13
Starts at age 6 // 5 topics
Starting at age 6
Your child is investigating light and sound — discovering how we see objects, experimenting with transparent and opaque materials, and learning how vibrations create sound.
- Light & Seeing in the Dark
Observe that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated by a light source
Ages 6 to 8Concept - Light & Sound Vocabulary
Name and use vocabulary for how light and sound behave — light source, transparent, translucent, opaque, shadow, reflect, vibration, pitch, volume — and apply…
Ages 6 to 8Language - Communication with Light & Sound
Design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance
Ages 6 to 7Method - Vibrations & Sound
Understand that vibrating materials can make sound, and that sound can make materials vibrate
Ages 6 to 9Concept - Transparent, Translucent & Opaque
Investigate the effect of placing objects made of different materials in the path of a beam of light, discovering transparent, translucent, and opaque materials
Ages 6 to 7Method
Starts at age 7 // 3 topics
Starting at age 7
Your child is discovering how light behaves — learning that sunlight can be dangerous to eyes, understanding how shadows form when light is blocked, and observing how different surfaces reflect light.
- How Shadows Form
Recognise that shadows are formed when light from a source is blocked by an opaque object, and find patterns in how shadow size changes
Ages 7 to 8Concept - Reflecting Light
Notice that light is reflected from surfaces, and that shiny smooth surfaces reflect light best
Ages 7 to 8Concept - Protecting Eyes from Sunlight
Recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect eyes
Ages 7 to 8Concept
Starts at age 8 // 4 topics
Starting at age 8
Your child is discovering how sound works — understanding that sounds are vibrations that travel through air, water, and solids, and exploring how pitch and volume relate to the strength of these vibrations.
- Sound Travels Through Materials
Recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to the ear
Ages 8 to 9Concept - Volume & Vibrations
Find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it
Ages 8 to 9Concept - Sound Fading with Distance
Recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases
Ages 8 to 9Concept - Pitch of Sounds
Find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it
Ages 8 to 9Concept
Starts at age 9 // 4 topics
Starting at age 9
Your child is learning how light allows us to see objects and how waves work, including exploring different ways to send information using patterns and codes.
- How We See Objects
Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Waves & How They Move
Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and understand that waves can cause objects to move
Ages 9 to 10Concept - Wave Behaviour Vocabulary
Use technical vocabulary for wave behaviour — refraction, absorption, reflection, scattering, amplitude, frequency, wavelength, echo, spectrum, angle of…
Ages 9 to 11Language - Patterns & Codes for Information
Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information, such as codes and signals
Ages 9 to 10Concept
Starts at age 10 // 1 topic
Starting at age 10
Your child is learning how light travels in straight lines and using this understanding to explain everyday phenomena like how we see things and why shadows match the shape of objects that cast them.
- Light Travels in Straight Lines
Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines and use this to explain how we see objects and why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast…
Ages 10 to 11Concept
Starts at age 11 // 4 topics
Starting at age 11
- Reflection & Refraction
State the law of reflection (angle of incidence = angle of reflection) and explain refraction as the change in speed and direction when light crosses a boundary…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - White Light & Colour
Explain that white light is a mixture of all visible colours (ROYGBIV), describe dispersion through a prism, explain why objects appear coloured (selective…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Wave Properties & Types
Describe waves in terms of amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed; distinguish transverse waves (oscillation perpendicular to direction of travel)…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - How Sound Waves Travel
Explain that sound is produced by vibrating objects and travels as a longitudinal pressure wave through solids, liquids, and gases; describe reflection of sound…
Ages 11 to 12Concept
Starts at age 12 // 4 topics
Starting at age 12
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Describe the full electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays, in order of increasing frequency and energy; explain that all EM waves travel at the…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Waves & Different Materials
Explain how waves can be absorbed, transmitted, or reflected by different materials, and apply these interactions to explain colour perception, sight…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Ray Diagrams & Images
Construct ray diagrams to show the formation of images by plane mirrors and converging lenses, identifying whether images are real or virtual, magnified or…
Ages 12 to 13Representation - Drawing Ray Diagrams
Draw ray diagrams to show reflection at a plane mirror (angle of incidence = angle of reflection) and refraction at a boundary between media; use ray diagrams…
Ages 12 to 13Representation