Last reviewed: 25 October 2026
Science and Technology is one of the most practical learning areas in upper primary. In Grade 5 learners study living things, the human body, materials, energy and the environment, and they are expected to observe, experiment and explain, not just memorise. That makes it a subject parents can support well at home with ordinary household items. The full list of topics is in KICD’s Grade 5 curriculum designs, under Science and Technology.
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What Grade 5 Science and Technology Covers
Following the curriculum review that merged some upper primary learning areas, Science and Technology brings together science content and basic technology skills. Topics typically include:
- Living things: plants and their parts, how plants make and store food, animals and their groups, and how living things depend on each other.
- The human body: body systems such as digestion and breathing, and how to keep them healthy.
- Health: hygiene, common diseases and their prevention, and safe use of medicines.
- Matter and materials: states of matter, properties of materials and how they change.
- Force and energy: sources of energy, heat, light and sound, and simple machines.
- Technology: using digital devices safely and responsibly.
Your child’s school may order or name topics slightly differently, so check the exercise book or ask the teacher which have been covered this year.
Revise by Doing
CBC assessment in Science asks learners to explain what they saw and why. Children who have actually done an experiment remember far more than those who only read notes. Some quick home activities:
- States of matter: freeze water into ice, melt it, then boil it (with an adult). Ask your child to name each change.
- Plants: plant beans in two cups, give one water and one none, and record what happens over a week.
- Light: use a torch and different materials (paper, glass, cardboard) to sort them into transparent, translucent and opaque.
- Sound: stretch rubber bands over a tin and hear how tighter bands make higher sounds.
- Digestion: trace the path of food on a simple drawing of the body, naming each organ.
Ask your child to write a short record of each activity: what they did, what they saw and what they learned. This mirrors how practical work is assessed in school.
Learn Key Vocabulary
Science has its own words: photosynthesis, evaporation, vertebrate, conductor, insulator. Make simple flashcards with the word on one side and a meaning plus a picture on the other. Five minutes of flashcards a few times a week builds confidence fast.
Link Science to Health at Home
Health topics are easy to reinforce in daily life. Talk about why you boil drinking water, why you wash hands before meals, why medicine must only be taken as directed, and why a balanced plate matters. Children remember lessons tied to their own routines.
Use Practice Questions to Check Understanding
After revising a topic, try a few questions from our Science revision papers. Mark them together and look at why any answer was wrong. Was it a vocabulary gap, a misunderstanding, or careless reading? The Grade 5 hub lists every Grade 5 resource, and the CBC projects guide for Grades 4–6 helps with school projects.
Keep It Curious
The best Science revision follows your child’s questions. When they ask why the sky is blue or why bread goes mouldy, explore the answer together. Curiosity is what this learning area is trying to build, and it carries straight into Integrated Science in junior school.
A Simple Weekly Plan
Two short sessions a week are enough: one to revise a topic from the exercise book and one for a home activity or flashcards. Every fortnight, try a few practice questions. Keep a folder of activity records and drawings, which also helps when the teacher asks for evidence of practical work.
Want it done for you? A cbcguide membership unlocks full revision papers with marking guides for every grade, from KSh 500 a month. See membership options.
Ten-minute check: try the free Grade 5 CBC Challenge. It has 10 questions, each marked on the spot with the working, and it shows which topics to practise next.