Science Curriculum

What's happening?

Year 1

Everyday Materials

This module introduces children to a range of basic materials and their properties and they learn to name and identify wood, plastic, metal, glass, rock, brick, water and other materials.  They recognise that the same material can be made into different objects, for example, a metal can, a metal spoon and a metal car and use touch and sight to identify a number of simple properties of materials.  Children learn how to group, classify and compare the properties of different materials. They design and carry out simple tests to make fair comparisons and record their findings in a variety of ways.

Using Our Senses

In this module children develop their knowledge and understanding of the human body, building on their early experiences during Foundation Stage. They identify and name simple parts of the body, as they draw and label a life size version of themselves or a class mate. The children are introduced to the concept of five senses that help them to find out about the world around them and link those senses to particular parts of their body. Each sense is explored by children as they answer a variety of science questions. This module links to Year 2, Module 6, Growing Up, where children learn more about humans; that they grow from tiny babies into adults, need exercise and the right types and amounts of food to help them to be healthy.

Looking at Animals (Animals including Humans)

In this module, children will learn about a variety of animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. They will name their body parts, describe their features and even mimic how they move. We will focus on animals that have backbones (vertebrates) and the children will learn the terms ‘carnivore’, ‘herbivore’ and ‘omnivore’. Children will think about pets that may live with them and how these might be looked after if they need to visit a vet. Children will also use enquiry skills to look closely at animals to group and classify them.

Plant Detectives

In this module children are introduced to a wide variety of plants, including trees, found within their immediate environment. The emphasis within this module is on first-hand experience; children exploring and investigating what is familiar and that they see every day around them, such as garden plants, wild plants and trees in school grounds or close by that they can observe first-hand themselves. This module builds on earlier learning during Foundation Stage, where children will have had a variety of plant-related experiences: using their senses, looking at, smelling and tasting, planting and growing things, and becoming aware of obvious differences between things, for example, between different leaves and different flowers. It links to Year 1 Plants, where children plant, caring for and grow different plants themselves, and to Year 2, Module 2, The Apprentice Gardener, where children develop their understanding of plants and growing still further.

Year 2

What is in your habitat?

In this module children begin to learn about different habitats, how the living things are suited to the habitat and the interactions between the living organisms within a habitat. During the module they explore the habitat by identifying things that are living, once-lived and never-lived. They construct food chains that show how living things depend on each other. This builds on the understanding gained in Year 1, Module 2, Looking at Animals, that animals eat different types of food. Finally they consider how living things are suited to a particular habitat, again building on work in Year 1, Module 2, Looking at Animals. This is further developed in Year 6, Module 4, Everything Changes.

Materials: Shaping Up (Uses of Everyday Materials)

Children will be introduced to different ways of changing the shapes of objects made from different materials. They will discover that some materials have different properties according to how they are shaped and what they are made into, and choose materials for uses. They also learn that pushes and pulls can cause movement or a change in shape. Children apply their knowledge by making clay models and catapults. When working scientifically, children carry out identifying and classifying enquiries and comparative tests. They record using photographs, labelled drawings, Venn diagrams, tables and bar charts.

The Apprentice Gardener

Children are introduced to growing plants from bulbs and from seeds, learning the sequence of germination, and comparing and contrasting the requirements of germinating seeds with those of mature plants to maintain healthy growth. They record a series of observations using labelled drawings and photographs in diaries. Children use their existing knowledge and their observations to make predictions at the start and during investigations - the main focus is on making and comparing close observations and interpreting the changes that they see.

Growing Up

In this module children consider the basic needs of humans for survival (food, water, air), the need for warmth and shelter, and additional needs for health and wellbeing. Children identify simple differences between living and non-living things and they are introduced to the sequence of the human life cycle, first through considering how they have changed since birth. They then research further changes that happen as a human baby grows and develops into and through adulthood. When comparing different stages of human life children consider growth, changes in physical appearance, movement, feeding and diet, self-care, the move from dependency to independence and parenthood (although briefly). In Year 5 children learn about other stages in the human life cycle, including puberty, and about human reproduction.

Take Care (Animals including humans)

In this module children begin to learn about different ways to keep themselves healthy. During the module they consider the importance of eating a range of different types of food. This is developed further in Year 3, Module 5, Amazing Bodies, when they consider the nutrition that they gain from different types of food. During the module they also start to learn about the importance of exercise and hygiene. Dental hygiene is revisited in greater detail in Year 4, Module 4, Where Does All That Food Go?. The importance of exercise is developed further in Year 6, Module 3, Body Health.

Year 3

Amazing Bodies

In this module children will build on their knowledge of the human body developed in Key Stage 1. They will revisit the importance of eating the right amounts of different types of food, but will extend this knowledge to understand that the food we eat provides us with the nutrition that our bodies require to remain healthy. They will learn about the range of nutrients that humans need to consume in the correct amounts and the role that these nutrients play in keeping our bodies healthy. They will also learn that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Can you see me? (Light)

In this module children start their formal look at light.  They will learn about how we see objects, the ways in which different objects reflect different amounts of light and how these ideas can be applied to staying safe at night.  They will explore what causes a shadow, as well as how the shape and size of a shadow can be affected by its position. They will learn how exposure to sunlight can cause harm, and about ways by which they can protect themselves. The children will carry out some investigations to test materials such as sunglasses and materials to reduce/block out light, and develop their skills with respect to the working scientifically strand of the curriculum.

Year 3- The Power of Forces (Forces and Magnets)

During this topic, children will explore how forces can make objects start to move, speed up, slow down or change direction. They will compare how things move on different surfaces. They will learn that some metals are magnetic and that magnets have two poles. When working scientifically children will compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted to a magnet. They will carry out comparative and fair tests to investigate the strength of magnets and how objects move on different surfaces.

How does your garden grow?

Children revise the names of the main parts of a plant (root, stem/trunk, leaf and flower) and learn their functions and how these relate to their appearance and structure.  They will learn about the absorption and transport of water and nutrients and the role of the leaf in making food for the plant.  Children will also learn about the parts of the flower, their roles in plant reproduction and the stages of the life cycle of a flowering plant.  When working scientifically children will ask and answer their own questions about plants and will have opportunities to make and record detailed observations.

Rock Detectives

In this module children will work as ‘Rock Detectives’ establishing core knowledge and understanding of rocks, their relationship to soils and how fossils have formed over time. In learning about rocks children will identify and name rocks, describing and comparing their observable properties and sorting them using a key. They will identify ways in which rocks are used in the local environment and suggest why the properties of certain rocks make them suitable for particular purposes. They will consider how rocks are affected by weathering over time and work scientifically to carry out tests to establish the hardness and permeability of different kinds of rocks.

Year 4

In a state

Children learn the characteristic properties of solids, liquids and gases, first through physically exploring typical materials and then by classifying examples, such as powders and very viscous liquids. They learn about changes of state and begin to understand freezing and boiling points and learn the names of some common gases. Children explore the expansion of liquids and gases when they are heated, and learn about the water cycle.  When investigating changes of state they will use thermometers and data loggers. 

Switched On (Electricity)

Children already have experience of electricity in their everyday lives and so we build on this knowledge. Children will identify electrical appliances and know the difference between those powered by mains and battery. Children will recognise that electricity can be used to produce light, sound, heat and movement. All children will get the chance to make simple series circuits with cells, wires, bulbs, buzzers and motors and with detailed observation they will be able to describe the flow of electricity round a circuit and give reasons why some circuits do not work.

Year 5

Feel the Force (Forces)

Children have already learnt how forces can make things start and stop moving in Year 3. Now in Year 5, children will develop an understanding of how forces including gravitational attraction and drag forces – friction, air resistance, water resistance, and up-thrust in water – affect movement. Children learn how mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect, and they use this knowledge in different investigations.

Year 5 – Circle of Life

Children learn about the life cycles of some mammals, amphibians, insects and birds. They compare and contrast different life cycles, identifying common features as well as explaining key differences. Children learn about incredible journeys that some animals undertake to complete their life cycles, and about the different ways in which humans are supporting some endangered animals to increase their population numbers.

Year 6

Body Pump (Animals including Humans)

This module builds on what children learnt in earlier years. Now we look at the human circulatory system and how it enables their bodies to function. They find out about the heart, blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) and blood, and how these work together to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every part of the body. Children will use secondary sources of information to find answers to questions about the functions of different parts of the circulatory system that they cannot investigate first hand. Children will carry out and illustrate a practical activity in which they make some ‘blood soup’, and, in a drama activity, they will model the transport of blood and gases around the body.

Year 6 – Danger! Low Voltage

Children develop their understanding of electrical circuits and construct circuits with a number of components. They learn to use the recognised electrical symbols to record circuits and research how electricity is generated both traditionally using coal and gas, and by renewable resources, and investigate how electricity is transmitted across the country, and what sort of electricity generating plant they might site in their locality.

Science Curriculum

What's happening?

Year 1

Everyday Materials

This module introduces children to a range of basic materials and their properties and they learn to name and identify wood, plastic, metal, glass, rock, brick, water and other materials.  They recognise that the same material can be made into different objects, for example, a metal can, a metal spoon and a metal car and use touch and sight to identify a number of simple properties of materials.  Children learn how to group, classify and compare the properties of different materials. They design and carry out simple tests to make fair comparisons and record their findings in a variety of ways.

Using Our Senses

In this module children develop their knowledge and understanding of the human body, building on their early experiences during Foundation Stage. They identify and name simple parts of the body, as they draw and label a life size version of themselves or a class mate. The children are introduced to the concept of five senses that help them to find out about the world around them and link those senses to particular parts of their body. Each sense is explored by children as they answer a variety of science questions. This module links to Year 2, Module 6, Growing Up, where children learn more about humans; that they grow from tiny babies into adults, need exercise and the right types and amounts of food to help them to be healthy.

Looking at Animals (Animals including Humans)

In this module, children will learn about a variety of animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. They will name their body parts, describe their features and even mimic how they move. We will focus on animals that have backbones (vertebrates) and the children will learn the terms ‘carnivore’, ‘herbivore’ and ‘omnivore’. Children will think about pets that may live with them and how these might be looked after if they need to visit a vet. Children will also use enquiry skills to look closely at animals to group and classify them.

Plant Detectives

In this module children are introduced to a wide variety of plants, including trees, found within their immediate environment. The emphasis within this module is on first-hand experience; children exploring and investigating what is familiar and that they see every day around them, such as garden plants, wild plants and trees in school grounds or close by that they can observe first-hand themselves. This module builds on earlier learning during Foundation Stage, where children will have had a variety of plant-related experiences: using their senses, looking at, smelling and tasting, planting and growing things, and becoming aware of obvious differences between things, for example, between different leaves and different flowers. It links to Year 1 Plants, where children plant, caring for and grow different plants themselves, and to Year 2, Module 2, The Apprentice Gardener, where children develop their understanding of plants and growing still further.

Year 2

What is in your habitat?

In this module children begin to learn about different habitats, how the living things are suited to the habitat and the interactions between the living organisms within a habitat. During the module they explore the habitat by identifying things that are living, once-lived and never-lived. They construct food chains that show how living things depend on each other. This builds on the understanding gained in Year 1, Module 2, Looking at Animals, that animals eat different types of food. Finally they consider how living things are suited to a particular habitat, again building on work in Year 1, Module 2, Looking at Animals. This is further developed in Year 6, Module 4, Everything Changes.

Materials: Shaping Up (Uses of Everyday Materials)

Children will be introduced to different ways of changing the shapes of objects made from different materials. They will discover that some materials have different properties according to how they are shaped and what they are made into, and choose materials for uses. They also learn that pushes and pulls can cause movement or a change in shape. Children apply their knowledge by making clay models and catapults. When working scientifically, children carry out identifying and classifying enquiries and comparative tests. They record using photographs, labelled drawings, Venn diagrams, tables and bar charts.

The Apprentice Gardener

Children are introduced to growing plants from bulbs and from seeds, learning the sequence of germination, and comparing and contrasting the requirements of germinating seeds with those of mature plants to maintain healthy growth. They record a series of observations using labelled drawings and photographs in diaries. Children use their existing knowledge and their observations to make predictions at the start and during investigations - the main focus is on making and comparing close observations and interpreting the changes that they see.

Growing Up

In this module children consider the basic needs of humans for survival (food, water, air), the need for warmth and shelter, and additional needs for health and wellbeing. Children identify simple differences between living and non-living things and they are introduced to the sequence of the human life cycle, first through considering how they have changed since birth. They then research further changes that happen as a human baby grows and develops into and through adulthood. When comparing different stages of human life children consider growth, changes in physical appearance, movement, feeding and diet, self-care, the move from dependency to independence and parenthood (although briefly). In Year 5 children learn about other stages in the human life cycle, including puberty, and about human reproduction.

Take Care (Animals including humans)

In this module children begin to learn about different ways to keep themselves healthy. During the module they consider the importance of eating a range of different types of food. This is developed further in Year 3, Module 5, Amazing Bodies, when they consider the nutrition that they gain from different types of food. During the module they also start to learn about the importance of exercise and hygiene. Dental hygiene is revisited in greater detail in Year 4, Module 4, Where Does All That Food Go?. The importance of exercise is developed further in Year 6, Module 3, Body Health.

Year 3

Amazing Bodies

In this module children will build on their knowledge of the human body developed in Key Stage 1. They will revisit the importance of eating the right amounts of different types of food, but will extend this knowledge to understand that the food we eat provides us with the nutrition that our bodies require to remain healthy. They will learn about the range of nutrients that humans need to consume in the correct amounts and the role that these nutrients play in keeping our bodies healthy. They will also learn that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Can you see me? (Light)

In this module children start their formal look at light.  They will learn about how we see objects, the ways in which different objects reflect different amounts of light and how these ideas can be applied to staying safe at night.  They will explore what causes a shadow, as well as how the shape and size of a shadow can be affected by its position. They will learn how exposure to sunlight can cause harm, and about ways by which they can protect themselves. The children will carry out some investigations to test materials such as sunglasses and materials to reduce/block out light, and develop their skills with respect to the working scientifically strand of the curriculum.

Year 3- The Power of Forces (Forces and Magnets)

During this topic, children will explore how forces can make objects start to move, speed up, slow down or change direction. They will compare how things move on different surfaces. They will learn that some metals are magnetic and that magnets have two poles. When working scientifically children will compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted to a magnet. They will carry out comparative and fair tests to investigate the strength of magnets and how objects move on different surfaces.

How does your garden grow?

Children revise the names of the main parts of a plant (root, stem/trunk, leaf and flower) and learn their functions and how these relate to their appearance and structure.  They will learn about the absorption and transport of water and nutrients and the role of the leaf in making food for the plant.  Children will also learn about the parts of the flower, their roles in plant reproduction and the stages of the life cycle of a flowering plant.  When working scientifically children will ask and answer their own questions about plants and will have opportunities to make and record detailed observations.

Rock Detectives

In this module children will work as ‘Rock Detectives’ establishing core knowledge and understanding of rocks, their relationship to soils and how fossils have formed over time. In learning about rocks children will identify and name rocks, describing and comparing their observable properties and sorting them using a key. They will identify ways in which rocks are used in the local environment and suggest why the properties of certain rocks make them suitable for particular purposes. They will consider how rocks are affected by weathering over time and work scientifically to carry out tests to establish the hardness and permeability of different kinds of rocks.

Year 4

In a state

Children learn the characteristic properties of solids, liquids and gases, first through physically exploring typical materials and then by classifying examples, such as powders and very viscous liquids. They learn about changes of state and begin to understand freezing and boiling points and learn the names of some common gases. Children explore the expansion of liquids and gases when they are heated, and learn about the water cycle.  When investigating changes of state they will use thermometers and data loggers. 

Switched On (Electricity)

Children already have experience of electricity in their everyday lives and so we build on this knowledge. Children will identify electrical appliances and know the difference between those powered by mains and battery. Children will recognise that electricity can be used to produce light, sound, heat and movement. All children will get the chance to make simple series circuits with cells, wires, bulbs, buzzers and motors and with detailed observation they will be able to describe the flow of electricity round a circuit and give reasons why some circuits do not work.

Year 5

Feel the Force (Forces)

Children have already learnt how forces can make things start and stop moving in Year 3. Now in Year 5, children will develop an understanding of how forces including gravitational attraction and drag forces – friction, air resistance, water resistance, and up-thrust in water – affect movement. Children learn how mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect, and they use this knowledge in different investigations.

Year 5 – Circle of Life

Children learn about the life cycles of some mammals, amphibians, insects and birds. They compare and contrast different life cycles, identifying common features as well as explaining key differences. Children learn about incredible journeys that some animals undertake to complete their life cycles, and about the different ways in which humans are supporting some endangered animals to increase their population numbers.

Year 6

Body Pump (Animals including Humans)

This module builds on what children learnt in earlier years. Now we look at the human circulatory system and how it enables their bodies to function. They find out about the heart, blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) and blood, and how these work together to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every part of the body. Children will use secondary sources of information to find answers to questions about the functions of different parts of the circulatory system that they cannot investigate first hand. Children will carry out and illustrate a practical activity in which they make some ‘blood soup’, and, in a drama activity, they will model the transport of blood and gases around the body.

Year 6 – Danger! Low Voltage

Children develop their understanding of electrical circuits and construct circuits with a number of components. They learn to use the recognised electrical symbols to record circuits and research how electricity is generated both traditionally using coal and gas, and by renewable resources, and investigate how electricity is transmitted across the country, and what sort of electricity generating plant they might site in their locality.