We call it our book-based curriculum. Our science curriculum consists of 18 units that are designed in such a way that they are naturally linked to the texts used in the English curriculum. The knowledge, skills and understanding of both English and Science are therefore important to the activities. One of the main aims is to improve pupils’ writing through science as well as guaranteeing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts.

Just like in the ‘real’ world, the boundaries between the subjects are less pronounced because the learning in different subjects is connected through the context of the text. It makes learning more meaningful, memorable and functional.

Each science unit covers half a term’s learning and focuses on a key concept through a lead question followed by further questions to delve deeper into the scientific concepts. Below are the science units we currently teach in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2:

1.A.1 Why are there so many leaves on the floor? (Seasonal Changes)

Key knowledge: 

• Know the names and characteristics of each season
• Know about the weather associated with each season
• Know about and observe the changes in the seasons
• Know the more familiar symbols associated with weather maps

Key skills:

• Asking simple scientific questions
• Using simple equipment to make observations
• Carry out simple tests
• Identify and classify things
• Explaining to others what I have found out
• Using simple data to answer questions

1.A.3 Why would a dinosaur not make a good pet? (Living things and their habitats)

Key knowledge: 

• Know how to classify things as living, dead or never lived
• Know how a specific habitat provides for the basic needs of things living here (plants and animals)
• Know how to match living things to their habitats
• Know and can explain a simple food chain
• Know how animals find their food
• Name some different sources of food for animals
• Identify and name plants and animals in a range of habitats

Key skills:

• Asking simple scientific questions
• Using simple equipment to make observations
• Carrying out simple tests
• Identify and classify things
• Explaining to others what I have found out
• Using simple data to answer questions

1.A.5 What does Beegu think of life on planet Earth?  

Key knowledge:

• Distinguish between an object and the material it is made from
• Know the materials that an object is made from
• Know the difference between wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock
• Know about the properties of everyday materials
• Group objects based on the materials they are made from

Key skills:

• Asking simple scientific questions
• Using simple equipment to make observations
• Carrying out simple tests
• Identify and classify things
• Explaining to others what I have found out
• Using simple data to answer questions

National Curriculum requirements:

Pupils should be taught to:

• distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made
• identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock
• describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials ​
• compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of their simple physical properties.

1.B.1 Why are humans not like tigers? (animals, including humans)

Key knowledge: 

• Classify a variety of animals according to fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals
• Know how to classify animals by what they eat (carnivore, herbivore and omnivore)
• Know how to sort living and non-living things
• Know how to name the parts of the human body that can be seen
• Know how to link the correct part of the human body to each sense

Key skills:

• Asking simple scientific questions
• Using simple equipment to make observations
• Carrying out simple tests
• Identify and classify things
• Explaining to others what I have found out
• Using simple data to answer questions

1.B.3 What would Traction Man use to build our school? (uses of everyday materials)

Key knowledge: 

• Know how materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching
• Know why a material might or might not be used for a specific job
• Identify and name a range of materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard

Key skills:

• Asking simple scientific questions
• Using simple equipment to make observations
• Carrying out simple tests
• Identify and classify things
• Explaining to others what I have found out
• Using simple data to answer questions

1.B.5 Which plants and birds would Evie find in our valley?  

Key knowledge: 

• Know and name a variety of common wild and garden plants
• Know and name the petals, stem, leaves and root of a plant
• Know and name the roots, trunk, branches and leaves of a tree
• Know the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees
• Know the names of our common birds, including sparrow, starling, robin, blackbird, etc.
• Know where birds make their nests

Key skills:

• Asking simple scientific questions
• Using simple equipment to make observations
• Carrying out simple tests
• Identify and classify things
• Explaining to others what I have found out
• Using simple data to answer questions

2.A.1 How could we cope without electricity for one day? (Electricity)

Key knowledge: 

• Identify and name appliances that require electricity to function
• Construct a series circuit
• Identify and name the components in a series circuit (including cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers)
• Predict and test whether a lamp will light within a circuit
• Know the function of a switch
• Know the difference between a conductor and an insulator; giving examples of each

Key skills:

• Asking relevant scientific questions and setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the use of standard units
• Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation
• Making a prediction with a reason

2.A.2 What do rocks tell us about the way the Earth was formed? (Rocks)

Key knowledge: 

• Be able to compare and group rocks based on their appearance and physical properties, giving a reason
• Know how soil is made and fossils are formed
• Know about and explain the difference between sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rock
• Know about magma and the inner and outer core

Key skills:

• Asking relevant scientific questions
• Setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry
• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the use of standard units
• Gathering, recording classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation
• Making a prediction with a reason

2.A.3 How could we survive without water?

Key knowledge:

• Know the temperature at which materials change state
• Know about and explore how some materials can change state
• Know the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle
• Group materials, based on their state of matter (solid, liquid, gas)

Key skills:

• Asking relevant scientific questions
• Setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry
• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the use of standard units
• Gathering, recording classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation
• Making a prediction with a reason

2.A.6 How can Usain Bolt run so fast? (animals and humans)

Key knowledge: 

• Know about the importance of a nutritious, balanced diet
• Know how nutrients, water and oxygen are transported within animals and humans
• Know about the skeletal and muscular system of a human

Key skills:

• Asking relevant scientific questions
• Setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry
• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the use of standard units
• Gathering, recording classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation
• Making a prediction with a reason

2.B.1 How far can you throw your shadow? (Light)

Key knowledge: 

• Know what dark is (the absence of light)
• Know that light is needed in order to see
• Know that light is reflected from a surface
• Know the danger of direct sunlight and describe how to keep protected
• Explore shadow size and explain the changes
• Know and demonstrate how a shadow is formed

Key skills:

• Asking relevant scientific questions
• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the uses of standard units
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation.
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Making a prediction with a reason
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry

2.B.2 Why is the sound made by [*popular band here*] enjoyed by so many?

Key knowledge:

• Know how sound is made, associating some of them with vibrating
• Know how sound travels from a source to our ears
• Know the correlation between pitch and the object producing a sound
• Know the correlation between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it
• Know what happens to a sound as it travels away from its source

Key skills:

• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Asking relevant scientific questions and setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the uses of standard units
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation.
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Making a prediction with a reason
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry

2.B.3 What happens to the food we eat? (animals and humans)

Key knowledge: 

• Identify and name the parts of the human digestive system
• Know the functions of the organs in the human digestive system
• Identify and know the different types of teeth in humans
• Know the functions of different human teeth
• Use food chains to identify producers, predators and prey
• Construct food chains to identify producers predators and prey

Key skills:

• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Asking relevant scientific questions and setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the uses of standard units
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation.
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Making a prediction with a reason
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry

2.B.5 Which wild animals and plants thrive in our local environment? (living things and habitats)

Key knowledge: 

• Know the function of different parts of flowering plants
• Know how water is transported within plants
• Know the plant life cycle, especially the importance of flowers
• Know what different plants need to help them survive
• Use classification keys to group, identify and name living things
• Know how changes to an environment could endanger living things
• Create classification keys to group, identify and name living things (for others to use)

Key skills:

• Using observations and knowledge to answer scientific questions
• Asking relevant scientific questions and setting up a simple enquiry to explore a scientific question
• Setting up a test to compare two things
• Setting up a fair test and explain why it is fair
• Making careful and accurate observations, including the uses of standard units
• Using equipment, including thermometers and data loggers to make measurements
• Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in different ways to answer scientific questions
• Using diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables; using scientific language
• Using findings to report in different ways, including oral and written explanations, presentation.
• Drawing conclusions and suggest improvements
• Making a prediction with a reason
• Identifying differences, similarities and changes related to an enquiry

3.A.2 Do all animals start life as an egg and how different will you be when you are as old as your grandparents? (Living things)

Key knowledge: 

• Know the life cycle of different living things e.g. mammal, amphibian, insect and bird
• Know the differences between different life cycles
• Know the process of reproduction in plants
• Know the process of reproduction in animals

Key skills

• Know how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately

3.A.3 Could you be the next CSI investigator? (properties and changes of materials)

Key knowledge:

• Compare and group materials based on their properties (e.g. hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electrical & thermal), and response to magnets
• Know and explain how a material dissolves to form a solution
• Know and show how to recover a substance from a solution
• Know and demonstrate how some materials can be separated (e.g. through filtering, sieving and evaporating)
• Know and demonstrate that some changes are reversible and some are not
• Know how some changes result in the formation of a new material and that this is usually irreversible

Key skills:

• Know how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately

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3.A.5 Does everything that goes up always come down? (forces)

Key knowledge: 

• Know what gravity is and its impact on our lives
• Identify and know the effect of air resistance
• Identify and know the effect of water resistance
• Identify and know the effect of friction
• Explain how levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect

Key skills:

• Know how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately

3.B.1 Is there anybody out there? (Earth and space)

Key knowledge: 

• Know about and explain the movement of Earth and other planets relative to the Sun
• Know about and explain the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth
• Know and demonstrate how night and day are created
• Describe the Sun, Earth and Moon (using the term spherical)
• Know the planets in our Solar system

Key skills:

• Know how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately

3.B.2 Have we always looked like this? (evolution and inheritance) 

Key knowledge: 

• Know how the Earth and living things have changed over time
• Know how fossils can be used to find out about the past
• Know about reproduction and offspring (recognising that offspring normally vary and are not identical to their parents)
• Know how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment
• Link adaptation over time to evolution
• Know about evolution and can explain what it is

Key skills:

• Know how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately

3.B.3 Why is our heart the most important pump that we own? (living things)

Key knowledge: 

• Identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system
• Know the function of the heart, blood vessels and blood
• Know the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and life style on health
• Know the ways in which nutrients and water are transported in animals, including humans

Key skills:

• Know how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately

3.B.4 How can you light up your life? (light)

Key knowledge: 

• Know how light travels
• Know and demonstrate how we see objects
• Know why shadows have the same shape as the object that casts them
• Know how simple optical instruments work e.g. lenses, periscope, telescope, binoculars, mirror, magnifying glass etc.

Key skills:

• Knowing how to plan different types of scientific enquiry
• Knowing how to control variables in an enquiry
• Using the outcome of test results to make predictions and set up further comparative and fair tests
• Knowing how to record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• Measuring accurately and precisely using a range of equipment
• Reporting findings from enquiries in a range of ways
• Knowing how to explain a conclusion from an enquiry
• Explaining causal relationships in an enquiry
• Knowing how to relate the outcome from an enquiry to scientific knowledge in order to state whether evidence supports or refutes an argument or theory
• Reading, spelling and pronouncing scientific vocabulary accurately