Science

"I really love learning outside and when I can go in the water"  Reception

"I feel confident in Science"  Year 5

"I loved Science Day.  We got to do lots of cool experiments - I especially liked it when Mr Codling set fire to his hand - on purpose"  Year 5 (2022)

Intent

At Scissett CE Academy we aim to ensure that we provide a high-quality science education which provides the foundations to understand the world and how it changes our lives. The disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics will be achieved through the teaching of essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. 

The Science Curriculum at Scissett enables pupils to build up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, enabling them to recognise the power of rational explanation.   We aim for our children to question and investigate and to show real interest in the world around them.

Implementation

Throughout the teaching of Science, we aim to enable pupils to develop a keen interest in science and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. Pupils will understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will develop, and analyse causes.

 Lessons will often start with a starting question to explore.  Children will use a mixture of practical and research to help them find answers and responses.  Sometimes this may lead to other questions.  Work will involve many skills; predicting, measuring, observing and collating evidence.  Children will understand the idea of fair testing and will combine mathematic skills to spot trends and patterns.  Children will learn to justify their responses and offer their own ideas as to why some things are as they are.

Impact

As pupils progress through school they will develop their Scientific knowledge in key areas, including scientific enquiry. Throughout their time at Scissett Academy children will cover the following areas:

 Working Scientifically

  • Plants and Animals, including Humans
  • Living Things and their Habitats
  • Everyday Materials
  • Seasonal Changes
  • Rocks
  • States of Matter
  • Light
  • Sound
  • Electricity
  • Forces and Magnets
  • Earth and Space

Here is an overview of what pupils will cover in their time at Scissett:

Mapping of Science Units

  Autumn 1 Autumn 2 Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1 Summer 2

Year R

(Topic Based)

Nursery Rhmes and Traditional Tales Travel and Transport Dinosaurs Families and Living Things Space Under the sea and Sea Creatures
Year 1 Seasonal Changes Everyday Materials Identifying Animals My Body Identifying Plants Seaside Objects
Year 2 Exploring Everyday Materials Living in Habitats Growth and Survival Growing Plants Secret World of Plants
Year 3 Forces and Magnets Health and Movement Rocks/Fossils/Soils How Plants Grow Light and Darkness Desert Life
Year 4 Changing Sound Circuits and Conductors Eating and Digestion States of Matter Living in Environments
Year 5 Earth & Space Seeing Light Properties of Materials

Life Cycles (S1)

Changes and Reproduction (S2)

Great British Scientists (S2)

 

Assessment and Progression – EYFS

Communication and Language

·         Learn new vocabulary

·         Ask questions to find out more and to check what has been said to them

·         Articulate their ideas and thoughts in well-formed sentences

·         Describe events in some detail

·         Use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activities, and to explain how things work and why they might happen

·         Use new vocabulary in different contexts

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

·         Know and talk about the different factors that support their overall health and wellbeing:

- regular physical activity

- healthy eating

- toothbrushing

- sensible amounts of ‘screen time’

- having a good sleep routine

- being a safe pedestrian

Understanding the World

·         Explore the natural world around them

·         Describe what they see, hear and feel while they are outside

·         Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live

·         Understand the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around them

Communication and Language

-      - Listening, Attention and Understanding

·         Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

-      - Managing Self

·         Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices

Understanding the World

-      - The Natural World

·         Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants

·         Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class

·         Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter

 

Assessment and Progression Criteria

 

 

 

At the start of each new topic, pupils will demonstrate prior knowledge; this will enable teachers to ensure they have the firm foundations to build upon. 

Children will be encouraged to reflect on the knowledge learnt throughout the topic and their understanding. Key vocabulary and prompts will be displayed in and out of the classroom environment, enabling children to absorb and reflect continuously, supporting long term knowledge development. 

 We hope to be creating the next generation of scientists who may help lead the world forward in the areas of medicine, physics, chemistry, biology and space travel.

 

Science Day 2022

What a fantastic day! 

After Professor (Miss) James received an interesting email from Odo (a futuristic child) asking if the children could investigate what could have caused a catastrophic explosion on planet Earth, each class eagerly and quickly got to work to become mini scientists for the day, exploring concepts such as viscosity, immiscible/miscible liquids and bubble making.  Things went whizz, bang, pop during investigations and the children came up with many reasons as to how the liquid explosion could have happened.

Take a look at what we got up to!

 

 

Light and Darkness 

As part of their unit on Light and Darkness, Year 3 have been investigating how shadows change during the day. They worked in pairs and groups to construct a clay model with a pencil placed vertically in the middle of the clay and observed at different times of the day the changes in the length of the shadow. Their findings were recorded and compared against their hypotheses. 

 

EGGcellent Investigations

In Science Year 4 have been learning about our teeth and the importance of looking after them. As part of our unit we have conducted an investigation to see how different liquids can effect tooth decay. We have placed eggs into water, juice, milk, cola and squash to observe what will happen over time. We’ve already noticed some very interesting changes…

Animal Day in Reception Class

To support their topic of Living things, Reception class had a very special visit from ‘Animal Club’ who brought some scaly and furry friends along for us to meet. These included 2 bearded dragons, a snake, worms, grasshoppers, a guinea pig, a rabbit, a tortoise and even a whiptail scorpion. We enjoyed gently handling the animals whilst learning lots of different animal facts - some you would never believe!  

 

Reception Class - Surviving and Growing (Spring 2023)

In class reception we have been busy learning about what plants need to survive and grow. We have planted our own sunflower seeds, one each to take home (which the children were very excited about!) and some to have in school and observe over a longer period of time. We have watered them every other day and placed them in a sunny position on the windowsill to give them the best chance of initial growth before we move and pot them outside when the weather gets a little warmer. Reception class have loved learning and identifying different parts of a plant and how we need to care for them to develop from seed to flower.

We have been learning about, caring for and observing 5 caterpillars that have developed and hatched into beautiful butterflies over the last 5 weeks. We’ve watched them grow from tiny caterpillars in big fluffy ones that put themselves in to the metamorphic stage and eventually wriggled out in to interestingly patterned butterflies. We placed some orange segments and banana for the butterflies to get some energy before it was time to release them in the warm sunshine which helps their wings to fly. We learned a fantastic fact that butterflies taste with their feet – did you know this?

What does air weigh? (Year 4 Summer 2023)

Year 4 investigated the question, how much does air weigh?  They used either weighting scales or a coat hanger as a balance scale to find out how much it weighs.  Based on their findings they gave recommendations for if they were to do it again what would they do differently.

 

Diddy Detectives After School Club (Spring 2024)
Children took part in an exciting club from the company Think Forensic working on all things forensic, science and police. One of the weeks the children created computfits, we even tried to do one of Mr Cunningham. Which one do you think is the best?
 
Year 3 - Science - How plants grow (Spring 2024)
Year 3 have loved learning about the process involved in growing plants. The children planted their own bean seeds, some of the children had fantastic results at the end of the experiment. 
We also investigated how nutrients are transported within the plant.
 

Reception and Year 2 Class School Trip - Ponderosa (Summer 2024)

Reception class and Year 2 had a great day (if a little wet!) at Ponderosa Zoo. We explored different habitats of lots of weird and wonderful animals from Snakes and Tracheales to Reindeers and Porcupines. Getting up close and personal, we took a walk through the Lemur enclosure and timed it just as they were tucking into the morning snack. Two of our favourite animals were Dobby the Kinkajou in the Nocturnal house who was just having his playtime and the noisy Otters having what we learned was a conversation between father and son.

How the Earth Rotates (Autumn 2024)

Today, the children in Year 5 have learnt about how the rotation of the Earth creates day and night. We looked specifically at different time zones across the world (UTC), researching this in pars and comparing our findings together as a class. We also developed our thinking skills by discussing big questions like: What would life look like on other planets and what would you need to survive? 

 

Science (Autumn 2024)
 
In year 2, we went on a scavenger hunt around the classroom and outside. We then sorted out the objects we collected into two different categories. We put them into groups of Man-made or natural materials. The children did a wonderful job of working as a team. Some super scientists in Year 2!
 

 

Phases of the Moon (Autumn 2024)

This week in Science, Year 5 have been learning about the phases of the moon by eating a biscuits (yes, really!) 

Bit by bit, we ate certain sections of our biscuits, representing stages of the moons 28 day cycle, from waxing gibbous to a new moon- when we got to eat the whole lot! What a yummy way to remember our scientific learning!
Seeing Light (Autumn 2024)
This week in Science, Year 5 have started their new topic on seeing light. We learnt that light is a form of energy, how it travels and what causes shadows. The children wrote some beautiful explanations in their books and looked at hand shadows puppets! 
 
 

Learning in the Snow (Autumn 2024)

Reception have had an icy fun week exploring the processes of freezing and melting and wasn't it great that even the weather decided to follow our curriculum! Lots of practical investigations and hands-on experiences while understanding the effects of the natural world around us.

 

Reversible and Irreversible Changes in Science (Spring 2025)

In Science, year 5 have been looking at reversible and irreversible changes. To show an irreversible change, the children produced a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to create a new substance that then created a reaction when we put it into a small container with a cork in it! Super work year 5!

 

Useful links:

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/  National Geographic for kids. A child friendly website filled with fun and unique activities.

https://www.stem.org.uk/ Continue Science learning and explore different activities based on chemistry, physics and biology.

https://www.nasa.gov/ NASA kid’s club. Play games and learn about Space!

https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/blog/advice-for-parents/5-experiments/ Science experiments you can do at home.

https://thinkforensic.co.uk/ Crime scene investigation workshops for kids.

https://www.sublimescience.com/free-science-experiments/ 101 fun science experiments you can do at home.