Why do we learn science?
Our approach
Curriculum Overview
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Science news at Ayrton

Why do we learn science?

At Ark Ayrton, we believe a successful primary scientist:

  • learns and develops the essential aspects of scientific knowledge, vocabulary, and conceptual understanding
  • applies it through questioning, observation and conducting investigations or solving problems.
  • gathers, records, and discusses data whether this be through simple sorting tasks or more in-depth investigations.
  • applies and develops their understanding of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
  • has high expectations of themselves
  • is exposed to the science in the environment around them, including local visits.
  • can transfer skills and knowledge between the reading and writing curriculum
  • is given the opportunity to see science in the ‘real world’ by learning about scientific careers and the people that work in them.

Our approach

Implementation

Medium term plans are produced with the ‘Key knowledge’ children need to learn ensuring clarity of coverage with a strong emphasis on progression of knowledge and skills. Investigative opportunities are planned to provide all children with first hand experiences to enhance their learning. Our science curriculum:

  • starts from a learner’s existing understanding, which is gathered using pre-unit quizzes
  • uses ‘Do Nows’ to recap prior knowledge and address misconceptions
  • allows children to apply learning in a variety of ways both individually and collaboratively
  • uses Exit Tickets to gather data on whether the WALT has been achieved
  • The organisation of the science curriculum and timetabling enable learners opportunities for constant recapping of knowledge and skills with well-spaced reviews.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is measured in terms of the extent to which children have developed new knowledge, understanding and skills and that they can use and recall these with fluency. This will be measured by:

  • responses to pre-unit quizzes
  • responses to questioning in the lesson
  • application of learning in independent learning tasks - knowledge quiz assessment tasks

Enrichment

In addition to the science curriculum, enrichment is offered through:

  • Celebrating British Science Week
  • Visits and trips linked to the children’s learning
  • Visitors
  • Workshops

Curriculum Overview

Reception

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 work out problems and organise thinking and activities. Explain how things work and why they might happen. Use new vocabulary in different contexts.

Autumn
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.
Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet, and understanding the importance of healthy food choices
Spring
Explore the natural world around them
Describe what they can see, hear, and feel whilst 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
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
Summer
Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live
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.

All Reception subjects Next Reception Subject - History

Year 1

Asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways. Observing closely, using simple equipment. Performing simple tests. Identifying and classifying. Using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions. Gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.

Autumn

Everyday
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 based on their simple physical properties.

Seasonal Changes (Autumn/Winter)
observe changes across the four seasons
observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies.
Spring

Animals, including Humans
identify and name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores

Seasonal Changes (Spring/Summer)
observe changes across the four seasons
observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies.
Summer
Plants
identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees
identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees.

All Year 1 subjects Next Year 1 Subject - History

Year 2

Asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways. Observing closely, using simple equipment. Performing simple tests. Identifying and classifying. Using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions. Gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.

Autumn

Uses of Everyday Materials
identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses
find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.
Spring

Animals, including Humans
notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults
find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food, and air)
describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene.

Plants
observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants
find out and describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy
Summer
Living Things and Their Habitats
explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive
identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other
identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including microhabitats
describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.

All Year 2 subjects Next Year 2 Subject - History

Year 3

Asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them. Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative, and fair tests. Making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate. Measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers gathering, recording, classifying, and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions. Recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables. Reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions. Using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements, and raise further questions identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes. Using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Autumn

Rocks
compare and group together different kinds of rocks based on their appearance and simple physical properties
describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock
recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.

Light
recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light
notice that light is reflected from surfaces
recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect their eyes
recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object
find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change.
Spring

Forces and Magnets
compare how things move on different surfaces
notice that some forces need contact between two objects, but magnetic forces can act at a distance
observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others
compare and group together a variety of everyday materials based on whether
they are attracted to a magnet, and identify some magnetic materials
describe magnets as having two poles
predict whether two magnets will attract or repel each other, depending on which
poles are facing

Animals, including Humans
identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat
identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.
Summer
Plants
identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers
explore the requirements of plants for life and growth (air, light, water, nutrients from
soil, and room to grow) and how they vary from plant to plant
investigate the way in which water is transported within plants
explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal

All Year 3 subjects Next Year 3 Subject - History

Year 4

Asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them. Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative, and fair tests. Making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate. Measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers gathering, recording, classifying, and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions. Recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables. Reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions. Using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements, and raise further questions identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes. Using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Autumn

States of Matter
compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids, or gases
observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C)
identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature.

Animals, including Humans
describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans
identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions
construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.
Spring

Sound
identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating
recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear
find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it
find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it
recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases.

Electricity
identify common appliances that run on electricity
construct a simple series electrical circuit, identifying and naming its basic parts, including cells, wires, bulbs, switches, and buzzers
identify whether or not a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether or not the lamp is part of a complete loop with a battery
recognise that a switch opens and closes a circuit and associate this with whether or not a lamp lights in a simple series circuit
recognise some common conductors and insulators, and associate metals with being good conductors.
Summer
Living Things and their Habitats
recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways
explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment
recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.

All Year 4 subjects Next Year 4 Subject - History

Year 5

Planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising, and controlling variables where necessary. Taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate. Recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar, and line graphs. Using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests. Reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships, and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations. Identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.

Autumn

Properties and Changes of Materials
compare and group together everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electrical and thermal), and response to magnets
know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution
use knowledge of solids, liquids, and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating
give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular
uses of everyday materials, including metals, wood, and plastic
demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes
explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible, including changes associated with burning and the action of acid on bicarbonate of soda.

Earth and Space
describe the movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar system
describe the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth
describe the Sun, Earth, and Moon as approximately spherical bodies
use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky.
Spring

Forces
explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object
identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction, that act between moving surfaces
recognise that some mechanisms, including levers, pulleys and gears, allow a smaller force to have a greater effect.

Living Things and their Habitats
describe the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect, and a bird
describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals.
Summer
Animals, including Humans
describe the changes as humans develop to old age.

All Year 5 subjects Next Year 5 Subject - History

Year 6

Planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising, and controlling variables where necessary. Taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate. Recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar, and line graphs. Using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests. Reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships, and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations. Identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.

Autumn

Light
recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines
use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye
explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes
use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.

Electricity
associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit
compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches
use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
Spring

Evolution and Inheritance
recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago
recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents
identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.

Animals, including Humans
identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood
recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their body’s function
describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.
Summer

Living Things and their Habitats
describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including microorganisms, plants, and animals
give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics.

All Year 6 subjects Next Year 6 Subject - History

Science news at Ayrton