Intent
At Eastry Church of England Primary School, we believe that teaching science is about having fun and discovering joy in the world around us, finding answers to our own questions and testing out our ideas about how the world ‘works’. Children need to understand why a light comes on when they flick a switch or why a puddle disappears when the sun comes out or why their heart beats faster when they exercise. These are all questions that science will answer.
We consider that science is not only a body of knowledge to be learnt but a way of working that will develop confidence, independence and thinking skills. Therefore, we aim for children to be asking scientific questions and begin to understand the way science will impact the future on a personal, national and global level. By linking science to global issues such as climate change or deforestation, children are able to understand from a scientific point of view how these issues arise and, more importantly, recognise how their individual actions may impact on a local, national and global level.
Implementation
At Eastry school we follow the Kapow scheme of work. It has been designed as a spiral curriculum with the following key principles in mind:
✓ Cyclical: Pupils return to the key knowledge and skills repeatedly during their time in primary school.
✓ Increasing depth: Each time a skill is revisited it is covered with greater complexity and in varying contexts. Progression includes:
- studying a specific scientific concept in more detail;
- studying further examples of a specific concept to broaden contextual knowledge;
- studying a broader range of equipment and methods to test an hypothesis;
- explaining concepts using models or ideas that can’t be seen;
- making and explaining links across areas in science;
- engaging with increasingly complex ideas and ethical dilemmas.
✓ Prior knowledge: Prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build upon previous foundations, rather than starting again.
This scheme of work allows for reinforcement of children’s current understanding of that topic area, as well as the opportunity to develop further knowledge and understanding of key concepts through a combination of practical investigative activities, outdoor learning, independent or supported research and interactive online resources.
Children are teacher assessed against the expected outcomes for each unit of learning, based on all aspects of their learning within the topic. These outcomes will include their engagement in scientific class-discussion, how they record their observations, ability to ask scientific questions and their understanding of the scientific concepts and their impact on the wider world.
The Kapow scheme identifies a suggested long-term plan (see below). At Eastry, we adapt this plan to ensure that strong curriculum links with other subjects are made wherever possible. For example, in Year 1 children study materials alongside the story of The Three Little Pigs.
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
|
Year 1 |
Forces and space: Seasonal changes |
Materials: Everyday materials |
Animals: Sensitive bodies |
Animals: Comparing animals |
Plants: Introduction to plants |
Making connections: Investigating science through stories |
|
Year 2 |
Living things: Habitats |
Living things: Microhabitats |
Materials: Uses of everyday materials |
Animals, including humans: Life cycles and health |
Plants: Plant growth |
Making connections: Plant-based materials |
|
Year 3 |
Animals: Movement and nutrition |
Forces and space: Forces and magnets |
Materials: Rocks and soil |
Energy: Light and shadows |
Plants: Plant reproduction |
Making connections: Does hand span affect grip strength? |
|
Year 4 |
Animals including humans: Digestion and food |
Energy: Electricity and circuits |
Materials: States of matter |
Energy: Sound and vibrations |
Living things: Classification and changing habitats |
Making connections: How does the flow of liquids compare? |
|
Year 5 |
Materials: Mixtures and separation |
Materials: Properties and changes |
Forces and space: Earth and space |
Living things: Life cycles and reproduction |
Forces and space: Unbalanced forces |
Animals: Human timeline (3 lessons)/ Making connections: Does the size of an asteroid affect the diameter of its crater? (3 lessons) |
|
Year 6 |
Living things: Classifying big and small |
Energy: Light and reflection |
Living things: Evolution and inheritance |
Energy: Circuits, batteries and switches |
Animals, including humans: Circulation and health |
Making connections: Are some sunglasses safer than others? |
Impact
Children will be able to confidently ask questions about the world around them.
Children will be able to demonstrate their understanding and engagement in a variety of formats:
• Photographs of observations with captions to reflect on what they have observed
• Speech bubbles in books to show questions and comments
• ‘What if…?’ questions
• Tables, charts and graphs to record and interpret results
• Diagrams and flow-charts to show food chains, life-cycles etc
• Classification keys created by children to sort animals, materials etc by their physical features
• Venn diagrams (hoops), Carroll diagrams to sort and classify objects and animals
• Photographs of experiments and investigations with captions relating to expected results and conclusions made
• Reflections on whether a ‘fair test’ has been carried out- children can identify the different types of variables in an experiment
• Research on significant scientists, remarking on their impact on the development of scientific ideas or inventions and others’ understanding of the world eg Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison
Children will move on to the next stage of their scientific journey by understanding more about the impact of science on the world around them, and continuing to ask questions that lead them to understand how THEY can make a difference to their world.
Our teaching of science was graded OUTSTANDING in September 2011 during an OFSTED Science survey.