Science

Science contributes to the development of enquiring minds which have the ability to question, test, evaluate and apply knowledge and understanding of the world around them. It develops personal qualities that prepare children for adult life such as the acquisition and development of scientific language, the application of number skills, the use of ICT, the development of personal and social skills from working independently and collaboratively. Science offers children the opportunity to appreciate and understand the world.

Science is taught from a scheme that ensures a full coverage of the National curriculum and also ensures a correct level of challenge and progression for the children. There is an emphasis on learning through investigations and through the children’s natural enquiries about the world around them.

Through practical work, the children plan scientific investigations and gradually learn the concept of a “fair test”. They also learn to record the findings of their investigations in a variety of ways.

The 2014 national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics

• develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them

• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

At Market Drayton Junior School we will cover the following areas:

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Y3

Forces & Magnets

Sorting and grouping materials,
poles, attract and repel

Earth & Rocks

Different types/properties, fossils, properties of soil

Animals, including humans

Nutrition, skeleton, muscles

Light

Shadows, protection, darkness

Plants

Labelling parts, what plants need, water system, life cycles, pollination/seed formation/seed dispersal

Y4

Animals, including humans

Digestion and teeth

Sound

vibration

States of matter

Changing states, solids/liquids/gases, evaporation and condensation

Chicks

Animals, including humans

Living things and their habitats

Grouping in a variety of ways, classification keys, food chains, environment changes and the dangers to living things

Electricity

Conductors, insulators, circuits

Y5

Forces

Gravity, water/air resistance, friction. Mechanisms helping smaller forces have a bigger effect: levels, pulleys and gears

Earth and Space

Solar system, moon, day & night

Living things and their habitats

Differences of: mammals, amphibians, insects, birds.

Life processes and reproduction of some plants and animals

Animals, including humans

Describe changes as humans develop in to old age

Properties and changes of materials

Use of everyday materials, dissolving and recovering, filtering/sieving/evaporating. Sorting for: hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electric & thermal) and response to magnets. Ir/reversible changes, how some changes result in a new material.

Y6

Animals, including humans

Impact of exercise/drugs/lifestyle. Circulatory system. Nutrients & water transported within animals.

Light

Travels in straight lines, objects reflect light to eyes, shadows

Living things and their habitats

Grouping microorganisms, plants and animals. Reasons for classifications inc specific characteristics.

Electricity

Voltage of cells impacting brightness, recognising symbols, variations in how components function

Evolution and inheritance

Adapting for environment, fossils, offsprings are not identical to parents