Christ the King RC Primary School

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Science

Statement of Intent Science

At Christ the King, we aim to inspire awe and wonder of the natural world and natural phenomena. Children will learn to recognise these scientific phenomena in their everyday experiences, and to appreciate how science will impact their future on a personal, national and global level.

Science Policy 

Progression in Scientific Knowledge and Understanding

Progression in Scientific Skills

Year 1  Science Everyday Materials (Autumn 1)

This half term the pupils have been 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, 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 physical properties.

Year 1  Seasonal Changes Autumn (Autumn 2)

This half term the pupils have been taught to:

• Observe changes across the four seasons (Autumn this half term)
• Observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies.

Year 1 Animals Including Humans (Spring 1)

During the Spring 1 half term Year 1 have been taught to:

• Identify, name draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which parts of the body is associated with each sense.

Year 1 Science week investigation

Discovery Dog asked us if bubbles were always round. We used this question as the basis of our investigation. The class were asked how they could find out if bubbles were always round. After thinking time and a discussion, Year 1 suggested that we tried some  different shaped bubble wands. We decided to try an oblong wand, a triangle wand and a circle wand. Next  we drew predictions for what might happen with different shaped wands. Then we went outside & tested out different shaped wands. After looking at the bubbles from the different shaped wands we concluded that bubbles were always round.

Year 1 Science Seasonal Changes (Spring 2)

During the Spring 2 half term the pupils once again observed and described the weather associated with the season and talked about what they noticed about the length of the day. Year 1  also visited the school grounds to look at the changes that had occurred because it was winter. 

Year 1 Animals Including Humans - Animal Categories (Spring 2 and Summer 1)

In this unit Year 1 have:

• Identified and named a variety of common animals that are birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals
• Identified and named a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.
• Described and compared the structure of a variety of common animals (birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, and including pets).

Year 2  Materials (Autumn 1)

 This half term the pupils have been taught to:

• 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.

Year 2 Animals including humans (Autumn 2)

 This half term the pupils have been taught to: 

• 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. 

In order to help us with our study of animals, we went on a school trip to Blackpool zoo!

Year 3 Science week activities

This year for Science week we explored forces and magnets. We set up a range of mini experiments and had enquiry based questions which the children had to investigate themselves. For example “ which is the strongest magnet?” “Which poles attract and why?” The children took part in these experiments for the afternoon working scientifically and exploring magnets. 

Year 3  Materials (Autumn 1)

This term children have been taught to;

• Compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of 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 organic matter 
• Rocks and soils can look and feel different

Year 3  Materials (Autumn 2)

This term children have been taught to:

• Identify that animals including humans need the right types of nutrition and that they cannot make their own food.
• An adequate and varied diet is beneficial to health.
• Regular and varied exercise from a variety of different activities is beneficial to health.

Year 3   (Spring 1)

This half term we have been looking at skeletons; the children have been taught to:

Pupils have beeen taught to:

• Identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.
• Identify animals (vertebrates) which have a skeleton which supports their body, aids movement & protects vital organs (be able to name some of the vital organs).
• Identify animals without internal skeletons/backbones (invertebrates) and describe how they have adapted other ways to support themselves, move & protect their vital organs.
• Know how the skeletons of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians or reptiles are similar (backbone, ribs, skull, bones used for movement) and the differences in their skeletons.
• Know that muscles, which are attached to the skeleton, help animals move parts of their body.
• Explore how humans grow bigger as they reach maturity by making comparisons linked to body proportions and skeleton growth – e.g. do people with longer legs have longer arm spans?
• Recognise that animals are alive; they move, feed, grow, use their senses and reproduce.

Spring 2

This half term we have studied forces; the children have been taught to:

• Compare how some 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 on the basis of 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.

Year 4 Autumn 2: Teeth and the Digestive System

This half-term, the children have been taught to:

• Describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive systems in humans
• Identify the different types of teeth in humans and their functions
• Compare teeth of carnivores and herbivores
• Find out what damages teeth and how to look after them
• Discuss ideas about the digestive system
• Compare them with models

Year 4 Summer Term: Electricity

This half-term, the children have been taught to:

• 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 a lamp will light in a simple series circuit, based on whether 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.

Year 5 Autumn 1: Living Things and Their Habitats

This half-term, the children have been taught to:

• 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.
• Describe the changes as humans develop to old age.
• To know and describe how animals move, feed, grow, use their senses, reproduce, breathe/respire and excrete.

Year 5 Autumn 2: Materials

This half-term, the children have been taught to:

• 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.
• Give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular uses of everyday materials, including metals, wood and plastic.
• Compare a variety of materials and measure their effectiveness.
• To know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution.

• To understand that some material changes can be reversed and some cannot.

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   To recognise that dissolving is a reversible change.

•  To distinguish between melting and dissolving.

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  To know that mixtures of solids (of different particle size) can be separated by sieving.

British Science Week

In Year 5, we looked the workings of our Solar System and particular the Earth, Sun and Moon. We looked at the orbits of the Earth and Moon and how they create the seasons and tides. We used modelling to explain the phases of the Moon, solar eclipses and how are seasons are created. We also looked at the other celestial bodies within our Solar System. At the end of our study, we created a non-chronological report and a challenging quiz.

Year 6 : British Science Week

In Year 6 we looked at forces, with a particular focus on gravity and air resistance. We devised an investigation to find out how these forces act on a falling object, and we then carried out a test to see whether the shape of an object affects the time it takes to reach the ground.  We discussed the best approach to answer our question, recognising and controlling variables. From our data, we explored  and explained patterns and causal relationships, and we learnt that data can sometimes be unreliable and that repeated measures are often necessary.

Using our new  knowledge and understanding of gravity and air resistance, we then had fun designing and making egg carriers. which we hoped would carry a dropped egg safely to the ground - some worked really well, others needed a bit of modification!