Key Stage 1 Science
In KS1 science, your child will be learning about the importance of asking questions, gathering evidence, carrying out experiments and looking at different ways of presenting their results.
In Key Stage 1 your child will learn to use the following methods, processes and skills:
- asking simple questions (for example, 'What would happen if I didn't give a plant water?')
- observing closely, using simple equipment such as a magnifying glass
- identifying and classifying
- using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
- gathering and recording data to help in answering questions
Year 1 science
Under the new 2014 national curriculum, children in Year 1 will learn about:
- Plants, identifying and naming plants and looking at their basic structure
- Animals including humans, identifying and naming a range of animals and understanding how and why they are grouped (e.g. mammals, birds, amphibians etc)
- Everyday materials, looking at their properties
- Seasonal changes, observing changes across the four seasons and looking at different types of weather
Year 2 science
Children will be looking at:
- Living things and their habitats, including dependence within habitats and micro-habitats
- Plants, observing how seeds and bulbs grow into plants and what plants need to stay healthy
- Animals including humans, focusing on reproduction, nutrition and exercise
- Everyday materials, comparing their uses and looking at how they can be changed by exerting force
Key Stage 2 Science
Throughout KS2, your child will study science topics in three broad categories: life and living things, materials and their properties and physical processes.
Science in Years 3 and 4
In Years 3 and 4, children will be encouraged to ask questions about scientific concepts and then carry out experiments to find out the answers. In doing this they will:
- learn what a 'fair test' is.
- take measurements from a range of equipment.
- gather and record data.
- report their findings orally and in writing.
Science in Years 5 and 6
In Years 5 and 6, children will continue to practise the above skills, but with more depth and precision. When carrying out experiments they will:
- understand what variables are and how to control them.
- take measurements from a range of equipment, understanding the need for repeated measures to increase accuracy.
- gather and record data using labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
- use test results to make further predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.
- make conclusions on the test carried out, orally and in writing.