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Planning for science

Have you been wondering how to effectively plan science lessons to encapsulate knowledge, understanding and skills? Take a look at our planning examples for inspiration. 

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Good teaching starts with a clear understanding of the outcomes you are looking for in your children, so that assumes that you know their starting points too – what they have been taught previously, the learning experiences they have encountered and what they can recall. That said, it’s always sensible to build in some reflection at the start of a teaching sequence so you can adjust accordingly. Explorify activities will be very helpful for this aspect.

A teaching plan needs to consider not only the knowledge and understanding that children need to develop but also the skills they should encounter, use, practice and master. Any teaching and learning sequence, therefore, needs to fit into a whole-school plan for progression, so the examples we give here are just that, examples to give you some ideas for your planning. Remember that science provides a fantastic context for pupils to demonstrate skills from literacy and numeracy too, so make the most of opportunities to link teaching sequences together across subject areas. We’ve included some examples here for illustration.

 

Teaching materials to Y1-2; P2-3

 

Prior learning

Children should have explored toys made from different materials, and use their senses to explore differences between some everyday materials.

Intended learning

We are looking for children to select appropriate materials for a purpose according to the properties they have observed, linked to these national curriculum objectives:

  • England: identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, for particular uses
  • Wales: experiment with different everyday materials and use their senses to sort them into groups according to simple properties
  • Scotland: I explore different materials and can share my reasoning for selecting materials for different purposes.
  • Northern Ireland: design and make simple models

We need to think about how the children will explore and understand, what pupils will do to demonstrate their learning and understanding, and which skills they may develop.

We’ve developed an example for you to download  of just one concept that is relevant to all the UK curricula so that you can see how to plan for knowledge and skills.

 

Teaching light to pupils in Y3-4; P4-5

 

Prior learning

Children should have explored seasonal change and be able to talk about how the length of day changes throughout the year. They may suggest that we get light from the sun, candles, flames, and torches for example. They may have used torches and investigated which materials let light through them and which do not so that shadows form.

Intended learning

We are looking for children to develop their understanding of how and why shadows form and applying their learning in a new context

  • England: recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object
  • Wales: how light travels and how this can be used
  • Scotland: By exploring reflections, the formation of shadows and the mixing of coloured lights, I can use my knowledge of the properties of light to show how it can be used in a creative way
  • Northern Ireland: The formation of shadows and how they change

We’ve developed an example for you to download of just one concept that is relevant to all the UK curricula so that you can see how to plan for knowledge and skills.  

 

Teaching forces to pupils in Y5-6, P6-7

 

Prior learning

Children should know that a force, such as a push or pull, is needed to make something move. They should have explored that unsupported objects fall towards Earth because of gravity acting between Earth and the object.

  • England: identify the effects of air resistance, water-resistance and friction that act between moving surfaces
  • Wales: the ways in which forces can affect movement and how forces can be compared
  • Scotland: By investigating how friction, including air resistance, affects motion, I can suggest ways to improve efficiency in moving objects
  • Northern Ireland: How forces can affect the movement and distance objects can travel

Intended learning

We are looking for children to explore the effects of friction and resistance on the movement of objects and relate it to what they see around them. 

We’ve developed an example for you to download of  just one concept that is relevant to all the UK curricula so that you can see how to plan for knowledge and skills.  

We hope our examples are helpful – why not have a go at your own using this as a template? Happy planning! 

Last updated 20th October 2023

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