Science

Autumn Term

Topic: Variation

In this topic the children will be taught to:

  • Understand the difference between living and non-living
  • Classify animals into different groups
  • Recognise humans are animals
  • Observe the difference and similarities in animals and plants
  • Understand that animals live in different habitats and why

They will be introduced to:

  • How to use a table to record information
  • The idea of a fair test

Spring Term

Topic: Forces and Movement

Pupils will be taught to:

  • Investigate how pushes and pulls can change the shape of objects, sometimes permanently
  • Understand that forces can make things move, speed up, slow down and change direction
  • Observe that the same amount of force does not make all objects travel at the same speed or cover the same distance
  • Experiment to find how different surfaces and different heights can also affect the distance an object travels

The second topic, Materials, will extend into the summer term.

Summer Term

Topic: Characteristics of Materials, and Grouping and Changing Materials.

(This combined topic continues from the Spring Term).

The children will be taught to:

  • Understand the difference between natural and manmade materials
  • Classify materials according to their names and also their properties
  • Observe how some materials can be altered through squashing, bending, twisting and stretching, and that sometimes they can return to their original shape
  • Experiment in order to see the effects heating and cooling can have on some materials
  • Investigate why we use different materials for different purposes
  • Plan and execute own investigations.

Topic: Plants and animals in the local environment

In this topic we shall:

  • Study some of the plants and animals living in and around a pond
  • Recognize how different animals are adapted to live in different habitats
  • Look at the life cycles of some animals
  • Question the effect pollution has on the environment and how we change things.
  • Learn to record our investigations in a variety of ways