Most children of this age have already developed an interest in the world around them, and tend to have many, many questions about what they observe. At school they’ll be exploring some of these things to find out more, and learning to ask questions and work out the answers for themselves the ‘scientific’ way ...

This is an excellent time for parents to stimulate their child’s interest both at home and out and about, as enthusiasm levels are very high!

The English school science curriculum is divided up into four sections as follows.

Scientific enquiry

Life processes and living things

Materials and their properties

Physical processes

Click down to find out more about what’s your child is being taught in each one – and read about some ways that you can extend these learning activities in your own home in ways that will be fun for all concerned (including you!)

Key stage 1

Sc1: Scientific Enquiry

In this section of the curriculum, children begin to learn how to observe, explore and ask questions about living things, materials and phenomena. These investigative processes are essential to any would-be scientist, no matter what age, and during Key Stage 1, all the science work children do focuses on developing these skills.

Your child won’t be using the word ‘experiment’ at school (the National Curriculum prefers the word ‘investigation’ at this stage) but all the same, they’ll be learning about the importance of collecting and measuring evidence, recording their results and comparing these results with what they thought would happen…

Investigative skills

A bubbly example

Kids love bubbles, and here’s an example of how a teacher might use bubbles as a way of teaching pupils how to ask questions and investigate how something works…

The question might be:

Do differently shaped bubble wands produce differently shaped bubbles?

In an investigation using the same kind of bubble mixture, the children will observe that all the different bubble wands produce round bubbles, not square or triangular. They will therefore be able to conclude that all bubbles are round and the shape of the wand makes no difference?

They will also learn how to plan an investigation, and make sure it’s a ‘fair test’ that will give meaningful results. They will take measurements and make observations and use their results to reach a conclusion.

In this case, children will learn that if different bubble mixtures and different wands are used in the same investigation, the results will be confusing and won’t show whether it was the mixture or the wand-shape that made the difference? you need to test one thing at a time.

This section of the National Curriculum is all about children developing the thinking skills and practical abilities to be able to carry out investigations. It therefore overlaps with the three other sections of the curriculum, as investigative skills are what’s needed to explore each of those other areas. Scroll down to read more about how you can help your child to become a polished scientific investigator at home!

For more details of what’s taught in this Key Stage, see the National Curriculum for Science website

^ back to top

Key stage 1

Sc2: Life Processes and Living Things

In this section children gain a much greater understanding of the living world around them. In some ways the work relates to the ‘Nature Table’ and ‘Nature Studies’ lessons of the past - but don’t expect too many bird’s nests, owl pellets and the like in classrooms these days. Health & Safety requirements in schools are very stringent and many things you may fondly remember from your schooldays are a definite no-no now.

Children consider processes of life such as growing and the production of offspring. They study humans and other animals as well as green plants (though don’t learn human ‘sex education’ at this stage). By observing a variety of living things they’ll learn to classify them into groupings such as mammals, insects, plants. They observe and comment on living things and how they behave in their environment e.g. minibeasts such as woodlice living in dark, damp environments.

What your child is learning - and how to help

Here’s a guide to what’s taught in this section, and what you can do at home to develop your child’s understanding

•	Life processes Children learn that animals move, feed, grow, use their senses and reproduce. How you can help: Collect tadpoles and keep them in a tank until they need to be returned to the wild. Watch and discuss with your child how their bodies grow and change shape over time. Here’s a site with all the information you need: Toad and Frog Tagpoles. You could also follow the development of ducklings into ducks if you have a duckpond near your home.
•	Humans and other animals Children learn about healthy living, including the need for eating a good diet, drinking water and taking regular exercise. How you can help: This is a good opportunity to emphasise the need for fruit and vegetables in the diet! You can but try and after all, teacher says so too. Create a diary in which your child can draw a picture of each piece of fruit or vegetable they eat every day. Hopefully it should end up being a busy, multicoloured affair!
•	Green plants Children learn that plants need light and water to grow and seeds grow into flowering plants. How you can help: Put damp cotton wool in two empty plastic shallow containers. Sprinkle cress seeds on each. Place one on a windowsill and keep the cotton wool moist. Place the other in a cupboard and ignore it! After two or three days compare them both. Compare again after a week. For extra cress-related fun, why not sow the cress seeds on wet cotton wool stuffed into the tops of empty eggshells left over from hardboiled eggs eaten for breakfast? Draw faces on the eggshell before you start (careful!) and watch the ‘hair’ grow up and out during the following week or so…!
•	Variation and classification Children learn to group living things according to observable differences and similarities. How you can help: Cut out pictures from magazines featuring lots of different types of living things and help your child group them into the different categories e.g. plants, animals, humans and insects.
•	Living things in their environment Children learn about different kinds of plants and animals that live in your local environment. How you can help: Look around the garden or local park at which plants are where and why. Tip over a big stone if you happen to have one in your garden or park – you’ll probably see a host of insects scurrying about who have been making their home there (make sure you replace the stone once you’ve had a look).

Online Activities

Where do I live?

An interactive game where you need to match the animal to its correct environment – At level 1, this gives your child the opportunity to identify common British animals and their environments

Help your child discover plants

Be a vegetable detective or make a sensory fruit salad. Make the most of all the fun of the fruitstall in this DfES website for parents.

Make Your Own Fingerprints

A practical activity that demonstrates the differences between humans – even between family members.

Mini Beast Hunt

A practical activity that can be done at home or at school.

For more detailed information about what’s taught in this area of the curriculum, check out the

National Curriculum for Science website.

^ back to top

Key stage 1

Sc3: Materials and their Properties

In this section children gain a greater understanding of the different types of materials that exist and about their properties. These can be fascinating to kids – how can something solid like glass be transparent like water? And what about magnets? They look like ordinary metal, but you only have to handle them to know there’s something invisible going on there – especially the obscure sensation when two magnets repel each other.

Pupils learn to sort objects into groups on the basis of simple material properties e.g. roughness, whether they float, or whether they are magnetic. They also explore the way in which some everyday materials (e.g. water, bread, clay) change when they are heated or cooled, and about why we use certain materials for particular uses – eg. wool, glass, metal.

What your child is learning - and how to help

•

Grouping materials Children learn to sort objects into groups on the basis of their properties, eg whether they can be moulded, whether you can see through them or whether they float. How you can help: Take a tour of your kitchen. Make a list of which utensils are plastic and which are metal. How can the child tell the difference?

•

Changing materials Children learn to explore and describe the way materials can change if they undergo processes, such as freezing, heating or bending. How you can help: Examine what happens to chocolate biscuits if you hold them in your hand too long? Parents, if not children, are very aware of this! Put water into an icetray, and watch what happens to it over night. More excitingly, you could show your child how to make ice lollies…

Online Activities

Help your child discover materials

This DfES site is just what you need for an introduction to materials at this level.

What makes what?

This is a practical worksheet that allows children to think about what objects are made of.

Float or Sink!

This is a colourful (and great-sounding!) game in which children have to test their knowledge of what will or won't float in order to win the game - great fun!

For more detailed information about what’s taught in this area of the curriculum, check out the

National Curriculum for Science website

^ back to top

Key stage 1

Sc4: Physical Process

This part of the curriculum is about giving children a greater understanding of physical phenomena such as light and sound, and forces such as pushing and pulling. Children learn both about natural science and about the technology of electrical power, what it is and what it can do for us.

Using batteries, wires and switches, they learn how electricity can be used to make motors and bulbs work. They explore how light travels from a source such as the sun or a lightbulb to your eye – and that if there’s no light… you get darkness. They also learn about all sorts of sound, how sound travels from its origin to your ear – and that it’s your ears that enable you to hear noises, music or words?

These topics provide great opportunities for discussing what is going on all around us all the time. Where would we be without electricity, for example? We all know what chaos a sudden power cut can bring. Compare our lifestyles today to say, fifty years ago. What a difference?

What your child is learning - and how to help

Here’s a guide to what’s taught in this section, and what you can do at home to develop your child’s understanding?

•	Electricity Children learn about simple series circuits involving batteries, bulbs and wires, and about everyday appliances that use electricity. How you can help: Walk around the house with your child, make a list of all the things you can find that use electricity. Point out what light switches do, when you turn them on and off.
•	Forces and motion Children learn that both ‘pushes’ and ‘pulls’ are examples of forces How you can help: Whenever you’re entering a building with your child point out when you have to push a door open and when you have to pull it. Discuss how they are both forces, and both achieve the same result in this case – ie. opening the doorway…
•	Light and sound Children learn that darkness is an absence of light, and that sounds travel from souces and are heard when they enter your ear… How you can help: Watch the sunset one night with your child. Notice how the light starts to fade as the sun is setting. Comment on how it is not totally dark immediately because the sun is very strong source of light and it has not disappeared far enough yet beyond the horizon. Switch the TV on, and see how far away you can walk from it and still hear what they’re talking about. What about if you close the door to the TV room?

Online Activities

Make a yoghurt pot telephone

Practical activity demonstrating properties of sound

Lighten up

Here you'll find a stash of great ideas for activities that will help your child explore the properties of light

Science Magic: Sundial

Easy-peasy instructions for creating a sundial out of a paper plate and a few other bits and pieces. So long as the clouds stay away, you’ll be able to tell the time until sundown!

For more detailed information about what's taught in this area of the curriculum, check out the

National Curriculum for Science website

^ back to top

PAGE LINKS

The National Curriculum
Science at School
Ages and Keystages
Homework Help
Get with the Lingo
Sats and League Tables
Other Useful Links
The NCPTA

<< Go Back to Parents Survival Pack