Science - Block 1

Based on Kent Scheme

Topic 1 - Forces and Magnets

Working Scientifically Skills

During year 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them,
setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests,
making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers,
gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions,
recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables,
reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral/written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions,
using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions,
identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes,
using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Big Ideas & Core Questions

Living and non-living things can be grouped in a variety of ways.
Changing the movement of an object requires a net force (push or pull) to be acting on it.

Examples of Core Component Questions:

What is a contact force?

How do different surfaces affect the movement of objects?

What is a magnet and how do they work?

What materials are attracted to a magnet?

Do all magnets have the same strength?

National Curriculum Objectives

Children should be taught to:

compare how 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 pole

Key Vocabulary

push

pull,

magnet

attract

repel

north/south pole

metal

iron

friction

resistance

gravity

magnetic field

magnetism

Disciplinary:

analyse

classify

compare

chart

equipment

enquiry

fair test

findings

gather

group

identify

measure

observe

pattern

predict

process

practical activity

question

record

relationship

results

test

data

conclusion

Tier 3 / Disciplinary

Overview of Intended Learning:

Enquiry 1: What is a Contact Force?

Pupils to learn that contact forces are pushes and pulls that require contact between two object s by observing how different balls travel when they are thrown. Children then to sort a variety of scenarios (from opening a door to rowing a boat to identify push and pull forces). Children to use observation to identify forces being used and to identify the effect these forces have on objects.

Enquiry 2: How Different Surfaces Affect the Movement of Objects.

Pupils to learn that that friction is a contact force that affects the movement of objects, knowing that friction acts in the direction opposite to that of the object moving on the surface. Children to learn that smoother surfaces produce less friction by testing how a toy car moves down different surfaces.

Children should understand why tests should be fair and control all but one variable (the surface the car travels on). Children to independently set up an investigation that follows an agreed method. Children to measure the distance the cars travel, recording results in a table. They will use this data to draw conclusions about which surface slowed down the moving object the most.

Enquiry 3: How do Magnets Work?

Children to know that:

the force of magnetism can act at a distance,
magnets have a magnetic field within which they attract magnetic objects,
magnets have two poles, which may attract or repel depending on which poles are facing each other.

Children will make systematic observations, testing the strength of magnetism from different distances. They will predict whether two magnets will attract or repel each other, depending on which poles are facing.

Enquiry 4: What Materials are Attracted to Magnets?

Pupils will know that there are a range of different habitats around the world and that different animals and plants are suited to different habitats. They will research a range of different habitats around the world, from deserts, oceans and rainforests.

Children to use books and the internet to learn about different, unfamiliar habitats around the world and the animals that live there. They will gather information from a range of sources and record the most useful and appropriate information for future reference.

Enquiry 5: Do Different Magnets have Different Strengths?

Children to know that magnets come in different forms and that different magnets have different strengths of magnetic field. Pupils to carry out a simple investigation, recording results in a table and use these to present data in a bar chart. Children to measure the strength of a magnet by working out how many sheets of paper need to be in the way before a paperclip is no longer attracted. Children to discuss the factors that might influence magnet strength, such as the size, shape, and material of the magnet.

Enquiry 6: Children to recap their learning by comparing and making predictions about different scenarios involving magnets and friction.

Topic 2 - Light

Working Scientifically Skills

During year 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them,
setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests,
making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers,
gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions,
recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables,
reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral/written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions,
using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions,
identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes,
using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Big Ideas & Core Questions

01. There is a relationship between how things are (structure) and the way things work (function).

09. Energy makes things happen and can be seen by its effects; it can be transferred (but is not used up).

10. The movement of the Earth affects the times of day; the Sun is at the centre of our solar system.

Examples of Core Component Questions:

Can we see without light?

How does light behave when it is reflected?

Can we change how shadows are formed?

How can we protect our eyes from the sun?

Do shadows stay the same all day?

National Curriculum Objectives

Children should be taught to:

recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light,
notice that light is reflected from surfaces,
recognise that light from the Sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect their eyes,
recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object,
find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change.

Key

Vocabulary

Light,

reflect,

visible,

visibility,

dark,

shiny,

bright,

dull,

matt,

mirror,

angle,

absorb,

shadows,

position,

direction,

damage,

protection,

sunrise,

sunset,

rotation,

compass direction.

Tier 3 Light source,

opaque,

translucent,

transparent,

filters,

UV rays,

retina,

pupil (eye)

Key

Vocabulary

Disciplinary:

analyse

bar chart

classify

compare

comparative test

conclusion

data

data logger

diagram

equipment

enquiry

evidence

explain

fair test

findings

gather

group

identify

measure

observe

pattern

predict

process

practical activity

question

record

relationship

results

test

secondary source

sort

thermometer

Tier 3 / Disciplinary

Overview of Intended Learning

Enquiry 1: Can we see without light?

Pupils to learn that we need light to see. They will also learn that light can come from many different sources, such as the Sun, stars, torches, lamps and candles.

Children to set up a simple comparative test to see which materials can be seen in low light. They will make systematic and careful observations to identify which objects can be seen in different lighting conditions and record findings using simple scientific language and a table. They will report on findings and draw a conclusion about which materials are more visible in low light. They will understand how breakthrough inventions, such as the lightbulb by Thomas Edison, shape how we live today.

Enquiry 2: How does light behave when it is reflected?

Children will learn that:

reflection involves a source of light and a surface;
light travels towards the surface and bounces off;
when light from an object is reflected by a surface, it changes direction;
smooth, shiny surfaces such as mirrors and polished metals reflect light well;
dull and dark surfaces, such as dark fabrics, absorb light so they do not reflect it well.

Children will make careful observations when using mirrors, to learn how light behaves when it is reflected. They will record findings using simple scientific language and labelled diagrams of the learning about light and reflection. Children will compare the development of scientific discoveries and inventions and see how ideas are refined and improved over time, for example, the evolution of the lightbulb by Isamu Akasaki.

Enquiry 3: Can we change how shadows are formed?

Children to know that:

•a shadow is a dark shape that is formed when light is stopped or blocked by an object or a person.

• shadows show the shape and size of the object that’s blocking the light. They change in size and shape depending on the angle and position of the light source and the object.

Children will make measurements of length with a standard ruler (cm) to measure how shadows change in size. They will use evidence to answer questions or support findings about why distance and height changes the size of shadows.

Enquiry 4: How can we protect our eyes from the Sun?

Children to know we can protect our eyes from the Sun by wearing sunglasses and that they have filters that block bright light and harmful UV rays. Children to report findings, using oral and written explanations, about how to keep our eyes safe in the Sun.

Enquiry 5: Do shadows stay the same all day?

Children will learn that in the morning, shadows are longer when the Sun is lower. As the day goes on, shadows get shorter when the Sun goes higher. In the evening, shadows get longer again as the Sun starts to go down.

Children to set up a simple comparative and fair test to see how shadows change over the course of the day. They will take accurate measurements of how position and size of shadows change using equipment that records standard units of length (cm, m). They will use a bar chart to show how shadows change across a day

Enquiry 6: Reviewing our Learning

Children to revisit the substantive knowledge above.

Children to conduct investigations to demonstrate their understanding of how light can be reflected, as well as how our eyes work.

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