Science in Action
Explore the science museum from your own home
Spring Term 2025
This term, Sunnymede pupils have been studying a new set of science topics.
Year 1 have developed their knowledge of common materials by exploring some of their properties using technical vocabulary such as transparent and rigid. They have tested whether some materials are waterproof. Next half term, they will be learning about plants including trees.
In year 2, the children have been considering differences and similarities between seeds and discussing what makes some plants more suitable to specific habitats eg deserts or the Arctic circle. They will be moving on to their second Materials topic and investigating properties of materials including to discover the best material for a bouncy ball.
For their topic of Forces and Magnets, year 3 have enjoyed experiencing the attraction and repulsion of magnets as well as investigating surfaces and the friction with a toy car. Next half term, they will be comparing different types of rock, learning about how fossils are made and researching Mary Anning.
Year 4 have been learning about Sound. They have investigated vibrations using 'ear gongs' and 'string telephones' as well as the best material for sound proofing. After half term, the pupils will be learning about how animals and plants are classified and grouped. They will discover how plants and animals are adapted to particular habitats and begin to consider the impact of our changing climate on those species with very specific adaptations.
The topic of Materials and their Properties in year 5 has built on the pupils knowledge of materials from KS1 with a variety of practical activities from discovering different ways to separate a range of mixtures of materials such as sand and water, investigating which metal is the better electrical conductor and observing the chemical reaction that occurs when vinegar and milk are mixed. Next half term, the children are looking forward to learning about space.
Year 6 has been learning about Evolution and Inheritance and how adaptation can lead to survival by following in Darwin's footsteps and investigating the impact of different beak shapes on diet. For their topic next half term, they will be deepening their knowledge of Electricity by investigating factors that can improve the brightness of bulbs or the volume of buzzers.
EYFS has also been developing their knowledge of the world around us. They have been comparing different countries and as part of this carried out an ice investigation as well as learning about penguins and their habitat.
Testing brass
We separated different mixtures: salt and water, which is a solution, (filtering); sand and water (filtering); flour and raisins (sieving).
Testing a zinc strip.
We also explored chemical reactions such as when mixing vinegar and warm milk. Did you know that these 2 reactants create a simple plastic called casein?
We also combined vinegar and bicarbonate of soda (our reactants) to create a new product which was carbon dioxide that was able to inflate our balloons.
In Year 5, we tested different metals to see which conducted electricity the best and lit the bulb the brightest. Our investigation showed that brass is more conductive than zinc.
Autumn term 2024
This term, all the pupils have been enjoying a variety of science lessons.
Year 1 started the term by looking at different materials and naming them. Since half term , they have been grouping different animals such as fish, birds and mammals. Year 2 also began the autumn term by investigating materials, deciding on their suitability for different purposes before moving on to looking at food chains in different habitats like deserts and jungles.
In KS2, year 3 explored light by creating shadows and looking at reflective surfaces in the first half term and are now studying skeletons and muscles and how they work together. Year 4 pupils explored the states of matter (solids, liquids and gases) and especially enjoyed making chocolate krispie cakes to demonstrate how some solids melt and then solidify when they cool.
For year 5, the topic has been forces this term. They have investigated gravity, air resistance and water resistance as well as friction through a variety of activities such as making different parachutes and foil boats and exploring levers, pulleys and gears. Year 6 classes have been studying the heart and circulation and are now classifying animals including microbes.
November 2024
As scientists, in our electricity unit, we have been investigating complete and incomplete circuits.
October - forces in science
To explore water resistance in science, we designed and constructed boats out of tin foil. We found the streamlined shapes worked the best.
Friday 11th October
Year 2 were investigating in science today. We had to find out which material was best to use for a bag. We tested paper, fabric and plastic. We all learnt about predicting what may happen and some children learnt how to make it a fair test. You might be interested to hear about our results!
In year 5, the children took cuttings from mint, rosemary and basil plants.
They were investigating asexual reproduction in plants.
After a couple of weeks by a window, roots began to appear.
Year 4 enjoyed making teeth using plasticine to explore the different types of teeth that humans have and what they are used for.
Year 6 investigated magnets and had a go at creating their own compasses.
They 'stroked' pieces of wire with magnets to magnetise them and floated them in bowls of water.
Summer Term Science
This term, each year group will have different topics to study.
Year 3 will be learning about plants- from the parts of a plant to what they need to survive and for seeds to germinate. They will also consider the work of Sir David Attenborough and his importance in developing our understanding of the natural world.
Year 4 will be studying teeth and digestion and food chains. They will learn about the different types of human teeth and will compare them with other animals, observing the differences between herbivore and carnivore teeth. They will also learn about human digestion and what happens to food as it passes through the digestive system. The children are also looking forward to their visit to the Science Museum in London in June.
Year 5 pupils will be focussing on different life cycles including plants, mammals, birds and amphibians in the first half term. For the second half term, they will be learning about how humans grow and change throughout their lives.
Year 6 will be learning about how the eye works and building on their knowledge of light and other topics from KS2, looking at the importance of science in the world around us.
Year 5 enjoyed the Properties of Material unit; there were lots of investigations to carry out. These ranged from testing whether materials could keep yoghurt cold (thermal insulation) to separating a range of materials (including salt from water by evaporation) to testing which solids could dissolve and what happens when vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and mixed.
Filtering to separate sand and water.
Sieving to separate flour and raisins.
Has the chalk dissolved?
Testing which solids could dissolve in cold water.
We explored reversible and irreversible changes. Our balloons were being filled with CO2 when the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda mixed.
Year 3 tried scratching different types of rock.
This showed how hard different rocks are.
This one is granite. Do you think it is harder or softer than the other rocks shown? Why?
Spring term - January 2024
This half term, each year group has a different exciting science topic to explore.
In year 3, the children are learning about magnets and which materials are magnetic. They are learning vocabulary such as poles, attract and repel.
The children in year 4 are learning about how sounds are made and how they travel to the ear, as well as investigating vibrations (sound waves), pitch and volume.
Year 5 pupils are currently studying the properties of materials and carrying out a number of investigations to discover which metals are the best electrical conductors, which materials are thermal insulators (and can keep a frozen yoghurt cold) how to separate mixtures and which materials dissolve in water to create solutions.
For year 6, the topic they are learning about is Evolution and Inheritance. They are, therefore, building on their knowledge of adaptations and considering how these can lead to survival.
Autumn 2023
This term, the KS2 pupils of Sunnymede Primary have explored a range of exciting topics.
Year 3s first topic was Light. They learnt about reflections, shadows and how the sun can be dangerous. This half term, they have covered the topic of Animals Including Humans. Lessons have included how some animals have skeletons, the names of bones and muscles as well as an investigation into the speed of their reactions.
Year 4s topics this term have been States of Matter and Electricity. The children have enjoyed investigating which materials melted fastest in a bowl of warm water, whether gas has mass and observed the water cycle with halfa plastic bag of water by a sunny window. They learnt about condensation and evaporation. During the electricity topic, they have made simple circuits and investigated which materials can conduct electricity.
As scientists in year 5, the children have been studying Forces. They have carried out a range of investigations into air and water resistance by creating parachutes and foil boats. They have researched simple mechanisms (levers, pulleys and cogs) and had a go at making Rube-Goldberg machines to pop a balloon.
For year 6, the topics have been Circulation (part of Animals Including Humans) and Classification which has included microbes. They have investigated the effects of exercise on pulse rates and decided on their own lines of enquiry eg whether height, gender or type of activity had an impact on pulse rate.
Using a torch to see if shadows change size if an object is close to the light source.
Using paper shapes to investigate how shadows change size depending on how close they are to the screen they are cast onto.
Year 3 exploring shadows.
Year 3
Examples of work explaining different types of skeleton.
The water cycle - showing the cycle of evaporation and condensation.
Year 4 investigated using warm water to melt chocolate for Krispie cakes.
After cooling, the chocolate solidified again. Ready to eat!
Year 5 created ziplines for intrepid teddies to investigate which material created the least friction.
The children timed how long it took for the toy to travel to the bottom of the zipline and drew bar graphs to show the results.
This zipline was made of metal. The ziplines that created the most friction were the wool and the string. The best zipline (fastest, so least friction) was the plastic covered wire.
October 2023
As scientists, year 5 have been investigating the science behind the different types of forces around us, including: air resistance, gravity and friction. They carried out a range of experiments, developing their investigative skills.
We investigated which spinner worked best. Some of us changed the size whilst others changed the mass.
We looked at the effects of wearing a parachute whilst running. What do you think it did to the runner?
We investigated streamlined shapes to make the best boats.
We investigated the relationship between mass and weight.
We investigated the effects of air resistance on parachutes. Some groups changed the size, others changed the material and some changed the length of string.
We investigated which paper planes would travel the furthest.
Science topics for this half term (the week beginning 5.6.23).
Year 3 are continuing with the topic of Plants and are looking forward to visiting Norsey Woods. They have already been amazed at the difference in the height of bean seeds they planted before half term. Which one do you think would be the tallest-
a) the one with water and light, b) the one with water in the dark, c) the one with light but no water?
The children in Year 4 are learning about Teeth and Digestion. They have already enjoyed making their own models of a set of teeth with modelling clay.
Year 5's topic this half term is Changes and Gestation, studying the stages of human development before and after birth.
In year 6, the children will be recapping different topics: Forces, Habitats and Light and Shadows. This week, they have made a magnet using a piece of metal floating on water.
20th April
In Science this term, year 3 are learning about plants. We had lots of fun this week dissecting flowers and finding the different parts - petals, stem, leaves and roots.
Year 5 had a planetarium visiting our school; we explored the history of the geocentric and heliocentric models. We also looked at the movement of the moon and saw amazing real imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope! We also got the chance to ask the astronomy expert questions! He was really impressed with our questioning.
To launch year 5's topic of space, we made stomp rockets to investigate air resistence. We changed different variables such as the nose cone, size of bottle and number of fins.
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YEAR 6 Science - electricity
This term, within our science lessons, we are studying electricity. We kickstarted this unit by looking at the scientist, Nikola Tesla. We produced some fantastic information texts all about him and we were amazed to find out that the infamous car brand, Tesla, is named after him.
In addition, we have been learning about circuits and using scientific drawings to represent circuits. We made predictions as to whether the bulb would light within the circuit and gave reasonings for this. After, we tested our predictions out using an online circuit builder.
Have a go at home to see what you can create. Can the bulb light if there is a hand within the circuit?
YEAR 4
January
Our science topic this half term is sound. We have learnt about vibrations and how sounds can travel to your ear. We tested out string telephones, ear gongs, made our own panpipes and also made amplifiers.
