Science
At St Philip's we chose the Primary Knowledge Curriculum because it aims to enable children to understand the world around them through a scientific lens. In doing so, this curriculum seeks to ensure that pupils are well-equipped to go forth into their secondary education and later life with curiosity, passion and a desire for discovery.
Pupils will be taught units of work that cover and go beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum. As a result, pupils gain a deep understanding of science as a unique discipline, constituting of the three strands of biology, chemistry and physics. Alongside this, pupils will also encounter a series of units that develop their understanding of Earth Science, developing their understanding of environment and sustainability. Pupils will build a body of key foundational science knowledge as they work through the curriculum, asking questions and developing a sense of curiosity about the world around us. The curriculum will build disciplinary literacy for pupils, enabling them to communicate scientific understanding through diagrams and written explanations in increasing depth and complexity as they progress through the primary phase.
The Primary Knowledge Curriculum builds knowledge incrementally. Pupils have multiple opportunities to secure and build upon their knowledge by revisiting subject content at carefully sequenced points throughout the curriculum. By building upon their knowledge in a cumulative manner, the curriculum ensures pupils secure greater breadth and depth in their understanding of scientific knowledge, skills and the discipline of science. This progression helps children to master the knowledge and concepts whilst simultaneously building up an extended subject-specific vocabulary that enables them to communicate their knowledge. This incremental approach helps teachers to identify knowledge gaps and easily look back at previous content to see what they need to address.
Click on the Knowledge Organisers below to see what we are learning:
Year 1
The Human Body Animals and their Needs Seasons and Weather Plants Materials and Magnets
Year 2
The Human Body Living Things and their Environments Plants Materials and Matter
Year 3
The Human Body Cycles in Nature (plants only) Light Plants Rocks Forces and Magnets
Year 4
The Human Body Classification of Plants and Animals Ecology Sound States of Matter and the Water Cycle Electricity
Year 5
The Human Body Materials Living Things Forces
Year 6
The Human Body Classification of Living Things Electricity LightEvolution
Parental information to support the curriculum
Please find below links to useful websites for supporting your children with their learning in science for their current topics, general websites to inspire and engage your child’s area of interest and finally hassle free experiments to try at home with your children.
BBC Bitesize provides a series of videos, games and texts for children to learn about their area of study. Simple search BBC Bitesize followed by the name of your pupils topic.
Museums in and around Cambridge- we are very lucky to be located in a centre for science learning, the city of Cambridge! The Cambridge Science Centre, Cambridge University Central Library and various museums have interactive exhibitions for children in addition to historical information about key scientists linked to pupil topics.
Did you know? CBBC have a range of children’s magazines which link to the Early Years and Primary Curriculum. These are available for both science and history and are available in all supermarkets.
Pupil interests
Pupils at St Philips have a wide range of interests within science which they often share with friends and teachers. Whether your child is passionate about space, animals or dinosaurs, websites and books are a great place to start when looking to engage children in learning more about their chosen interest.
National Geographic- ‘Kids Club’
Both National Geographic children’s magazines and its online ‘Kids Club’ are a great place for children to learn more about their area of interest. Their website features online quizzes, games and articles including about the recent Climate Change protests helping pupils to understand world events and head-line making events.
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/category/kids-club/
NASA
The NASA website has some fantastic resources and games, particularly in the build up to the upcoming Mars Rover expedition.
Try at home, fun experiments:
Cosmos- a free online resource created by Cambridge Science Centre located on Clifton road. These often require store cupboard resources and include step by step instructions for you and your children.
The website also includes links for Primary aged children to investigate the topics they are studying at school and ‘boredom busters’ a series of online games linked to different areas of science.
