At Toftwood Infant and Junior School Federation, we believe science is a vital part of children’s learning, enabling them to gain an understanding of how the world around them works. Our science lessons are taught in a practical way, in order to excite the children and engage them in their learning. They are encouraged to enquire and ask scientific questions as well as to plan, carry out and evaluate their own experiments. Children also have the use of scientific equipment such as microscopes and magnifying glasses, which gives them hands-on experiences when carrying out investigations.
In KS2, each class has a weekly science lesson linked to topics where possible covering the science objectives in the National Curriculum. Scientific enquiry skills are emphasised and addressed in each lesson. In Key Stage 1, Science is taught through half termly topics and linked to the content, which incorporates cross-curricular components. Children also go on educational visits, which are related to topics about Science. In the EYFS, Understanding the World incorporates activities that are linked to Science, for example exploring materials, living things and the environment.
Lessons have clear learning intentions, which are shared and reviewed with the pupils. A variety of strategies, including questioning, discussion, concept mapping and marking, are used to assess progress. Activities inspire the pupils to experiment and investigate scientific subject matter and to help them raise their own questions such as “Why…?”, “How…?” and “What happens if…?” Activities develop the skills of enquiry, observation, locating sources of information, selecting appropriate equipment and using it safely, measuring and checking results, making comparisons and communicating results and findings. Pupils have regular opportunities to develop their skills and show progress in their approach to enquiry throughout their time with us.
A range of enrichment activities and visits take place to enhance the children’s science learning e.g. Banham Zoo as part of “Living things and their habitats” and Year 5 were able to study borrowed “moon rocks” for “Earth and space”. These activities provide the children with further opportunities to develop their skills of observation and encourages the generation of independent questions. Throughout the year we also have a range of visitors who provide the children with real life science experiences, such as Goldcrest Outdoor Education, Zootastic, the RSPB and Starlincs Planetarium.
All classes have a Science working wall. On this we have out Federation Stars, which set out what we think good Science teaching and learning looks like, and the five types of Scientific enquiry we work with throughout our time in the Federation. They may all look different because they reflect our learning and development through a Science area of learning over time. Have a look and see if you can see what we have been studying in Science. We use our working walls to support and reinforce our learning over time, and to help us recall the important information and make sure we remember it over time.
Every week, a gardening club at both schools is run to provide a small group of children with the opportunity to learn about plants and living things. They also get the opportunity to plant their own seeds and look after the school garden. This gives the children real life skills that can be used outside of school as well as developing social skills whilst working with others.
Autumn 1 2024
In Reception this half term, we have enjoyed exploring Ted’s Den, where we have been able to make potions and recipes in the mud kitchen and explore how to make water flow down the pipes in the water area. We have also had lots of fun finding worms in the digging pit and studying them closer with magnifying glasses and ‘bugnoculars’!
We have started to notice the weather changing and have discussed that sometimes we may now need a coat on as we are now in autumn. We have also noticed that lots of the leaves in Ted’s Den have started to change from green to orange, yellow and brown and some have even fallen off the trees onto the floor.
Autumn 2 2023
In Reception this half term, we have enjoyed learning about Autumn. We have looked in Ted’s Den for signs that the seasons have been changing and noticed that the leaves on the trees have changed colour and fallen on the floor. As the weather has been getting colder, we have also been exploring ice! We noticed that the water in our tuff trays had frozen overnight, and we spent time observing what happened to the ice over time. Some of the ice that had been left in the sun started to melt more quickly than the ice in the shade. We also looked at the properties of ice and noticed that some pieces were transparent!
Autumn 1 2023
In Reception this half term, we have enjoyed exploring Ted’s Den, where we have been able to make potions and recipes in the mud kitchen and explore how to make water flow down the pipes in the water area. We have also had lots of fun finding worms in the digging pit and studying them closer with magnifying glasses and ‘bugnoculars’!
We have started to notice the weather changing and have discussed that sometimes we may now need a coat on as we are now in autumn. We have also noticed that lots of the leaves in Ted’s Den have started to change from green to orange, yellow and brown and some have even fallen off the trees onto the floor.
We have also been exploring with the magnets to work out which materials in the classroom are magnetic and how we can make them ‘stick together’.
Summer 1 2023
This half term we have been learning about traditional tales in our ‘Once upon a time’ topic. We have explored how to make porridge for Goldilocks and even tried it ourselves. It was just right! We have also been constructing straw, stick and brick houses for the pigs to hide in and planted our own seeds when learning about ‘Jack and the beanstalk’.
We also had a special visitor who came to tell us the story of ‘Hansel and Gretel’. We travelled through the woods to get to the house made of sweets, helped Hansel to leave a trail of bread to find his way home and then watched the birds eat the crumbs! We then helped the witch to create her potion using fizzing eyeballs, a foaming pumpkin and lots of creepy crawlies. At the end we learned how to reveal a secret message to help the witch decide if Hansel was ready to eat.
Spring 2 2023
As part of our ‘People who help us’ topic, we have been exploring different jobs including vets, nurses, dentists, firefighters and police officers. We have been lucky to have lots of visitiors into school to tell us all about what they do and how they help others.
We found out that fire fighters have to be good at working as a team to put out fires. We had a go with the hose and learned that the pressure makes the water come out of the hose.
“They have medium, small and big hoses” – Leo.
When Leanne from the RSPCA visited she told us that animals need to be checked over at the vets. We then looked at different ways that animals are treated for their injuries.
We learned that doctors and nurses need to know lots about the human body to be able to treat patients that are poorly. We also discovered that there are different types of equipment that check parts of the body e.g. a stethoscope can be used to check someone’s heart.
When we spoke to a dentist we found out that there are some foods that are healthy for our teeth. We learned that milk and water are the best drinks to have to keep our teeth nice and healthy.
We looked at the mirrors and tools that dentists use to see and check teeth and learned about the protective equipment dentists have to wear to make sure that germs are not spread easily.
“If you eat lots of sweets you get cavities” – Ava.
A Pirate Adventure!
Reception had an exciting visitor, from a science storytelling workshop, who took them on an adventure to hunt for lost treasure. First, we discovered a treasure map, and voyaged on a pirate ship to find the first clue. We then arrived on a desert island and had to solve clues to find the treasure. We worked together to find the keys by colour mixing, making keys float and exploring magnetic materials. We then had to count all of the objects in the bag to find the final code for the treasure chest!
Spring 1 2023
We have been continuing to explore ice this half term and have enjoyed spending time in Ted’s Den exploring the best ways to crack ice. We noticed that some ice is transparent and some ice is opaque. We also saw that in some of the tuff trays the top of the water had frozen and turned into ice but there was still water underneath. When we shook the trays bubbles appeared and you could see the water under the ice.
We also had fun painting with frozen ice cubes and investigating what happens when you mix colours.
Under the canopy, we constructed some ramps to push the tyres down. We watched to see which tyres rolled the fastest.
Summer 1 2024
This half term the children have enjoyed investigating and naming different plants including deciduous and evergreen trees. We learned about the different things that plants need to grow and planted our own seeds to observe over time. We then looked at some common flowers under a digital microscope and discussed the different parts of the plants that we could see. We looked at the petals, stem, leaves and roots and thought about the functions of these.
Spring 2 2024 – British Science Week
During Science week we had lots of fun creating our very own rocket mice. We had to follow instructions to create the paper mice before selecting our bottles to launce the mice into the air. Our investigation explored how different bottles effected how high our rocket mice could go. Over the week we also learned about lots of different jobs that link to science and listened to some science fiction stories read by scientists.
Spring 1 2024
The children have been finding out all about winter, as part of their new topic. We discussed the signs of winter and how the environment changes during the season. We also learned about how day length changes during the year and how winter has the least amount of daylight. The children wrote a list of what they might find in the school grounds during winter. Some of them included; trees with no leaves, birds migrating, ice, the moon and frost.
Autumn 2 2023
This half term we have led many interesting experiments linked to our Winter Wonderland topic. We started by investigating which material would be the best insulator to transport ice penguin pets. We then predicted which materials would be the best insulator and tested our predictions to find out the results.
Autumn 1 – 2023
Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed our Animal Life topic this half term! We started by identifying and classifying lots of different animals. We sorted animals by what they eat, as well as by their animal class (mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and insects). We then moved on to exploring body parts, of animals and humans. We really enjoyed our human body parts lesson especially as we drew around and labelled a member of each class!
We also had a very exciting visit from Wycomb Mobile Petting Farm as part of our ‘Animal Life’ topic. We saw some familiar animlas who came to school last year such as Thumbelina the Shetland Pony, Marvin and Minnie the goats as well as sheep, guinea pigs and rabbits. There were also some new animals like Chocolate Buttons the poodle and a chicken!
‘It was the best day ever!’ – Jasper
‘My favourite animal was the black goat, Minnie!’ – Louie
‘I wish the farm could come every day!,’ – Freddie
Summer 1 2024
In Year 2 this half term we have been exploring habitats and microhabitats. We visited our garden and pond areas to record some data of what we could find living in these microhabitats. We then created our own tally charts and used these to draw a pictogram and then create one using the tablets. We then explored how animals are adapted to their habitats by observing woodlice in a choice chamber. We predicted where we thought the woodlice would prefer, using what we had learned from collecting data in our own microhabitats. We then carried out the investigation to determine if our predictions were correct.
Spring 2 2023
In Year 2 this half term we have been looking at growing. We started by exploring a variety of different seeds and looked at the best conditions for a plant to grow by setting up a class enquiry to test the variables (light, water, warmth). We then making predictions of what we thought would happen to the cress and observed the plants over time to see how they changed. We then looked at the similarities and differences between seeds and bulbs. We also used our findings from the cress to predict the best growing conditions for a bean and recorded what happened to a bean over time.
We have also learned about the different stages in the life cycle of a frog and discussed how a frogs obtain their food from their habitat by looking at food chains. We used our research skills to find out about the habitats of frogs and why features of those habitats help frogs to survive. We then had a go at drawing our own frog food chains thinking about the producers, consumers, carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, and discussed what we thought would happen if part of the food chain was missing.
Spring 1 2023
This half term we have looked at what happens to our bodies when we exercise. We discovered that when you exercise your breathing can get faster, you sweat and your heart beats faster. We also looked at what happens to our bodies when we do not exercise or eat healthily.
We then explored the different food groups and learnt why some groups of food may be healthy or unhealthy. We had a go at sorting foods into groups and discussed why it is important to eat different amounts of foods in each food group, according to the Eatwell Plate.
Autumn 2 2023
During our day and night topic in Year 2, we learned about how the Earth moves to give us day and night. We discussed the differences and similarities between things we do during the day and at night. We also found out about food chains and looked at nocturnal predators and prey.
We then spent some time exploring things that are alive, dead or never living. We searched our outside areas for things in these groups and then discussed the properties of each group.
Autumn 1 – 2023
In Year 2 this half term we have been working scientifically by observing seeds over time. We started by exploring different types of seeds, taking notice of some of the similarities and differences between their colour and shape. We then learned about what a plant needs to grow and made some predictions about what we thought would happen to the seeds in different conditions.
We then had a look at some bulbs and used what we had learned about seeds to predict the best conditions for a bulb to grow.
Summer 2
This half term, we began our unit on Animals. The children greatly enjoyed bringing our model skeleton out of the cupboard and looking at his many different bones! We have explored the functions of bones in the body, as well as learning about why we have muscles and what they are used for. As we have progressed through the unit, Year 3 have completed the year by discussing what makes a healthy diet for humans as well as animals, and many have enjoyed identifying why nutrition is important and what we need to have a balanced meal.
Year 3 SAW Week
This year, for SAW Week, Year 3 focused on bees. As bees are such fascinating creatures and can be linked to final two science units Plants and Animals, we thought they would be an excellent topic to explore with the children.
Firstly, for our Science element, the classes learned all about the important jobs bees do and recapped how useful they are in the process of pollination. We then used all of these facts to create a snakes and ladders board game, which featured many good facts about bees as our ladders and some not-so-good information about bees as our snakes.
For the Art element, Year 3 sketched part of a bee to make a whole class jigsaw, based on a photograph. This required many skills learned throughout the year, and a great deal of patience and coordination from the children to ensure their picture aligned well with the colours and patterns of the one next to it!
For the Writing element, the children utilised their skills learning from our Spring unit on Haikus to plan and create their very own poems about bees! We were very impressed with how well the children remembered to follow the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, and create such wonderful Haikus.
Summer 1 2024
This term, we have been learning about Plants and observed over time the experiment of planting bean seeds in soil, sand, and just water. We then observed the changes each week and recorded these observations over time on a table. At the end of the experiment, we planted the beans plants outside and we have been studying a biology unit – ‘Animals including Humans’. We have learnt about different types of skeletons in animals including comparing human and animal skeletons. We have become budding doctors, learning the names of major bones and muscle groups.
Spring Term 2024
This half-term, Year 3 have been enjoying their exciting topic on Mary Anning! As we are sure the children will tell you, Mary Anning was an underappreciated fossil hunter of her time, and made many significant discoveries which helped scientists and researchers to develop our knowledge to be as extensive as it is today. Our lessons have included producing a timeline of Mary Anning’s life and taking part in a fossil excavation with our visitor. We have also explored Mary Anning further, in links to our Science topic, with our biography in English, before finishing the half-term by producing some beautiful double-page spreads about Mary Anning and her accomplishments. Please find details of our previous March visit from Janet Marshall, for which she portrayed Mary and explored her history and her achievements with the children, under the Year 3 tab.
Autumn 2 2023
Year 3 began this half-term by looking at their exciting experiment from Autumn 1 – mummifying tomatoes! The children were very pleased to see that their preservation techniques had worked and the tomatoes had survived being buried in salt for 2 weeks. Following this, they have been learning about light sources and their necessity in our everyday lives. They have completed many investigations including classification of light sources and reflective materials. They also investigated patterns in shadows when manipulating the light source.
Year 3 School Trip Autumn 1 2023
On Wednesday 11th October, Year 3 visited the Norwich Cathedral and participated in their Sacred Science programme of study. We explored different aspects of Science and learnt all about the history of why the cathedral was constructed. We re-capped our geographical learning with compass points and absorbed the magnificence of the cathedral as a historic building.
As part of our current Science unit: Forces, we explored how effective the force of gravity was in the construction of the cathedral during William the Conqueror’s reign. We used the medieval mason’s template to re-create an archway. We worked together beautifully to create our arches, we displayed determination, resilience and perseverance which enabled us to be successful medieval stonemasons.
As part of our upcoming Science unit: Light, we also explored Opaque, Translucent and Transparent materials. We discussed how our bodies block the sun, causing shadows.
We examined the effect of stained glass on light. Exploring the translucent qualities that create the vibrant colours of the cathedral windows. We compared the stained glass windows with the clear glass of the modern section of the cathedral and observed that it was transparent.
We all had the opportunity to create our own stained glass window, with opaque and translucent materials. We explored depth of colour and during the process we explored the effect of light on our own creations. The work was amazing and we are creating a year group display of them.
After learning so much new information, including that the cathedral has its own cat: Budge, we left at the end of the day able to talk about our fabulous experience.
Pupil quotes about the day:
“I loved going to the cathedral because we learned more about Forces which is our Science topic.” Emmy-Mae
“I liked making the stained glass windows because they were really colourful. It showed us how the stained glass is translucent.” Anni and Alice.
“I loved being in such an old building and knowing people still go to pray today.”
“I really liked learning about how the windows tell a story.” Kendra
“I liked learning about gravity because I didn’t know what it was.” Elliott
Autumn 1 2023
This half term we have been learning about Forces and Magnets. The children started their learning by classifying whether objects were magnetic or non magnetic. Using bar magnets the children observed what happened when the same poles on two magnets were placed together and when different poles were placed together. We learned the vocabulary attract and repel to describe what happened. Using a selection of magnets the children carried out an experiment to see which magnet was the strongest. We made a prediction at the start and after displaying the results on a bar graph we decided whether our predictions were correct.
We then moved on to learning about push and pull forces, the children acted out a force for the class to guess which they were!
Our final experiment saw the children deciding which material had the greatest friction. Discussions were had to decide how to make the experiment a fair test. Our recent trip to Norwich Cathedral was the perfect way to introduce our next topic – Light!
Summer Term 2023
This term, we have been learning about Plants and observed over time the experiment of planting bean seeds in soil, sand, and just water. We then observed the changes each week and recorded these observations over time on a table. At the end of the experiment, we planted the beans plants outside and we have been studying a biology unit – ‘Animals including Humans’. We have learnt about different types of skeletons in animals including comparing human and animal skeletons. We have become budding doctors, learning the names of major bones and muscle groups.
Then we moved on to nutrition, studying what is needed for a healthy diet, the names of food groups plus how to examine food packaging. We were very surprised at the nutritional content of some of our favourite fast food items!
Spring Term 2023
In Year 3, our focus in Science was Mary Anning in Spring 1 and rocks and fossils in Spring 2. First, the children made their own fossils and excavated using tools. We learnt how to identify igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from their physical features and this helped us to remember how each rock was formed.
During Science Week, we explored the science of making toothpaste! We agreed that a good toothpaste should kill bacteria, have a nice scent and stay on the toothbrush! We carefully mixed ingredients to make our toothpaste. We then needed to think scientifically to plan a fair test to compare our own toothpaste to branded toothpastes. Finally, we collected the results in a tally chart and presented the results in a series of bar graphs.
Summer 2
In Year 4, we have been doing a topic based on animals including humans. We have looked at human teeth, the digestive system and food chains. The children loved learning about all of the organs in the digestive system.
They first completed a fun activity to model how food moves through our body using crackers, bananas and a pair of tights! They then recapped their learning by creating some excellent pieces of creative writing to explain how food travels through the different organs in the digestive system!
We also conducted an experiment to see how different drinks can affect our teeth. The children used eggs, as the eggshells resemble the enamel on our teeth. They were disgusted to see the outcome of the orange juice and Lucozade ones!
Year 4 SAW Week
For SAW week Year 4 children learnt about yeast and how it is used in many different processes including bread making. We then used the yeast, mixed with warm water and sugar, to blow up balloons! The children loved this investigation and were able to predict what might happen after placing the balloon on the bottle.
For our writing activity we pretended we were YouTubers and wrote a script explaining how to make their favourite sandwich! The children loved this and were able to use their creativity as well as their spelling and grammar skills. We even got a chance to then perform them to the rest of the class!
For our art activity we painted on a slice of bread using food colouring! This took a lot of patience and resilience as it is very different to painting on paper! It was lovely seeing the children’s creativity and the care that they took over their paintings
Summer 1 2024
Our Science topic has been about Classification and Habitats. We have learned why we might classify living things into different categories. We also learned to use a classification key to sort living things according to characteristics. The children were fascinated to learn that all living things can be sorted in to five kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, protista and prokaryotes! Finally, we have looked at how animals are well suited to the environment they live in – their habitat. We have looked at how changing habitats could pose a danger to the living things within them.
Spring Term 2024
Year 4 have loved learning all about electricity this term. We have been creating simple circuits out of bulbs, wires and cells and discovering the scientific symbols for each component. We even tested which switch works best in order to switch our light bulb on and off the quickest!
More recently, the children have been using their geographical knowledge of maps and mountains alongside their scientific knowledge of electrical circuits to create electrical board games! They have put a lot of thought into the bright, eye catching design of their games and we have discussed how important it is for our “wires” (made from foil and masking tape) not to cross over so that the circuits are complete and the games work properly. The children have loved researching different mountains in Europe and then plotting them on their maps.
Autumn 2 2023
In Year 4, the children have been looking at how we hear sound and have learnt the names of different parts of the ear. We thoroughly enjoyed trying out the different experiments to discover that sound is made by a series of vibrations. The children’s favourite experiment was using the tuning fork in the water (even if the vibrations from the tuning fork did make the water splash a little)!
We have also looked at how to change the pitch and volume of different musical instruments. The children were surprised to find that with some instruments it was very difficult to change the pitch. By far, the children’s favourite experiment was making string telephones from cups and string and seeing which materials were best at passing the vibrations through the “telephones”!
Autumn 1 2023
In Science, our topic has been States of Matter, the children have been very enthusiastic about the experiments and particularly enjoyed melting different solids (even if it did make some of them hungry). They have enjoyed demonstrating their understanding of how solids, liquids and gasses move and how they can change state when heated or cooled. We ended the topic by exploring the water cycle and the children loved learning the water cycle rap and even making up their own dance moves!
Summer Term 2023
In Year 4, children have been learning about classification an habitats. We have looked at why we might need to classify living things into different categories. The children have also looked at how animals are well suited to the environment they live in – their habitat. They discovered how changing habitats could pose a danger to the living things within them and how we can better protect living things.
We then moved on to look at our teeth and digestive system. The children loved learning about all of the organs in the digestive system. They created some excellent piece of writing to describe how food moves through our bodies! We also conducted an experiment to see how different drinks can affect our teeth. The children used eggs, as the eggshells resemble the enamel on our teeth.
Spring Term 2023
Year 4 have loved learning all about electricity this term. We have been creating simple circuits out of bulbs, wires and cells and discovering the scientific symbols for each component. We even tested which switch works best in order to switch our light bulb on and off the quickest!
More recently, the children have been using their geographical knowledge of maps and mountains alongside their scientific knowledge of electrical circuits to create electrical board games! They have put a lot of thought into the bright, eye catching design of their games and we have discussed how important it is for our “wires” (made from foil and masking tape) not to cross over so that the circuits are complete and the games work properly. The children have loved researching different mountains in Europe and then plotting them on their maps. Some of them were surprised to learn about the mountains we have in the United Kingdom!
Summer 2 2024
In Summer 2, Year 5 have been studying living things including humans. Year 5 enjoyed ordering the 7 key stages of a human’s life – fertilisation, prenatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and old age. Year 5 then analysed data about the growth of babies and created bar charts and line graphs to display this data. Year 5 have explored the changes humans go through and completed independent research about the gestation periods of animals with humans and other animals. Finally, Year 5 have compared the life expectancy of different animals with their gestation periods.
Year 5 Science, Art and Writing (SAW) Week
This year, Year 5’s theme for SAW focused on Greenhouse Gases.
For science, we learnt the two main gases that make up the air (Nitrogen and Oxygen). The children now understand that carbon is in all living things – including themselves, which they found interesting! After we discussed the different types of gases in our atmosphere, we conducted an experiment. This explored the difference between the effects of melting iceberg and the melting of glaciers on land to explore the relative effects on sea level rise.
The children ensured that they kept the test fair by measuring the water and ice cubes, which made good links with our recent maths unit.
Our findings revealed that after 20 minutes, the ice in the water had already melted but the water level remained the same. However, the tub with the ice cubes that were placed on land saw the greatest sea level rise. This is because glacier ice is mostly sitting on land, so when it melts it runs into the sea, causing the sea level to rise.
For art, we made detailed images of our Earth, split in two; one half representing a world of sustainable energies and recycling. The other half represented pollution and destruction of the environment. This activity really captured their interest as you can see through their art work.
During our writing session, Year 5 published some outstanding poems all about Planet Earth. Some children opted to write a haiku poem, free-verse poem or an acrostic. We were really proud of the final products. Well done!
Summer 1 2024
Year 5 enjoyed going on a visit to Sculthorpe Moor, near Fakenham where they were able to add to their prior learning about living things and their habitats in Summer 1. They participated in pond dipping, learning to identify what they had caught. A walk through the Carr area linked nicely to the Broads environment work too. They also made observations of birds, in the hides and identified them too. Bug hunting was also an exciting challenge for them. Observing, classifying, grouping and identifying are important scientific skills.
Spring Term 2024
In Spring Term, in Year 5, we have continued to investigate forces. Firstly, we began by looking at friction and carried out the car on a slope enquiry. Children measured the distance a toy car travelled on different materials and linked this back to learning on friction. Year 5 then investigated levers, looking at how different weights could be lifted. We learnt that the closer the fulcrum was to the weight, the easier the load. Year 5 then looked at the difference between gears and pulleys. Children identified whether objects use pulleys or gears.
In pairs, Year 5 children then had the challenge to teach their partner as many facts about pulleys and gears as they could. Finally, Year 5 investigated the effects of air pressure, air resistance and gravity using ‘rocket mice’. The children had a competition to see who could launch their rocket mouse the furthest (not highest). We learnt that our bottles we used as the rocket launcher are not really empty as there is air inside them. As air is elastic, when we compressed the bottles, it pushed back and the pressure inside it increased. The sudden increase in air pressure inside the bottle pushed hard on the bottom of the rocket, sending it flying high into the air.
And this to the Year 6 tab, again under the same heading:
This term Year 6 have been investigating the theories and scientific research around Evolution and Inheritance. We have studied Darwin’s theories on this and looked at adaptive traits (creating our own species for a given habitat) and inherited traits (how offspring might vary and why). Following Darwin’s theories we created our own experiment where we investigated how hand shape could affect an animal’s ability to eat a banana.
We recapped our learning from year 3 on how fossils are created and then applied this knowledge to how these can help and expand our understanding of the evolutionary process in different species. With all this knowledge and understanding we then looked at how our own species has developed and evolved over time.
Our final area of research and investigation was around extinction and how many different factors can affect the animals that live, or have lived, on our planet. We looked in depth at the process of natural selection and the evolutionary advantage of this and how scientists apply this to genetic modification today. We wrapped up this learning with a visit from Dr Amanda Hartley from the Little Story telling company.
Autumn 2 2023
In Science, Year 5 have been looking at Materials. We began the half term off by comparing and grouping together different objects that were in a bag based off of their properties. Children picked up an object in a bag, described what it felt like and then guessed what material it is made from, before taking it out and then classifying it.
Children then looked at soluble and insoluble solutions where we grouped material into categories: those which dissolve in water, those which don’t dissolve and those where there appears to be a different sort of change.
We then planned and carried out an investigation to attempt to separate mixed materials. We looked at whether it was possible to separate:
Coffee and water
Paperclips and water
Salt and water
Rice and water
To do this we used a sieve, filter paper and a magnet.
Later on this half term, Year 5 looked into irreversible changes where we completed a ‘rust race’ investigation. We left nails in different liquids over the week to see which liquid caused the nails to go rusty and at what speed. We discussed the differences between a reversible and an irreversible change. 
Autumn 1 2023
During Autumn 1, Year 5 have been studying the topic of Space.
We began this topic by working in groups to sort evidence cards into groups. We decided whether then card supported the idea that the Earth was spherical or that the Earth was flat. We then summarised our findings as a class.
Year 5 then moved on to look at the movement of Earth and other planets in relation to the sun. We conducted our own shadow investigation demonstrating the spinning of the Earth. We carried out an observation over time and made predictions about how we thought our shadow may change over the day. Once an hour over the school day we went out to the playground and observed how our shadows have changed by drawing around them using chalk. We then discussed our findings at the end of the day and linked them to the use of sun dials.
From our knowledge gained from the shadows experience in the following lesson we could begin to explain day and night. We used globes and torchers to recreate the day and night effect.
Year 5 have also looked at the movement of the moon and created their own research page using tablets. Finally we found out about Galileo and his work on pendulums before making our own pendulums and writing up our findings.
Summer Term 2023
Year 5 enjoyed going on a visit to Sculthorpe Moor, near Fakenham where they were able to add to their prior learning about living things and their habitats in Summer 1. They participated in pond dipping, learning to identify what they had caught. A walk through the Carr area linked nicely to the Broads environment work too. They also made observations of birds, in the hides and identified them too. Bug hunting was also an exciting challenge for them. Observing, classifying, grouping and identifying are important scientific skills.
Summer 2 followed on with animals including humans, where we looked at timelines, babies and their growth and development, puberty and old age; this also reinforced our learning in RSE.
Lifecycles Year 5 – Summer 1 2023
Year 5 have been very lucky to have the opportunity to have cared for some ducklings as part of their science and living things topic.
Five eggs were delivered and kept in an incubator and the children made close observations, daily, in their diaries. We have been studying the lifecycles of birds, animals, insects and amphibians.
A week later, they were allowed to swim in a shallow pool. The children enjoyed watching them use their webbed feet as they had learnt about these when studying water resistance in the Spring Term.
After their swim, we watched them drying and preening themselves in the sunshine and pecking at the grass. The children were very relaxed, watching them exploring their new environment.
Spring Term 2023
During the Spring term, Year 5 have looked in depth at Forces. The children can now explain balanced and unbalanced forces. Making links to their Autumn term learning, they know that gravity was first discovered by Sir Isaac Newton and that the measure of force is named after him, and that we can measure the force of gravity with the use of a Newton Meter.
When working scientifically, the children had fun experimenting with different types of helicopter blades to see which ones offered the greatest air resistance and so stayed in the air longer. The children were able to make a prediction, as well as draw conclusions from their findings.
They could then build on this knowledge to show their understanding about water resistance. The children enjoyed working scientifically and learnt many skills such as managing variables (controlled and independent) to keep tests fair and reliable.
Working scientifically, the children enjoyed experimenting with how friction can act as a force, creating heat, and how this can be a hindrance or important in terms of safety. Forces were also investigated in terms of gears and pulleys.
Year 6 SAW Week
As part of the year 6 SAW project, we looked at the adaptations of marine creatures and the ocean as an environment.
We started off by learning the names of the oceans of the world and thinking about the negative impact that human behavior has had on our ocean habitats, such as coral reefs. We discussed pollution within our oceans and what we can do to make a difference. We learnt amazing facts about sharks – did you know that they actually don’t have a skeleton? We produced some posters to persuade people to look after our sharks and protect their species. Following this lesson, we learnt about the different layers of the ocean and the creatures that live in each one and created a collage to display this information.
We then looked at aboriginal art and how they created wonderful artworks based on wht they saw around them. The children really enjoyed drawing their own animals and then painting them using the dotting techniques seen within this artistic movement.
The children in year 6 all thoroughly enjoyed their week and were more aware of the oceans as ecosystems on our planet, and the threat they are under.
Spring Term 2024
This term Year 6 have been investigating the theories and scientific research around Evolution and Inheritance. We have studied Darwin’s theories on this and looked at adaptive traits (creating our own species for a given habitat) and inherited traits (how offspring might vary and why). Following Darwin’s theories we created our own experiment where we investigated how hand shape could affect an animal’s ability to eat a banana.
We recapped our learning from year 3 on how fossils are created and then applied this knowledge to how these can help and expand our understanding of the evolutionary process in different species. With all this knowledge and understanding we then looked at how our own species has developed and evolved over time.
Our final area of research and investigation was around extinction and how many different factors can affect the animals that live, or have lived, on our planet. We looked in depth at the process of natural selection and the evolutionary advantage of this and how scientists apply this to genetic modification today. We wrapped up this learning with a visit from Dr Amanda Hartley from the Little Story telling company.
Autumn Term 2023
In Year 6 this term we started Science by learning about animals, including humans. We learnt about the circulatory and digestive systems and carried out an investigation into how exercise affects our heart rate. We found that after 2 minutes of continuous exercise our heart rates speed up to help oxygen reach our organs more quickly. We also learnt about how to live a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise and what effect this can have on our health. Over the course of a week, we did regular exercise each morning to see if this helped us to be more alert during our lessons. Most of us found that we did find it easier to concentrate in our morning lessons after five minutes of continuous exercise.
In the second half of the term, we have been learning about light. We have carried out lots of practical investigations to explore refraction, reflection and the spectrum.
Summer Term 2023
Year 6 have been studying Living things and their habitats as well as Electricity this term.
Within Living things and their habitats, the children have looked to classify animals through the animal’s characteristics and learning about and how to use the Linnaean system.
Our electricity work was also cross-curricular with our History topic and after learning about how to create a simple lighting circuit. We investigated how differing voltages can affect the brightness of a bulb. Using this we looked for patterns in correlation to the number of cells used to the number of batteries. After adding a switch to these circuits, we then created a lighting circuit that could be used in our Reproduction Anderson Shelters that could provide light (but not too much) when our doors were closed if there was an air raid warning.
Spring Term 2023
This term Year 6 have been investigating the theories and scientific research around Evolution and Inheritance. We have studied Darwin’s theories on this and looked at adaptive traits (creating our own species for a given habitat) and inherited traits (how offspring might vary and why). Following Darwin’s theories we created our own experiment where we investigated how hand shape could affect an animal’s ability to eat, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.
We investigated how fossils are created (making our own) and then how these can help and expand our understanding of the evolutionary process in different species (our research into Mary Anning also supported this). With all this knowledge and understanding we then looked at how our own species has developed and evolved over time.
Our final area of research and investigation was around extinction and how many different factors can affect the animals that live, or have lived, on our planet. With the children writing a report about an animal, thought to be extinct, that has been spotted locally! Could there be hope that this species is still alive?