“You can use the knowledge and skills throughout your whole, entire life.” Caitlin
“You get to learn things you didn’t know about.” Joshua
“You learn interesting facts. You can learn from other’s discoveries and make you own.” George
“Science helps you learn, gives you knowledge and helps you to develop your skills.”Atticus
At Manland, science teaching and learning is about developing children’s ideas and ways of working to enable them to make sense of the world in which we live, through exploration, discovery and investigation.
We use the National Curriculum together with the Herts Primary Science package to provide an engaging curriculum that fosters in our pupils a sense of excitement and curiosity about our universe, and a respect for living and non-living things. The scheme ensures our pupils gain a strong subject knowledge, whilst acquiring the skills to help them think scientifically.
Our pupils show great passion for science and investigating. In weekly lessons, our pupils learn science through practical work, ranging from, learning how electricity travels through a circuit to recording the length and pattern of shadows in the day. Within lessons, pupils have opportunities to ask questions and planning and carrying out investigations teaches our pupils the importance of accuracy and problem solving.
At Manland, lessons allow pupils to make strong links with other subjects to further develop their English and maths skills. There are opportunities to make links to other subjects such as history when learning about the role of scientists, or in P.E. to support understanding of nutrition and exercise. Teachers further enable pupils to develop their use of scientific language, explaining scientific words and using examples in their work.
Science learning extends well beyond the classroom and our pupils have the opportunity to experience a wide range of enrichment activities to understand how science is linked to the real world. This includes science workshops, House Learning Days, trips and visits from scientists. We also see our school grounds as a wonderful learning resource. Our wildlife area supports us in the study of living things and the children love exploring and learning there. Through our gardening club, Manland has been proud to take part in local competitions such as Harpenden in Bloom.
Our Aims – Science National Curriculum
The National Curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
- Develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
- Are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.
Ways to Develop Science Skills at Home
Watch some of the David Attenborough documentaries. After watching children could show their understanding through:
o Writing about their favourite animal featured in the show.
o A letter to Sir David Attenborough about what they liked and questions they have.
o A letter to humans from an animal explaining how we are impacting their environment and what we should do.
Watch some Steve Backshaw videos https://www.facebook.com/pg/stevebackshallofficial/videos/?ref=page_internal
After watching children could show their understanding through:
o Writing a list of questions they would like to send to Steve Backshall.
o Drawing and writing about their own deadly creature that could be featured in Deadly 60.
o Writing about why we should appreciate sharks more and why they are not as scary as they seem.
- Read the book Dr.Seuss book ‘Bartholomew and the Oobleck.’ Oobleck is simply a mixture made with roughly 2 parts cornflour to 1 part water and it acts like a solid under force and a liquid when it is not under force. Make some Oobleck and explore its properties.
- Try growing some vegetable tops.
- There are a number of organisations who have some great ideas and resources for exploring nature at home.
https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/spotter-sheets
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/03/nature-detectives/
https://treetoolsforschools.org.uk/menu/
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/
https://www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/
Visit and explore a range of websites
- Practical Action provide free STEM resources to engage children in real-world issues including climate change, renewable energy, food security and disaster preparedness. https://practicalaction.org/schools/
- Look up some amazing science facts http://www.planet-science.com/
- https://sciencebob.com/ videos, information and fun experiments to aid children’s science understanding.
- STEM learning at home https://www.raeng.org.uk/education/stem-at-home
- https://www.reachoutreporter.com/
- A collection of simple, nature-based activities you can enjoy together at home or in the garden. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/03/kids-nature-activities-self-isolation/
- STEM learning at home https://www.stem.org.uk/home-learning/family-activities
- https://www.stem.org.uk/stem-clubs/activity-sets
- Science Sparks https://www.science-sparks.com/easy-ideas-for-science-at-home/
- If you haven’t got a lot of kit at home, but want to take part in some sciency simulations, then there’s plenty to play with on the Phet website.
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/filter?sort=alpha&view=grid - The Jodrell Bank Observatoryis putting together a bank of ideas and resources to encourage you to focus on the wonder of the night skies.
https://www.jodrellbank.net/stargazing/
Ways to help at home
You could help your child to:
- Investigate and explore the world around them e.g. nature walk
- Observe changes overtime e.g. planting and growing bulbs; seasonal changes, the phases of the moon.
- Look for relationships between cause and effect e.g. cooking, floating and sinking.
- Identify and classify things e.g. sorting leaves according to type
- Carry out simple investigations e.g. Which materials are magnetic?
Science at Manland
