Strategic Lead for Science | Miss Z LeGray-Wise | zlegraywise@themast.co.uk
The Aims of the Science Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed to inspire a lifelong curiosity in students about themselves, the world, the universe and its mysteries. It should empower students so they can evaluate and form their own ideas about how and why things happen using critical scientific thinking. This includes the ability to engage confidently in the ever-changing technical world.
At Kirkburton we strive for a quality science education throughout our curriculum which encompasses the following aims for ALL students-
- To install a lifelong interest and fascination about Science
- To prepare pupils and impart knowledge/skills to enable their further study beyond KMS including preparation for greater demands of the new GCSEs
- To empower pupils using a growth mindset and skills/knowledge gained in lessons to consolidate, apply and link ideas about Science to explain phenomena. This may well take them outside their learning ‘comfort zones’
- To allow pupils to explore their natural curiosity about the world through the use of science inside and outside the classroom
- To provide opportunities which give pupils experience, skills and knowledge through a varied curriculum that encompasses all Scientific disciplines and a relevance to the ever changing technical world
- To build the demands of the curriculum from Y6-8 in line with AREX (age related expectations)
- To design a programme of study which challenges pupils and allows them to revisit and use previous knowledge/skills in a spiral curriculum
- To provide opportunities for the development of SMSC, literacy, oracy and numeracy skills throughout the curriculum
- To allow pupils to assess through the different methods and track progress against the AREX allowing them to understand where and how to improve.
- To allow pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and progress in science inside and outside of the classroom
- To build pupils resilience and give them the confidence to challenge their knowledge and understanding.
Science is one of the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Maths and Engineering) we promote the study of science as a major career path for all pupils.
We study biological, chemical and physical process, through topics which show the links between these different disciplines, using the ‘big ideas’ of science, such as particles and energy, to underpin these scientific processes. Throughout our science curriculum we try to show how science is used in the ‘real’ world. We look at aspects such as forensics, cooking, medicine and sports science. This provides pupils with a context within which these scientific processes are used as well as embedding science as a part of everyday British culture.
Pupils engage in a range of investigations, learning to; plan, carry out, analyse and evaluate experiments, as well as assessing risk to make sure their experiments are safe. They learn how scientific models and theories help to explain their observations, as well as learning how these models and theories can change as new observations are made.
Pupils learn how science has developed as a discipline over time, by studying the history of key scientific ideas and the leading British and world scientists and cultures that have contributed to this understanding. Through the curriculum we aim to develop in pupils an appreciation of the power of science to improve peoples’ lives.
Curriculum Overview
The science programme of study at K.M.S has been revised in the light of the new national curriculum 2014, the new style GCSE exams and with the collaboration of colleagues from the other schools in the Shelley College pyramid. This collaboration has helped to ensure that the curriculum at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 is fully covered in the most appropriate way to meet the needs of all our pupils. A greater emphasis on pupils’ numeracy and literacy skills has been built into science lessons to enhance pupils’ understanding of the scientific concepts they study, as well as helping them to communicate their ideas more clearly.
Year 6
| Autumn Term |
Introduction to Science
Pupils will learn vital skills that will be used throughout their science education, they will learn how to work safely, measure accurately, identify and use laboratory equipment including Bunsen Burners.
Matter
Pupils consider the role of particles and their arrangement in solids, liquids and gases. Pupils will investigate a range of reversible and irreversible changes, applying their knowledge of the science lab and safety rules into practice.
Organisms
Pupils learn about the seven life processes (MRS GREN) and look in more depth at the digestive and circulatory systems. Pupils will start to build a picture of organisation starting at cells and developing into organisms. This unit of work also considers how to live a healthy lifestyle and the impacts of not doing so.
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| Spring Term |
Energy
Pupils will look at circuits and how they work, learning how to draw scientific diagrams and investigating the effects of changing components.
Waves
Pupils get the opportunity to explore the role of reflection in how we see and the effects of opaque objects in creating shadows.
Ecosystems
Pupils will look at different habitats and the organisms that live in them, including food chains. Pupils will learn to interpret and design keys for the classification of plants and animals.
Genes
Pupils will study the role of variation and adaptations on survival and how this leads to natural selection and evolution. Pupils will get to investigate the role of fossil evidence to support the theory of evolution.
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| Summer Term |
Skills Across the Curriculum
These two weeks of lessons are designed to support SATs preparation, looking at maths and English in science, developing pupils’ knowledge of real-world contexts for their scientific knowledge.
Forces
Pupils get the chance to explore and investigate the role of forces within their lives, starting with considering contact and non-contact forces, measuring forces then investigating friction, drag, air resistance and parachutes, magnets and the role of machines in our lives.
Forensics and Scientific Enquiry
In this unit of work, pupils will apply the investigative skills they have learnt throughout year 6 into a unit studying forensic science, they will step into the world of a SOCO, investigating fibres with the microscopes, fingerprint analysis and the role of collecting evidence.
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Year 7
| Autumn Term |
Introduction to Science
Students will develop vital skills that will be used throughout their science education, including using and converting SI units, identifying and using laboratory equipment and plotting graphs.
Organisms
Students will start to explore the structure of living things based on organisation of cells, tissues, organs, organ systems and organisms, looking at the importance of specialised cells, using microscopes and looking in detail at how the skeleton and muscles work together. In this unit students will study reproduction, learning the organs in the reproductive systems, the impacts of puberty, the process of fertilisation and the importance of a healthy pregnancy.
Energy
Students will study the seven energy stores and understand the law of conservation of energy, they will then take this further to consider efficiency. Students will revisit circuits, this time expanding their understanding to the role of series and parallel circuits and measuring current. Magnets will be explored in this unit of work, considering the role of electromagnets and magnets in navigation and motors.
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| Spring Term |
Matter
This unit of work builds on the principles of states of matter from year 6, expanding it to investigate cooling curves. Students will get the opportunity to explore the periodic table, its structure and how to use chemical formulas. Students will get the opportunity to investigate methods of separating mixtures, including chromatography and distillation.
Forces
Students will get to develop the idea of resultant forces in this unit of work, understanding the difference between mass and weight. Students will learn how to calculate speed, plot and interpret distance-time graphs and explain relative motion.
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| Summer Term |
Genes and Ecosystems
Students will explore the concepts of continuous and discontinuous variation, applying their graph drawing skills. Students will develop their Year 6 knowledge of food chains to study food webs, the accumulation of toxins and using quadrats for observing ecosystems.
Reactions
Students will identify acids and alkalis, investigate the effects of reacting acids and alkalis in neutralisation reactions and make soluble salts.
Earth Science
This unit explores our place in the solar system, the causes of the seasons, the structure of the Earth, including the rock cycle and the use of ceramics, composites and polymers.
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Year 8
| Autumn Term |
Introduction to Science
Students will develop vital skills that will be used throughout their science education, including using and converting SI units, using laboratory equipment and interpreting graphs.
Waves
Students will explore transverse and longitudinal waves, looking in depth and sound and light waves. Students will look at how sound travels, how pitch and volume are changed and investigate the role of materials in the reflection and absorption of sound. Students will then investigate how light interacts with different media including reflection, refraction, the effects of lenses and how colour is seen.
Matter
Students will further develop their Year 7 knowledge of the Periodic Table, looking at the law of conservation of mass, balancing equations and looking in depth at groups 1, 7 and 0 of the periodic table.
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| Spring Term |
Organisms
This unit builds on the Year 6 and 7 organisms topic, this time looking in depth at the respiratory and digestive system. Students will explain the role of gas exchange and the effects of smoking and exercise on the respiratory system. Students will explore the importance of a balanced diet and the consequences of not maintaining this, they will then explain how the digestive system is adapted to allow us to digest food effectively.
Forces
In Year 8 students develop their knowledge of resultant forces, this time applying them to the principles of Hooke’s law, terminal velocity and drag. Students will then go on to understand and calculate pressure.
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| Summer Term |
Reactions
This unit of work investigates many types of chemical reactions, continuing to develop students working scientifically skills, the reactions explored include exothermic and endothermic, displacement, combustion and thermal decomposition.
Ecosystems
Students will explore in this unit, the importance of plants and how they reproduce, this will explore the importance of plants within our ecosystems and the importance of maintaining seed banks for the conservation of species. Students will then take this further to an understanding of photosynthesis, relating this to the importance of plants on Earth.
Earth Science
This unit questions the role of humans on Earth and the effects we are having, getting students to explore how we can have a positive impact on the planet to change the effects of global warming and climate change.
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Check out what is going on in British Science Week here: https://www.britishscienceweek.org/browse-events/
https://www.britishscienceweek.org/
What career…?
Students who succeed in science can look forward to careers in health, engineering, technological industries, academia, media and many others.
