Sciencist Threads

Our content is mapped out across the school by following threads which are developed upon across the school and through the children's learning journeys.

Year 1             

What is my hat made of?

The children identify, explore and sort a variety of materials in order to decide which ones would be best to create their own hat from.

How does my city change?

In this enquiry the children look at the structures of different plants and explore how they change with the seasons.

What am I?

The children learn about the different groups of animals, from mammals to fish and observe the features they have. They also explore the five senses. 

Year 2

How do we live a healthy life?

In this enquiry the children explore an animal’s basic needs and investigate the effects of exercise and diet on health.

What could Traction Man’s playground be made of?

Building on their learning from Year 1 the children investigate materials’ properties and how different materials can be manipulated in order to create the perfect playground.

What is home?

The children begin to explore different habitats and investigate how they provide the basic needs for the animals that live within them.

How do plants grow?

Following on from their learning in Year 1 the children explore how seeds and plants grow by observing them in their natural habitat.

Year 3

Where does darkness come from?

In this enquiry the children experiment with light in order to find out what darkness is, how shadows are formed and what reflections are.

What is underneath our feet?

The children explore and compare different kinds of rocks and soils based on their appearance and physical properties.

Why did people travel in the past?

In this enquiry the children explore how magnets attract and repel each other and other materials.

How do plants die?

Building on their knowledge from KS1 the children learn about the functions of different parts of a plant and look specifically at how water is transported from roots to leaves. 

Year 4

What is the difference between noise and sound?

In this enquiry the children learn how sounds are made and investigate patterns in pitch and volume. 

How does electricity flow?

In this enquiry the children learn how to construct a simple circuit and investigate how electricity can flow or be hindered in complete and incomplete circuits.

Who is predator and who is prey?

Building on what they learnt in KS1 the children take a closer look at what nutrition animals need, the function of different teeth and how the digestive system works.

Where does water come from?

The children investigate how materials are grouped into solids, liquids and gases and experiment with water in order to discover how it changes state.

Year 5

What does the Earth look like from our Solar System?

In this enquiry the children investigate the orbit of the Earth, Moon and other planets and the role of the Sun in our solar system.

What is chocolate?

Following on from their learning in Year 4 the children investigate how materials can undergo reversible changes (e.g. dissolving) and irreversible changes (e.g. burning) and consequently group materials on the basis of their properties.

What is more important – houses or habitats?

In this enquiry the children learn about the varying life cycles for different groups of animals and plants.

Year 6

Linnaeus and Darwin: how are they connected?

In this enquiry the children classify living things into broad groups based on specific characteristics and explore how adaptation may lead to evolution.

How are lives saved?

The children learn about the different parts of the human circulatory system and their function. Additionally, they explore the impact of diet, drugs and exercise on how the body functions.

Why are shadows important?

Building on what they learnt in Year 3 the children investigate how light travels and use this knowledge to explain how objects are seen.

How big is my footprint?

Following on from their work in Year 4 the children learn to use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram and investigate and explain why there are variations in how components function.