Science units are delivered to individual classes on a rotation. The units listed below may not always be studied sequentially.
| Unit | Content |
|---|---|
| Biology Cells and movement | Students build upon the knowledge of life and living systems that they gained at KS2. The focus of this unit is on developing students' ability to describe and explain how the function and structure of living things are related. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed summatively at the end of the unit, during the first half of the year. The assessment contains questions requiring short- and long-form answers based on scientific knowledge and on the ability to work scientifically. This unit is also assessed at the end of the year. |
| Biology Variation and reproduction | Students build upon the knowledge of living things and their habitats, and of evolution and inheritance that they gained at KS2. The focus of this unit is on developing students' understanding of how organisms show variation, have specific adaptations to survive, and can reproduce. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed summatively at the end of the unit, during the second half of the year. The assessment contains questions requiring short- and long-form answers based on scientific knowledge and on the ability to work scientifically. |
| Chemistry Acids and alkalis | Students are introduced to key knowledge relating to the properties and behaviours of acids and alkalis. They gain experience in undertaking simple, practical-based chemical analysis. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed summatively at the end of the unit, during the first half of the year. The assessment contains questions requiring short- and long-form answers based on scientific knowledge and on the ability to work scientifically. This unit is also assessed at the end of the year. |
| Chemistry Particles and separating | Students build upon the knowledge of the properties and behaviours of materials that they gained at KS2, through an introduction to scientific models of particles. They deepen their knowledge of particles by studying the periodic table and develop this understanding by completing practical work on the behaviour of particles. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed summatively at the end of the unit, during the second half of the year. The assessment contains questions requiring short- and long-form answers based on scientific knowledge and on the ability to work scientifically. |
| Physics Forces and motion | In this unit, students are provided with the knowledge foundation needed to explore the concept of forces. The unit starts conceptually by building an understanding of what a force is. Students learn to apply their knowledge of specific named forces to context-sensitive situations and build on their ability to use simple scientific formulae. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed summatively at the end of the unit, during the first half of the year. The assessment contains questions requiring short- and long-form answers based on scientific knowledge and on the ability to work scientifically. This unit is also assessed at the end of the year. |
| Physics Energy and space | Students learn to describe the world in terms of energy. Students also learn fundamental concepts about space, focusing on the Earth's cycles and on the structure of the solar system. Key knowledge developed
Key skills developed
Assessment: Learning is assessed summatively at the end of the unit, during the second half of the year. The assessment contains questions requiring short- and long-form answers based on scientific knowledge and on the ability to work scientifically. |
