Medium Term Plan–Science

Phase – Years 1 and 2

Year 1 / Year 2
Autumn 1 / The Human Body: The Five Senses
  1. Identify the five senses - sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch
  2. Identify the body parts associated with each sense
  3. Understand the importance of taking care of your body - exercise, cleanliness, healthy foods and rest
/ Living Things and their Environments (1)
  1. Living things live in environments to which they are particularly suited
  2. Specific habitats include - forest, meadow, underground, desert and water
  3. The food chain is a way of picturing the relationship between living things and animals can be classified according to what they eat

Autumn 2 / Animals and Their Needs
Jane Goodall (studied chimpanzees)
  1. Animals need food, water, space to live and grow
  2. Offspring are very much (but not exactly) like their parents
  3. Pets have needs and must be cared for by their parents
/ Living Things and their Environments (2)
  1. Most of Earth is covered in water, oceans contain salt water (unlike fresh water rivers and lakes)
  2. The oceans are home to a diverse range of living things from plankton to whales
  3. Humans can be a danger to ocean life for example, over fishing, pollution and oil spills

Spring 1 / Seasons and Weather
Wilbur and Orville Wright (first aeroplane)
  1. We have four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter
  2. The sun is a source of light and warmth
  3. Daily weather changes may feature changes in temperature, cloud cover, rainfall, thunder, snow
/ The Human Body: Systems and Preventing Illness
Edward Jenner (found a way to stop smallpox) and Louis Pasteur (made milk safe to drink)
  1. Our skeletal system is made up of bones, the skull protects our brain, our muscular system is made up of muscles that help us move
  2. Our digestive system processes our food, our circulatory system pumps blood around our bodies
  3. Our nervous system sends messages around our body

Spring 2 / Taking Care of the Earth
  1. Some of Earth’s natural resources are limited
  2. Pollution can be harmful
  3. We can take measures to preserve Earth’s resources, for example, recycle
/ Matter
Properties of Matter: Measurement
Rosalind Franklin (female scientist discovered the double helix structure of DNA)
  1. Length is a unit of measurement we can use to measure things end to end (centimetre, metre)
  2. Volume is a unit of measurement we can use to measure how much 3-D space an object occupies, capacity is the amount a container holds (millilitre and litre)
  3. Temperature is a unit of measurement that we can use to measure warmth (degrees Celsius)

Summer 1 / Plants and Plant Growth
Joseph Banks (botanist)
  1. Plants need warmth, light and water to grow
  2. The basic parts of a plant include seeds, roots, stems, branches and leaves
  3. Some plants can be eaten and some of our food comes from farms as crops
/ Electricity
Thomas Edison (invented the electric light bulb)
  1. The basic parts of a simple circuit are - batteries, wires, a bulb or buzzer and a switch
  2. Some materials conduct electricity, others do not
  3. Electricity can be dangerous and we must follow safety rules to prevent accidents

Summer 2 / Materials and Magnetism
  1. Widely used materials include wood, plastic, paper, rock and metal
  2. Materials are chosen for specific tasks based on their properties
  3. Magnetism is a force we cannot see
/ Astronomy and the Earth
  1. The eight planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (Pluto is a dwarf planet)
  2. Earth revolves on an axis and orbits the Sun
  3. Inside the Earth there are three main layers, the crust, the mantle and the core, which is very hot

Medium Term Plan– Science

Phase – Years 3 and 4

Year 3 / Year 4
Autumn 1 / Cycles in Nature
  1. Our seasonal cycle includes spring (sprouting, hatching, sap flow), summer (growth), Autumn (ripening, migration) and winter (plant dormancy, animal hibernation)
  2. The life cycle on Earth includes birth, growth, reproduction, death
  3. The water cycle on Earth involves evaporation, condensation, water vapour, clouds, precipitation and groundwater
/ Classification of Animals
  1. Scientists classify animals according to the characteristics they share, for example: cold blooded, warm blooded, vertebrates, invertebrates
  2. Mammals are warm blooded, have hair on their bodies, parents care for the young, females produce milk for their offspring, they breathe through lungs and most are terrestrial
  3. Fish are aquatic animals, they breathe through gills, are cold-blooded, most have scales and most develop from eggs that the female lays outside her body

Autumn 2 / The Human Body: Systems, Vision and Hearing
  1. Muscles and our skeleton - our skeleton and muscles work together to help us move and include: voluntary and involuntary muscles, skull, spine, joints, ribs, pelvis
  2. Our nervous system sends messages throughout our body to help our body to function and stay safe
  3. Our vision and hearing help us to experience the world. Key parts of the eye include the cornea, iris and pupil. Key parts of the ear include: the outer ear, the inner ear, the ear drum, and three tiny bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup)

Spring 1 / Insects
  1. Insects can be helpful (honey, beeswax, silk, eating harmful insects, pollination) and also harmful (destroy crops, trees, wooden buildings, clothes, carry disease, bite or sting)
  2. Insects have distinguishing characteristics - exoskeleton, six legs, three body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), and most but not all insects have wings
  3. Some insects live in a social structure, for example ants, honeybees, termites and wasps
/ Light and Optics
  1. Light travels at an amazingly high speed
  2. Light can be reflected in certain directions from flat, concave or convex reflective surfaces
  3. White light is made up of a spectrum of colours

Spring 2 / The Human Body: Cells, Systems and Health
  1. All living things are made up of cells, cells make up tissues, tissues make up organs and organs work in systems
  2. The digestive system processes the food we eat, important parts include: salivary glands, taste buds, teeth, oesophagus, stomach, liver, intestines
  3. In order to care for our body we must eat a healthy diet including essential vitamins and minerals
/ Sound
Alexander Graham Bell (inventor of the telephone)
  1. Sound is caused by an object vibrating rapidly
  2. Sounds can travel through solids, liquids and gases
  3. Sound waves are much slower than light waves

Summer 1 / Simple Machines
  1. Specific tools are designed for specific jobs, for example, hammers, screwdrivers, pliers
  2. Simple machines include - levers, pulleys, wheels and axles, inclined planes, wedges and screws
  3. Simple machines can help to make tasks easier
/ Ecology
  1. There is often interdependence between living things within a habitat
  2. An ecosystem is a community of living things, changes to the environment and man-made changes can impact upon ecosystems
  3. Man-made threats to the environment include air pollution and water pollution

Summer 2 / Magnetism
  1. Magnetism demonstrates there are forces we cannot see that act upon objects
  2. Magnets have poles - north-seeking and south-seeking, the law of magnetic attraction shows us that like poles repel and unlike poles attract
  3. Compasses use a magnetic needle that always points north
/ Astronomy
Caroline Herschel (astronomer)
  1. Earth rotates on an axis which causes day and night. Our seasons are caused by Earth’s orbit around the sun and the tilt of the Earth’s axis
  2. Our sun is a star; the light we see from the stars in the sky has travelled a very long way. People have imagined the stars can join together to make pictures of things like animals, these are called constellations
  3. People explore space by looking through telescopes, sending unmanned rockets into space and even by travelling into space

Medium Term Plan – Science

Phase – Years 5 and 6

Year 5 / Year 6
Autumn 1 / The Human Body: Circulation and Respiration
  1. The heart has four chambers
  2. Our blood moves around our body through blood vessels - arteries, veins and capillaries
  3. The respiratory system allows us to take in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide
/ Chemistry: Matter and Change
  1. Atoms can join together to make molecules
  2. Elements are basic kinds of matter that have only one kind of atom, they can be organised into metals and non-metals
  3. Chemical change involves altering what a molecule is made up of and results in a new substance whereas physical change only alters the properties or appearance of the substance e.g. cutting wood, breaking glass

Autumn 2 / Chemistry: Basic Terms and Concepts
  1. All matter is made up of particles too small for the eye to see, called atoms. Properties of matter include mass, volume and density. A vacuum is the absence of matter
  2. Elements are basic kinds of matter and they only have one kind of atom, for example, gold, copper, aluminium, oxygen and iron
  3. A solution is formed when one substance is dissolved in another substance
/ Classifying Living Things
  1. All living things are made of cells - some organisms are made up of a single cell, others contain different cells with different purposes
  2. Scientists have divided living things into five large groups called kingdoms
  3. Each kingdom is divided into smaller groups to help with classification

Spring 1 / Geology
  1. The layers of the Earth create phenomenon on the surface of the earth that we can see such as volcanoes and earthquakes
  2. Sedimentary rock is made from tiny particles of sand and debris squeezed together over a long time, igneous rock is formed from molten lava which cools and solidifies, metamorphic rock is rock that has changed form due to heat or pressure
  3. Water, wind, plants and ice cause weathering which crack and crumble rock over time; erosion also changes the surface of the earth
/ Plant Structures and Processes
  1. Vascular plants have tube-like structures that allow water and dissolved nutrients to move through the plant
  2. Photosynthesis is an important life process that occurs in plant cells, but not animal cells
  3. Photosynthesis creates food for plants

Spring 2 / Life Cycles and Reproduction
  1. The life cycle involves the development of an organism from birth to growth, reproduction and death
  2. Sexual reproduction requires the joining of male and female cells
  3. Flowering plants reproduce through sexual reproduction

Summer 1 / Electricity
  1. Electricity is the charge of electrons
  2. Electric circuits can be open or closed
  3. Electromagnets are a type of magnet where the magnetic field is created by an electric current; they can be switched on and off
/ The Human Body: Hormones and Reproduction
  1. Puberty describes the period during which our bodies change and become capable of reproduction
  2. Male and female humans have reproductive systems; sexual reproduction involves the joining of male and female cells
  3. Our bodies contain chemicals called hormones which control different body processed such as growth

Summer 2 / Meteorology
  1. The water cycle on Earth involves evaporation, condensation, water vapour, clouds, precipitation and groundwater (review from Year 3)
  2. Forecasting the weather involves monitoring atmospheric conditions and making informed predictions
  3. Weather refers to daily changes in temperature, rainfall, sunshine whereas climate refers to weather over time
/ Evolution and Adaption
  1. Animals have offspring that are of the same kind, but often offspring have different appearances
  2. Animals and plants have adapted to suit the environment within which they live
  3. Adaptation may lead to evolution (Darwin’s finches)