In Year 6, our children enjoy hands-on, practical Science learning and we focus on the following working scientifically skills:
- planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary
- taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate
- recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
- using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests
- reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations
- identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments
Electricity
Intended outcomes for this unit:
- Children will be able to associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit.
- They will compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches.
- Children will use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
Light
Intended outcomes for this unit:
- Children will be able to recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines.
- They will use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye.
- Children will explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes.
- They will use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.
Evolution and inheritance
Intended outcomes for this unit:
- Children will be able to recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago.
- They will recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents.
- Children will be able to identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.
Animals including humans
Intended outcomes for this unit:
- Children will be able to identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood.
- They will recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function.
- Children will be able to describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.
Living things and their habitats
Intended outcomes for this unit
- Children will be able to describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including microorganisms, plants and animals.
- They will be able to give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics