As part of the ‘animals including humans’ topic in science, you are required to teach the impact of drugs on the body. It is important to teach children about the dangers of drugs but also about how amazing medicine can be. In our ‘Marvellous Medicine’ edition of Whizz Pop Bang, we look at common illnesses and find out how medicines can help to treat them.
The medical world has made so many amazing discoveries and introduced drugs and vaccinations that have saved millions of lives. As out interviewee Dr Chris van Tulleken states in this month’s issue; “Vaccinations have saved more lives than any other invention in human history!”
How many pupils in your class have asthma? Do they understand how their inhaler works? Or why they should use their spacer? Our ‘How Stuff Works’ page explains in detail how these helpful devices work.
Allergies and asthma can affect your lungs so you can’t breathe in as much air as normal. In this lesson pack for year 6, pupils will test their lungs to see how much air they can breathe in and out. As well as linking with the topic ‘animals including humans’, it also covers an enquiry type; pattern seeking. The experiment is simple, it involves blowing up a balloon and measuring the circumference. They will choose what other information they need to collect and who they will ask to blow up the balloon.
Vaccinations have been a hot topic of conversation for many in the last couple of years. Edward Jenner was the first scientist to create a vaccination. In this reading comprehension, your pupils will discover the unconventional methods he used!
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
Prices from as little as £197.99 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We’ve also launched a new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources forjust £20 for the whole year.
Are you wondering what knowledge organisers are and how to use them? The purpose of a knowledge organiser is to collate all the information and vocabulary a pupil needs to know for a unit of work in one A4 sheet. However, these are not meant to be given to pupils to learn, they should be a guide for both pupils and teachers to use. For teachers they are useful when it comes to planning, to make sure they cover the correct content. For pupils they should serve as a reference. They should not give all the answers, but should provide support with vocabulary and knowledge – they are not for acquiring knowledge, but for securing it.
As a science co-ordinator, giving staff a good set of knowledge organisers that have been written to the curriculum and ensure progression between year groups is invaluable. In particular, when Ofsted questions you during a deep dive, they are a good source of evidence.
Whizz Pop Bang’s knowledge organisers, for years 2 to 6, have been written by a teacher with all of the above in mind. They have been carefully crafted to the curriculum, making sure there is a progression in both knowledge and vocabulary. We have included an A3 vocabulary poster for teachers to share in displays or working walls for pupils to refer to.
The A4 knowledge organiser has the same vocabulary on the front but without a colourful background, plus definitions of the vocabulary and any information which is key to the topic. All of this is displayed in a child-friendly way.
“These are really helpful – the pictures are good clues for the children to help jog their memories about the words, and having both a bright version for displays and a printer-friendly version for copies, is a great idea!” Maria Bennett, class teacher
How much does it cost to gain access to all of the Whizz Pop Bang resources?
Prices start from as little as £197.99 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We have an individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
This year’s theme is growth, which you can take in lots of different directions. We have two FREE activities based on plants which are suitable for all year groups.
Why not investigate different life cycles? There are lots of weird and wonderful examples out there! Our lesson pack on life cycles involves pupils making their own 3D model of a life cycle.
To help to keep science going all week, we have several reading comprehensions linked to the theme of growth, including non-chronological reports and historical scientists.
Historical scientist Maria Sibylla Merian
Non-chronological report on nile crocodiles
Non-chronological report on narwhals
Don’t forget to take photographs so you can make a display or share them on your school’s social media platforms. We would love to see what you have been doing too, so please tag us @whizzpopbangmag
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Design and Technology and PSHE.
We have an individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing resources for just £20 for the whole year.
If your school is not a subscriber already, we have an amazing offer of a 20% discount until 31st March 2022. Just apply the code SCIWEEK22 at the checkout to receive the discount. (Only available on whole-school subscriptions to the magazines and resources.)
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
This year’s theme is growth, which you can take in lots of different directions. We have two FREE activities based on plants which are suitable for all year groups.
All animals need to eat to grow. In this pack, pupils will discover that a coral reef is in fact both living and dead. They will make their own edible polyp and learn the importance of the coral polyp in the reef ecosystem.
To help to keep science going all week, we have several reading comprehensions linked to the theme of growth, including interviews, explanation texts and historical scientists.
Interview with a coral biologist
Explanation text on scuba diving
Ocean explorer Sylvia Earle
Don’t forget to take photographs so you can make a display or share them on your school’s social media platforms. We would love to see what you have been doing too, so please tag us @whizzpopbangmag
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Design and Technology and PSHE.
We have an individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing resources for just £20 for the whole year.
If your school is not a subscriber, we have an amazing offer of a 20% discount until 31st March 2022. Just apply the code SCIWEEK22 at the checkout to receive the discount. (Only available on whole-school subscriptions to the magazines and resources.)
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
“We used the bottle blower investigation to discover how pitch changes. The children loved it and the resources were clear and colourful. The class were fascinated with the reading comprehension on a foley artist as they didn’t know what they did. Great to have the resource differentiated.” Year 4 primary school teacher
Are you looking for planning resources for teaching the water cycle in year 4? Here’s how you can use our new downloadable teaching resources to easily create memorable lessons that produce the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking for…
Where to start?
Evaporation is part of the water cycle and it’s important pupils understand what it is before they learn about the water cycle. We have a lesson pack called ‘Evaporation investigation’ which allows pupils to observe what happens to water over a period. All our lesson packs come with a differentiated lesson plan linked to the curriculum and a PowerPoint to help run the lesson.
Our lesson plans often include boxes titled ‘previous learning’ and ‘future learning’; this is to help you understand where the lesson would fit in your medium-term plan. Sometimes we suggest another lesson pack and that is what we have done here. Once pupils understand evaporation, you are ready to teach the water cycle. In this lesson, pupils will make their mini water cycle using items which are easy to resource and inexpensive.
Why make a mini water cycle, rather than asking children to create a labelled diagram? All pupils learn differently, and to create sticky knowledge children need memorable experiences. The visual and kinaesthetic learners are more likely to remember making a mini water cycle than filling in a worksheet.
How to evidence the lesson
If your planning isn’t enough evidence, pupils could use the Keynote app on an iPad and record themselves describing their water cycle and each stage. If you need evidence for their books, you could print a photo of their mini water cycle and during morning work the next day, pupils could label and annotate it. This would mean that they go back over their learning from the day before, helping the knowledge to stick. Using knowledge organisers can be an additional tool that helps remind children of previous learning or to use as a scaffold – not for answers!
How to make the water cycle cross curricular
There are also lots of ways to embed the pupils’ science learning in your school day. Using science texts in guided reading or whole class reading sessions is an easy way for children to delve further into the subject matter and acquire more knowledge. We have two reading comprehension packs for year 4 linking to weather:
Interview with a meteorologist
Sensational meteorologist Joanne Simpson
We also have a bank of spectacular science images that are perfect for promoting discussion. They feature a striking scientific image, along with a couple of questions. As you click through the PowerPoint presentation, the answers to the questions will be revealed. Pupils should try to answer the questions as you go. The presentation to use for the water cycle is called ‘Hurricane Florence’. It only takes ten minutes so it can slot into those awkward times in the school day; for example, straight after lunch while you are waiting for everyone to come in.
Satellite view. Hurricane Florence over the Atlantics close to the US coast .
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We’ve also just launched a new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
Are you looking for planning resources to teach forces in Year 5? Here’s how you can use our new downloadable marble run resource to create a memorable lesson that produces the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking for…
Where to start?
It’s hard to teach about forces as children can’t easily see what is happening. Before they start investigating and experimenting, it’s important they are armed with the knowledge and vocabulary they need through watching video clips or reading suitable materials, as stated by Ofsted. Once they have this scientific understanding, it’s so important that pupils still have practical hands-on lessons so they can spot what is happening. Our knowledge organiser is a great aid to help them use the correct terminology in practical lessons.
How should they investigate forces?
Our marble run lesson pack gets children to experiment with slowing down marbles in a marble run by changing the angles and adding friction. Pupils will learn a lot by investigating and applying the knowledge they have already acquired about gravity, friction and air resistance. Pupils will be learning the most when they are altering their marble runs and experimenting with trial and error. During this time, stop groups and ask them questions, encouraging them to use scientific vocabulary in their answers. Verbalising what they are seeing and doing will help to produce sticky knowledge.
How should the lesson be recorded?
Should pupils record every step of a practical lesson? In my experience, no, as this kills the enjoyment and does not reflect what they have learned. However, there are benefits to revising learning to help the knowledge stick. Revisiting the lesson the next day is beneficial. If you need evidence in their books for a looming book scrutiny, then take a photo and ask them to annotate it with expanded captions, explaining what happens to the marble at each point of the run. Or if you don’t need written evidence, get them to video their run and then narrate what is happening over the top.
To help consolidate pupils’ learning, why not introduce some forces-themed reading into your English sessions? Download our fascinating reading comprehension on Sir Isaac Newton; his laws of motion and his theory of gravity changed how we see the universe.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We’ve also have an individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
Teaching the unit ‘light’ in year 3 builds the foundations for children’s understanding of Earth and Space in year 5. Pupils are aware of their own shadows from an early age, but do they understand why shadows get bigger and smaller or change shape? Here at Whizz Pop Bang, our experienced primary teacher has written a lesson pack containing a shadow investigation. Pupils will work in small groups and observe, measure, and record the length and width of a shadow.
Shadow Investigation
“The children had great fun taking part in the shadows lesson. They were immersed in the activity not only developing their scientific knowledge but using mathematical skills and working co-operatively in a group” Natalie Walters – Year 3 teacher
The lesson pack contains:
A lesson plan linked to the national curriculum
A PowerPoint presentation
Instructions
Differentiated results table
Great news! You don’t need any specialised equipment, apart from torches (these should be in your science cupboard already!)
Shadow Investigation lesson pack
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins
We’ve also just launched a new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
Often, in KS1 teachers will focus on the most obvious plants, such as flowers and vegetables. In year 1, pupils will have been taught to name some trees and identify which ones are deciduous and which are evergreen. Trees are talked about as a living thing and will also be covered when teaching seasons. It is good practice to revisit learning, so as part of our lesson pack we have included a pocket tree guide. It will help pupils identify the common trees they might find on a walk in their local area. (For more trees, the free app called SEEK is brilliant.)
The pocket tree guide included in the lesson pack
Once pupils have identified different types of trees and recapped their learning from year 1, they should then start to learn about seed formation and dispersal. It’s important that pupils understand that all trees flower before they produce seeds. As part of the lesson pack, the PowerPoint presentation includes photographs of common tress, showing what their flowers look like and the seeds they produce.
Investigate seeds with wings
The lesson gets pupils to investigate why some tree seeds have wings. They will take real seeds and test how far they go with and without wings. This will lead to a discussion about why trees need their seeds to travel away from the tree to grow. Your next lesson could be looking at different types of seeds and comparing them. You could ask the question ‘does the biggest seed produce the biggest plant?’ You could even dissect a seed!
Speedy seeds complete lesson pack
How to make your science teaching cross curricular
Every month, alongside the magazine we add reading comprehensions for different year groups to our downloadable resources. This allows you to sneak some extra science content into your reading sessions. This month, for year 3 we have a non-chronological report on some super tree dwellers – orangutans.
A non-chronological report on orangutans
We have added 4 more reading comprehensions for other year groups, as it’s good for them to revisit previous learning.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant for enhancing your school’s science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We’ve also just launched a new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
Do you want to cover climate change in KS2 but don’t know where to start?
Climate change is not specifically mentioned in the National Curriculum, but we all know it’s an important topic that we need to teach. However, it is quite a complex subject and can be hard to explain to primary-age children.
We have dedicated a whole magazine to explaining this topic in a child-friendly way, without making it feel scary.
How to explain greenhouse gases to Year 3 and 4, to help them understand how our planet is getting warmer.
In our library of downloadable science teaching resources, you’ll find a new lesson pack that explains what climate change is, using simple terms so children can easily understand it. The lesson plan includes a simple experiment that uses chocolate, an upturned glass and a sunny spot to demonstrate the greenhouse effect.
Year 3 and 4 Climate change lesson pack
Climate change can be a scary subject, so we’ve tried to make the messaging as positive as possible so that children understand that if we act now, it’s not too late. Even though they might not be old enough to vote or make rules about the way we live, they are never too young to speak up and influence those in power. We have included a flow chart to help them identify ways in which they are able to make positive changes towards helping to stop global heating. We have also included a climate pledge for children to fill in. Maybe your whole class could make a climate pledge together to display in class so that you can keep checking in and making sure you are all sticking to it.
How can I create a climate change debate in my classroom?
Debates are a great way to get children inspired and motivated. In our Year 5 and 6 pack, we have written a fictitious letter from a made-up sustainable energy department, stating that it would like to offer a few schools in the area some renewable energy resources. Your pupils can debate where might be a good place to install wind turbines or solar panels on your school premises and how the scheme might impact school life. The discussion pack also includes two explanation texts, one on solar panels and the other on wind turbines.
Year 5 and 6 Save our planet lesson pack
Guided reading
To help consolidate pupils’ learning, why not introduce some climate-themed reading into your English sessions from our downloadable reading resources?
We have an inspirational information text for Year 5 readers, showcasing the achievements of ten amazing young climate activists.
Inspire your Year 4 class by reading about the life of sensational scientist David Attenborough.
There’s a fascinating explanation text on wind turbines for Year 3.
For Year 6, we have an interview with plant biologist Professor Joanne Chory, who realised that she could use her knowledge of biology to help solve the problem of climate change.
“Great resources! Using as a whole class reading text – my year 4 class will love it! Lovely, visual text in the format of an interview and a good range of questions, (including ‘test style’) which all fit nicely into the VIPERS strands! Thank you!”
Are you looking for planning resources for teaching teeth in year 4? Here’s how you can use our new downloadable teeth teaching resources to easily create memorable lessons that produce the sticky knowledge that Ofsted will be looking for…
Where to start?
Teeth should be taught before the digestive system. By year 4, most children will have lost several of their baby teeth and will be at the in-between stage with a mixture of adult teeth, baby teeth and some gaps. It’s fun to get pupils to look in a mirror and examine their own mouths! Children will already know that they have two sets of teeth. What they probably don’t know is that their adult teeth started growing while they were still a baby! They probably also don’t know how many teeth they have, what they are called and what they are used for. Our Model Mouth Lesson Pack answers all of these questions. It has been written by an experienced primary school teacher and is ideal for teaching teeth to year 4 pupils. The downloadable pack includes:
A teeth lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation
Instructions for making a model mouth
A printable Wibble Wobble tooth game
Model Mouth lesson pack
Why build a 3D model mouth rather than asking children to label a worksheet?
All pupils learn differently, and to create sticky knowledge children need memorable experiences. The visual and kinaesthetic learners are more likely to remember making a 3D model mouth than filling in a worksheet. They will physically make 32 teeth and mould each tooth into the correct shape. Once the models are complete, you can discuss how we keep teeth healthy. Pupils could even practise brushing their model teeth
If your planning isn’t enough evidence, pupils could use the Keynote app on an iPad to record themselves describing their model mouth and each tooth’s name and function. If you need evidence in their books, you could print a photo of the model and during morning work the next day, pupils could label and annotate it. This would mean that they go back over their learning from the day before, helping the knowledge to stick. Our Wibble Wobble board game is also a good way for children to revisit the subject. Knowledge organisers can be an additional tool to help remind children of previous learning, or to use as a scaffold – not for answers!
Pupils should then research other animals, both herbivores and carnivores, that have teeth. What similarities and differences do they notice? Do all the animals have the same number of teeth? Do they all have molars, canines and incisors? Are they called something different? Why don’t some animals have teeth? Once children start researching, they will hopefully come up with lots of questions they would like to find out the answers to. Our downloadable Animal Antics text on vipers is a good place to start.
A non-chronological report on vipers
Further investigations
We also have another year 4 downloadable lesson plan on teeth, which is an observation over time enquiry. Pupils will set up an investigation to observe eggshells in different liquids. Eggshells and teeth are both made of calcium-based compounds so this is a good visual demonstration of how some drinks can cause damage to our teeth. Our lesson plans always explain the science behind the lessons – teachers can’t remember everything!
Dissolving teeth lesson pack
How to make teeth cross-curricular
Making the model mouth links to art and sculpture. There are also lots of ways to embed the pupil’s science learning in your school day. Using science texts in guided reading or whole class reading sessions is an easy way for children to delve further into the subject matter and acquire more knowledge. We have three reading comprehension packs for year 4:
Interview with a dentist, an explanation text about an electric toothbrush and the history of the toothbrush.
We also have a bank of spectacular science images that are perfect for promoting discussion. They feature a striking scientific image, along with a couple of questions. As you click through the PowerPoint presentation, the answers to the questions will be revealed. Pupils should try to answer the questions as you go. The presentation to use for teeth is called ‘Smile crocodile’. It only takes ten minutes so it can slot into those awkward times in the school day – for example, straight after lunch while you are waiting for everyone to come in.
Spectacular science image
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, memorable lessons and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as £190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We’ve also just launched a new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
“Using Whizz Pop Bang school resources has enabled investigations to be an integral part of my science planning. I now have investigations and experiments throughout my planning rather than just at the end. The lessons are easy to resource and the pack has everything I need to teach the lesson so it saves me time as well!” Louise Hampson, Year 3 teacher
