Tag: KS2 science

Primary teaching resources for properties and changes of materials

Posted on | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment on Primary teaching resources for properties and changes of materials

Great news! Our latest resources to accompany the Explosive Science edition of Whizz Pop Bang are now available to download.

Not yet a subscriber to our downloadable teaching resources? Use the links below to subscribe for your school, or download some sample resources for FREE… 

Subscribe for your school
Download free sample teaching resources
Year 5 and P6 lesson pack

Year 5 and P6
Curriculum links: properties and changes of materials and properties and uses of substances. 
This lesson pack is a hands-on investigation where pupils will create their own safe chemical explosion. In small groups, pupils will plan their own fair test, changing one variable at a time to see if it alters the speed of the explosion.
This downloadable pack includes:

  •  A lesson plan complete with differentiation and links to the curriculum.
  • A PowerPoint presentation which explains different types of explosions and includes instructions for the investigation.
  •  A printable worksheet with a table and squared paper to draw the results in a line graph.

Simple to resource! The items you will need:

  • Vinegar
  • Bicarbonate of soda
  • Grip seal bags (like the ones grated cheese comes in)
  • Stopwatches
Download this pack
Year 2 and P3 fireworks reading comprehension

Fireworks reading comprehension
Year groups: Year 2 and P3
This explanation text, linking to the topics everyday materials and properties and uses of substances, explains how fireworks work. Each part of the firework is labelled with an expanded caption – hollow chamber, stick, fuse, time fuse, stars, burst charge and propellant.
The downloadable reading pack includes:

  • Two differentiated A3 reading spreads for you to print.
  • Reading comprehension question and answer sheets, differentiated using our magnifying glasses key (on the bottom right). One magnifying glass indicates easier and two means harder.
Download this resource
Year 3 and P4 reading comprehension

Cows
Year groups: Year 3 and P4
This non-chronological report text, linking to the topics animals including humans and biodiversity and interdependence, tells you everything you would like to know about cows. The text features: How they are explosive, why they affect climate change, what they eat, and explains what the term ‘chewing the cud’ means.
This downloadable reading pack includes:

  • An A3 reading spread for you to print.
  • Reading comprehension question and answer sheets, differentiated using our magnifying glasses key (on the bottom right). One magnifying glass indicates easier and two means harder.
Download this resource
Year 4 and P5 reading comprehension

Interview with an explosions expert
Year groups: Year 4 and P5
An interview with an explosives expert, linking to the topics states of matter and properties and uses of substances. Kate Biberdorf brings chemistry to life through her explosive demonstrations. In this interview, she discusses what her job is, how she became so interested in explosions and the best thing about her job.
This downloadable reading pack includes:

  • An A3 reading spread for you to print.
  • Reading comprehension question and answer sheets, differentiated using our magnifying glasses key (on the bottom right). One magnifying glass indicates easier and two means harder.
Download this resource
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Primary Science Resources: Human Body Waste Functions

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Primary Science Resources: Human Body Waste Functions

Great news! Our latest resources to accompany the Pee Power edition of Whizz Pop Bang are now available to download.

Not yet a subscriber to our downloadable teaching resources? Start a subscription today!

Subscribe for your school
Investigate The Urinary System Lesson Pack

Make a Urinary System

Explore how our bodies get rid of chemicals we don’t need.
Topic: Animals including Humans and Body Systems and Cells
Year Groups: 6 and P7

This lesson pack teaches children how our urinary systems work. Your body has a whole wee-producing department called the urinary system, including your kidneys, bladder and the tubes that connect them and carry the wee out of your body.

This lesson pack includes:

  • A lesson plan, complete with an explanation of how our kidneys work
  • Differentiated printable instructions to make a urinary system
  • A PowerPoint presentation that explains how the urinary system and kidneys work
  • A printable wee colour chart
  • A ‘Wee-ly true’ quiz
Download this pack
Kidney Glomerulus Spectacular Science

Kidney glomerulus

Topic: Animals including Humans and Body Systems and Cells
Year Groups: 2 to 6 and P3 to P7

A short discussion topic. This impressive image shows a close-up view of a kidney glomerulus. Each kidney has around a million glomeruli that filter toxic waste from the blood.

This ten-minute activity, linking to speaking and listening, is ideal for use at the beginning of the day or during transition times, such as after lunch. Pupils will be challenged to guess what the image is by answering the questions shown on the first slide of the PowerPoint. Once pupils have finished, click through to the next slide to reveal the answers.

Download this resource
Interview With A Bioengineer Reading Comprehension

Interview with a bioengineer

Interview with a scientist who turns waste into energy.
Topic: Animals including Humans and Body Systems and Cells
Year Groups: 4 and P5

This interview text delves into what a bioengineer does. Yannis Ieropoulos has designed and created the ‘Pee Power’ toilet, a system that fuels itself and creates little waste. He spends most of his days thinking a lot about toilets, robots and other electronic systems that could be self-sustainable.

This downloadable reading pack includes:

  • An A3 reading spread for you to print
  • Differentiated reading comprehension question sheets
  • Answer sheets
Download this pack
Historical Scientist Hennig Brand Reading Comprehension

Historical Scientist Hennig Brand

Hennig Brand was an alchemist.
Topic: Animals including Humans and Body Systems and Cells
Year Groups: 4 and P5

This biography text describes the life of historical scientist Hennig Brand. He was an alchemist who lived in Germany in the 17th century and was the first to discover an element. Hennig found phosphorus whilst experimenting with wee!

This downloadable reading pack includes:

  • An A3 reading spread for you to print
  • Differentiated reading comprehension question sheets
  • Answer sheets
Download this pack

Latest science news across the world

This month we look at:

  • Black hole seen for the first time
  • Measles crisis
  • Kids sue American government over climate change
  • Wee-loving goats airlifted from national park
  • ‘Mission Jurassic’ dino dig begins
  • This A3 downloadable reading spread is available for you to print.
Science News From Around The World In The Pee Power Issue of Whizz Pop Bang.
Download news spread

Issue 47 – Pee Power
Find out what wee is, why it’s so important and how your body makes it!
Discover some of the wee-rder wonders of urine – did you know that the Romans used wee for cleaning their teeth? Which animal can pee whilst doing a handstand?! Have a go at brewing up some fake wee, create a model urinary tract system and put up the wee colour chart in the classroom.


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Teacher’s reviews for Whizz Pop Bang!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Teacher’s reviews for Whizz Pop Bang!

The Whizz Pop Bang Pee Power issue is proving a big hit! We’re loving this review posted by a teacher on facebook…

“I told one of my classes of girls that following the very popular issue all about pooh the latest issue is all about wee. They were very excited. Where but in a science lesson can children talk about wee and pooh? A few months ago we were testing acids and alkalis using pH paper and I mentioned that a couple of years ago one girl tested her urine. Quite a few hands went up to volunteer to do the same, so of course I let a couple of girls go off to the loo with plastic cups. And instructions not to spill them on the way back! My girls love WPB; they can read them if they finish their science early or if we have a few minutes. Most popular with 6 year olds for some reason!”

Madeleine Holmes

Looking for ways to build girls’ confidence in science?

“The positive work that Whizz Pop Bang does to challenge and break down gender stereotypes has really hit a chord with the girls in our school. They love everything about the magazine, from its gender balanced covers to the articles and practical ideas that appeal to them and especially the features on contemporary and historical female scientists and engineers.

Every issue features female scientists discussing their jobs, and there’s rarely a month goes by without girls in my class asking about how you get in to engineering, or become a fossil hunter. The content and the presentation are really helping to open primary school-aged girls’ eyes to the huge variety of careers they could follow and helping them realise that there is no such thing as a job women can’t do!

The focus on historical scientific figures such as Agnes Arber, Florence Nightingale and Rachel Carson has encouraged girls in my class to engage in independent research into significant female scientists of the past and their contributions. It’s also sparked debates in class about why, historically, there are so few prominent women in scientific fields and, most importantly, what they want to do to change this. Whizz Pop Bang has inspired many of the girls in our school to think about and consider careers that they would never have been aware of otherwise. We have seen a marked increase in girl’s interest in, and engagement with, STEM subjects. This year our science club was 70% girls and 8 out of 12 of our Science Lab Technicians were girls.”

Paul Tyler, Mearns Primary School, Glasgow

Supporting upper KS2 with SATS…

“Using Whizz Pop Bang has revitalized our science teaching. The quality of the resources are first class and particularly support cross curricular links through the reading comprehension activities. We have found these to be particularly useful at the upper end of KS2 where science can be used as a vehicle to support SATs, making use of skills of inference and deduction based on relevant scientific topics. In addition the planning offers exciting practical ideas, particularly useful to teachers who are not scientific specialists. The children absolutely love carrying out the real-life experiments.”
Sally Cowell, Head teacher at Shaw Ridge Primary school, Swindon

Science ideas for gifted and talented groups

“I originally ordered Whizz Pop Bang for my then 7 year old. At the time, I was a microbiologist with a real passion for science and wanted my children to have the same passion and natural curiosity. Following the birth of my second child, I retrained as a primary school teacher, specifically Early Years. My passion for science never left me and I like to use science investigations with my class of 4 and 5 year olds to promote cross curricular learning and natural curiosity. I also run the Gifted and Talented group for which I also use ideas and investigations from Whizz Pop Bang. Recently we made the straw DNA model. The children loved it. The investigations can be tailored to any age group from 4 – 12. I absolutely love it.”

Mrs Sara Thomas, Holy Rosary Catholic Primary School, Burton upon Trent


Find out how Whizz Pop Bang can transform science in your school with our monthly magazines, and new downloadable science and reading resources! Visit our schools page for more info and to download a free sample pack.

Subscribe for your school

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FREE primary science lesson pack on electricity!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on FREE primary science lesson pack on electricity!

Looking for fun and engaging science resources about electricity?

This lesson pack saves you valuable planning time as everything is ready to download and go! We’re giving teachers a FREE suite of Whizz Pop Bang STEM activities to try, combining creativity with fun science experiments to teach your class about circuits.

What’s inside the lesson pack?

Download this free lesson pack!

Whizz Pop Bang’s Electric Art pack contains everything you need to teach a full lesson on electricity and circuits for year 6 (P7 for Scottish schools) including:

  • Three non-fiction reading comprehension texts, with question and answer sheets:
  1. Non-chronological report text – How Stuff Works: Plugs
  2. An interview text with Electrical Engineer Nikita Hari
  3. A biographical text about the ‘Father of electricity’ Michael Faraday
  • A PowerPoint presentation all about electricity, including how to draw circuits
  • A game – ‘Complete the Circuit’
  • A worksheet explaining circuit symbols
  • A PowerPoint presentation to prompt a ten-minute discussion about solar power

Create a buzz in your classroom!

Prepare to inspire your scientists-in-training! There’s a simple recipe for conductive salt dough, which pupils can use to make a working circuit to light a bulb or buzz a buzzer, a game, engaging presentations and lots more. It’s minimal preparation for you but maximum learning potential for your pupils. 

If you found the BBC Bitesize science learner guides on electricity, conductors and circuits useful, these engaging STEM activities are a fantastic way to continue your pupils’ learning adventure.

Looking for a quick electricity activity?

This downloadable lesson pack includes a PowerPoint discussion topic, designed to make your aspiring scientists wonder about solar energy. Show your class the impressive photo of solar panels and use the prompts included to spark a lively debate, designed to fill ten minutes.

Electric art lesson plans linked to the English National Curriculum for science and the Scottish National Curriculum for science

Free science club activities!

The Electric Art activity is a perfect after-school activity for science clubs, Scout or Guide groups, or even as a home science experiment. It’s the perfect easy science experiment for kids – you don’t need lots of special kit or expertise to get some enlightening (or buzzy!) results!

Written by teachers and science experts, for teachers and STEM educators

We’ve poured a lot of expertise into these resources, but don’t just take our word for how valuable they are:

“The new teachers’ lesson plans from Whizz Pop Bang are fantastic, exactly what teachers want! Written by teachers for teachers, they are clearly laid out and concisely written so you can pick them up and use them straight away. Whizz Pop Bang have linked them to the Curriculum for Excellence so it’s easy to see where they fit into your science planning. A brilliant new resource for teachers to use and enjoy.”

Paul Tyler, Teacher at Mearns Primary School

Click here to download your resource pack!


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Whizz Pop Bang science and reading resources for schools

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | 2 Comments on Whizz Pop Bang science and reading resources for schools

new science and reading resources for schools

New Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources for schools

One of the key aims for Whizz Pop Bang is to help as many children as possible to enjoy the awesome world of science. So we’ve created a growing library of top-quality downloadable Whizz Pop Bang lesson plans and reading resources for schools to make science fun and engaging for children and teachers alike.

What are the resources for schools?

Our Whizz Pop Bang school resources have been written by primary teachers in conjunction with science experts and they all link to the national curriculum…

  • Differentiated lesson plans
  • Simple hands-on investigations using household items
  • Interactive PowerPoint presentations to guide the lessons
  • Guiding reading texts and comprehension questions*
  • Science games

* Science texts and comprehensions, written by teachers, link to the English reading curriculum. They include How Stuff Works, interviews with real scientists and stories of sensational scientists from the past.

Subscriptions to the resources are for the whole school, with as many teacher log-ins as required.

How much does it cost? 

We know budgets are tighter than ever, so we’re offering schools a 50% discount on the resources until 31st December 2018. Whole-school access to the downloadable resources, along with 4 magazines in the post each month costs just £225 for the whole year with unlimited teacher logins. For an average-sized school of 300 children, that’s just 75p per pupil per year.

To calculate the price per pupil for your school, use our online pricing tool at whizzpopbang.com/schools (prices exclude VAT).

Top five reasons for schools to subscribe to Whizz Pop Bang:

  • Accessible content for classrooms, libraries, Science Week and STEM clubs
  • Written by expert teachers and science writers
  • Linked to the science and reading curricula
  • Bursting with rich practical science experiments that are simple and cheap to do
  • Gives teachers the confidence to deliver accurate science lessons

 


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Kids Against Plastic Activity Pack

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Kids Against Plastic Activity Pack

We’re supporting this awesome campaign called Kids Against Plastic to help tackle the huge problem of plastic waste. Download this FREE activity pack and learn how to be kids against plastic!

As part of the Great Science Share, we put together this interactive activity pack for teachers to use in class to show kids what we can all do to reduce the amount of plastic we use. Whether you’re a teacher, a Brownie or Scout leader, grandparent or parent, the Kids Against Plastic campaign is for everyone to learn how to help in the fight against our reliance on plastic.

Click on the image below, download the pack and watch Ella and Amy tell you more… and don’t forget to join in with their mission to collect 100,000 pieces of plastic!

Whizz Pop Bang Great Science Share for schools activites

The Great Science Share is a national campaign to engage young people in sharing science with new audiences.

PIONEERED IN MANCHESTER – MAKING A DIFFERENCE UK-WIDE

You can get involved as a School, STEM Educator, STEM Organisation and Business.

Features include:

The Great Science Teachmeet

The Business of Science Conference

The Great Science Share for Schools Campaign


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Whizz Pop Bang January issue SNOWBALL SCIENCE!

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on Whizz Pop Bang January issue SNOWBALL SCIENCE!

whizz-pop-bang-science-magazine-for-kids-snow-science

Happy New Year Whizz Pop Bang readers!

Oh how we love January with wet hats, missing gloves and runny noses. Whether it’s snowing outside or not, snow time like the present to start investigating the winter wonderland! With science magazine Whizz Pop Bang your kids can simulate a snowball flight, investigate the colour of snow, make their own snow globe, make a barometer, a weathervane and a rain gauge – a storm of science fun!

As well as lots of COOL experiments we look at how a freezer works, tell the story of the snowflake and interview a Penguin Aquarist to find out what it’s like working with those adorable creatures. Kids can marvel at 10 Awesomely Amazing Extreme Weather Events, and learn about polar bears (did you know their fur isn’t actually white?) We also tell the fascinating story of the genius Albert Einstein.

Looking forward to a fun-filled year of science with you guys 🙂

From the WPB team x


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British Science Week logo

British Science Week 2016

Posted on | by Rachael Tapping | Leave a Comment on British Science Week 2016

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To celebrate British Science Week, we asked a group of our subscribers to tell us what they think science is all about. Using posters with questions such as ‘Where is science?’ ‘Who does science?’ and ‘Why do you love science?’ the kids (aged between 6 and 10) shared their thoughts…
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