primary science – Page 3 – Whizz Pop Bang Blog

Teaching Evolution and Inheritance in year 6

Posted on 2nd November 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

Are you looking for some help and ideas for teaching animal adaptations in year 6? Here is how to use our downloadable teaching resources in your unit of work on evolution and inheritance.

When planning a unit of work on evolution and inheritance it can be quite difficult to think of relevant practical investigations for your pupils to do. This unit involves a lot of research, looking at how animals and plants have changed over time. It is important to first revisit their understanding of fossils from year 3 and then build on that knowledge. Take a look at how characteristics are inherited, starting with themselves and their family; how do they look similar? You can then start to look simply at genes. Our resources include a great game where pupils look at how genes are passed on to puppies.

Teaching adaptations should come towards the end of the unit. In our lesson pack, pupils will plan a simple investigation around animal paws and how they can access food to survive. They will carry out a simple investigation and record their results. They will then draw on their knowledge about habitats and animal survival to decide if the species would evolve or eventually become extinct.

Getting children to do some research and read trustworthy sources of information is important. We have created a lesson pack from our ‘Prehistoric Monsters Of The Deep’ issue, which contains several texts for them to use to locate information. Pupils will look for similarities and differences between megalodons and sharks that are alive today.

More science reading links…

There are four reading resources for year 6 that link to the topic and will spark your pupils’ curiosity.

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 £254.99 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. <add in link>

We’ve also 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. <add in link>

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How could a huge pterosaur take flight?

Posted on 29th October 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered how huge pterosaurs got off the ground? Here’s how they might have launched themselves into the air:

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Teaching Light in year 6

Posted on 3rd October 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

Teaching the unit ‘light’ in year 6 builds on the foundations they will have learnt in year 3, and also in year 5 when they covered ‘Earth and Space’. Pupils should already know how shadows are formed and that light is reflected from surfaces, as well as that we have night and day due to the Earth’s rotation. In year 6 you should be able to build on this, but in your first lesson it is a good idea to revisit and secure their understanding to avoid gaps in knowledge before you move on.

Our ‘constellation torch’ lesson is a great way to start your topic. At the beginning of the lesson, elicit the pupils’ understanding by asking them to name different light sources and tell you how shadows are formed. Creating a simple brainstorm mind map in their book with the word ‘light’ in the middle is all that is needed. Give the children ten minutes to complete it and then start your lesson, discussing their ideas or addressing misconceptions. At the end of the topic, get them to use a different-coloured pen and add what they have learnt to their mind map; it is a brilliant and easy assessment.

In this lesson pack, pupils will play around with making star constellations by using simple printable templates, cardboard tubes and single-bulb torches. They will consider how light travels. They will then draw a simple diagram to show that light travels in straight lines, that light will travel through the holes in the paper, and that it is reflected from a surface into the eye.

As part of your sequence of lessons, include our activity of making a periscope. It is a great way for pupils to build on their understanding that light travels in straight lines and is reflected into the eye. Our lesson pack includes simple instructions and a scientific explanation for teachers – we know how hard it is to remember everything, so we always explain the science behind every lesson. There are also some ten-minute science activities around the topic of light, which are great for creating science discussions in your classroom.

Our ‘Starry Skies’ edition of Whizz Pop Bang delves into the wonders of the universe, which children are enthralled by and often have loads of questions about! Our resources include several reading comprehensions linking to the topic of light.

Using quality science text in your reading time helps to squeeze a little bit of extra science into the day!

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 for just £20 for the whole year.

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COMPETITION CLOSED: WIN a bumper bundle of gifts!

Posted on 1st October 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

📣 We’re super excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Den Kit Company and Tim Peake for October’s online competition which we are running on Instagram and Facebook only! Head over to our socials to find out how to win this bumper prize! ⭐

You could win:

⭐ The new Potions Making kit from Den Kit Company. Take your Potion Making Kit on an outdoor adventure and collect any special petals, leaves, grasses or soil to create a marvellous mixture of your own making. Add a pinch of natural colour, a splash of water, a sniff of sunshine – and just imagine the spells you could cast. Find it here.

⭐ Astronaut Tim Peake’s brand new book – A Cosmic Diary of our Incredible Universe. Are you bursting to know the answers to REALLY BIG questions? Like, how are stars made? What will we find in a black hole? Which fruit can create antimatter? What even IS antimatter? Put on your seatbelts and blast into space with your guide, astronaut Tim Peake (and a host of expert STEM characters) in this fascinating adventure through space, time and the diary of our truly incredible universe. Find it here.

⭐ A bumper bundle of 6 magically intergalactic issues of Whizz Pop Bang magazines that will have any scientist-in-training zooming to the Moon and cooking up peculiar potions, all with items you will probably find you already have in your kitchen cupboard. Each issue is jam-packed with science news, fun makes, puzzles, jokes and more!

To enter this competition please head over to Facebook or Instagram to find out more!

Enter on Facebook

Enter on Instagram

T&C’s: This giveaway closes at midnight on Monday 31st October 2022. One winner will be selected at random from all entries via Facebook and Instagram and will be contacted in the first week of November. This competition is open to UK residents only. Winner will be informed via the original comment you made on the appropriate platform and will be from @whizzpopbangmag – please be wary of scams, do not give personal details or follow any links from other accounts. For full terms and conditions visit http://buff.ly/3ij98Q3?fbclid=IwAR0eEqSY-V9JtUvvaYsKhjvmSRBURmapUOmYBaR7hl5XESRIS3hdqsWTqHI. This competition is in no way affiliated, endorsed, sponsored or administered by Instagram or Facebook.

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Teaching the impact of drugs in Primary Science

Posted on 5th September 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

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.

We’ve also 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.

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Science knowledge organisers for primary schools

Posted on 11th July 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

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.

Visit our website to see the whole collection.

“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.

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Teaching how animals are suited to their habitats in year 2

Posted on 5th July 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

Are you finding it tricky to find a lesson that isn’t just a worksheet? We have a great lesson pack which will fit into your sequence of lessons, in which pupils will explore fish and learn how they are suited to their habitat.

Where would this lesson fit into my medium-term plan?

This lesson would be suitable after pupils have been taught the differences between things that are living, dead and have never been alive. They should also understand the term ‘habitat’. Our knowledge organisers are a good way to support your pupils’ vocabulary and ensure progression though the school.

How is this lesson better than a worksheet?

Most children will remember an active, interesting lesson better than the information they complete on a worksheet. They will create their own fun 3D fish by recycling an old cardboard tube. Whilst doing this, they will discover the names of the different fins and what they are used for and find out how fish can breathe underwater, making water a suitable habitat for them.

Actively making a 3D model will help make the lesson memorable and you will have a great selection of fish to make an eye-catching science display in your classroom! Or you could turn them into fish mobiles!

In our downloadable lesson packs, we include everything you need to teach the lesson, apart from some inexpensive resources. Included in this lesson pack is a PowerPoint presentation that explains how fish are suited to their habitat and what each fin is for. The pack also includes a sheet of instructions for making the 3D fish, printable instructions in the style of our eco-club page and a labelled diagram to print and give to the children so they know where each fin should be placed.

Get this lesson pack now

If you are not a subscriber to our school resources, you can subscribe here for your school or take out an individual teacher membership here, which will give you access to all of our downloadable resources.

How can I get more science into my school day?

An easy way to get more science content into your school day is to give your pupils quality science-related text during reading time. We have loads of downloadable reading comprehensions as part of our resources. This month we have added two more for year 2.

All our year 2 reading comprehensions have differentiated text as well as differentiated question-and-answer sheets. They look very similar (on purpose!). Just look for the magnifying glasses in the bottom right-hand corner – two means harder and one means easier.

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 added this month for the unit ‘Living things and habitats’ is called ‘Synchronised swimmers’. It only takes ten minutes, so it can slot into those awkward times in the school day, such as straight after lunch while you are waiting for everyone to come in.

If you would like some FREE samples, sign up here for a magazine and an example lesson pack for years 2 to 6.

How much does it cost to gain access to all of the Whizz Pop Bang resources?

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.

“Whizz pop Bang has developed a refreshing look at science and its resources bring this subject to life” Class teacher Caroline Burton

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Teaching plants in science

Posted on 6th June 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

How can I make sure there is progression when teaching plants?

This is a common problem, as pupils are taught first introduced the topic of plants in KS1, it begins in years 1 to 3, plus they will have grown a plant in FS2. So when you come to teach it, how do you know you are progressing their knowledge.

It is key to know what the children have done the previous year. Before you even start planning, have a conversation with their previous teacher to find out what they have covered and what they have grown. We have produced knowledge organisers which are specific to each year group. They state the vocabulary and content that teachers should cover for their year group to help ensure progression.

FS2 and Year 1 Science

In foundation stage, children will have explored different plants and planted seeds and seen that they grow. There will have been lots of observations and not much recording. In year 1, they will have built on this by growing a plant in soil and considering what it needs to grow. They will have been exposed to and encouraged to use simple vocabulary to name the basic parts of a plant. They will have also labelled the parts of a plant and probably created a diary observing a plant’s growth.

Year 2 Science

In year 2, pupils will grow plants again, but this time they will start to set up simple investigations that draw on all the knowledge and vocabulary they have learned in the past two years. For example, we have produced a lesson pack where pupils will grow beans – which they may have done before, but they will set it up in a controlled way. They will observe what happens to the bean and they will be able to see the different stages of growth. They will control either the amount of light or the amount of water the bean gets.

Lesson pack for teaching plants to KS1 and KS2.

Year 3 Science

Moving from teaching plants in KS1 to KS2. When it comes to teaching plants in year 3, I cannot stress enough the importance of checking what they have already covered. Years 2 and 3 have similar objectives about exploring what plants need to grow. The key difference in year 3 is that they should be measuring the amount of light or water. For example, our pea germination investigation covers requirements for growth, but it also requires pupils to measure the amount of water given.

We also have other packs which require different measurements in investigations and different types of enquiry. This lesson pack is a comparative investigation.

Comparative demonstration about plants' water needs for year 3 science lesson KS2.

If you find the year 2 teacher has already done a lot of investigations that cover the requirements of growth, the good news is that gives you more time to look into some of the other areas in more depth.

Learning about nutrients in the soil and seeing how the soil drains so plants can grow properly and don’t rot is important.

Year 3 science lesson about nutrients and soil for KS2.

Also in year 3, you are required to cover how plants transport water. We have a great activity which demonstrates capillary action.

Year 3 science lesson about capillary action for KS2.

Pupils need to know the parts of a flower and this time in more depth, including the basics of pollination and seed dispersal. Pupils should start to dissect flowers and weeds and see if they can name the different parts. This sets up a good foundation for when they come back to it in year five and look at how plants reproduce. We have created a ‘build a flower’ pack for year 3 and also a flower dissection pack for year 5 – this ensures progression between the year groups.

Year 3 science lesson build a flower for teaching plants in KS2.

Year 3 science lesson about flower dissection for teaching plants in KS2.

If you would like some FREE samples, sign up here for a magazine and an example lesson pack for years 2 to 6.

How much does it cost to gain access to all of the Whizz Pop Bang resources?

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.

“Whizz pop Bang has developed a refreshing look at science and its resources bring this subject to life” Class teacher Caroline Burton

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Teaching the unit sound in year 4

Posted on 3rd May 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

Are you looking for planning resources for teaching sound in year 4? Here’s how you can use our downloadable teaching resources to easily create memorable lessons that produce the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking for…

Where to start?

Sound is a fun topic to teach but it can be tricky to explain how sound travels in waves as the children can’t see it. We have lots of interesting ways to help your pupils explore and ‘feel’ sound, which cover the National Curriculum objectives you need to teach.

Telephones lesson pack

This pack links to our Victorian Science issue. This lesson is a great introduction to sound and begins with pupils feeling sound waves through a balloon. In pairs, they will create a simple string telephone and investigate how it works. Using photographs or a labelled diagram, they will then start to explain how sound travels from one cup to the other. As with all our lesson packs, the science is explained in the lesson plan and on the last slide of the PowerPoint presentation.

Bottle blower lesson pack

In this lesson, pupils will investigate how pitch changes when you alter the amount of water in a bottle. This links to our brilliant issue on sound called ‘Turn up the volume’, which is available to buy from our website.

Pin strummer lesson pack

This is a great lesson to teach towards the end of your unit on sound. Pupils will use the knowledge they have acquired and apply it to their own practical enquiry. They will make their own musical instrument – a pin strummer – and then change different variables to see how the pitch and volume changes.

How to evidence your practical lessons

If your planning isn’t enough evidence, pupils could use the Keynote app on an iPad and record themselves describing their investigation or activity. If you need evidence in their books, you could print a photo from the lesson 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. Do pupils need to write each step of an experiment? In my experience, asking pupils to write down everything they have done kills the learning. Choose one part from each investigation; that way they will do it well and it will enhance learning. Our knowledge organisers are really helpful with spellings and also help pupils to remember key concepts and vocabulary.

How to embed science across the curriculum

There are 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 several reading comprehension packs for year 4 linking to the topic of sound:

Reading comprehensions which link to the topic of sound

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 £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.

“We used the Bottle Blower investigation to discover how pitch changes. The children loved it and the resources were clear and colourful. The reading comprehension on the foley artists had my class fascinated with the subject matter as they were completely unaware what a foley artist was. Great to have the resources differentiated!” Mrs Godwin, Year 4 Class teacher

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Year 5 Science Week 2022

Posted on 9th February 2022 | by Kirsty Williams | Leave a Comment

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.

FREE-activities-for-Science-Week Download

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

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.

Subscribe for your school now!

“Whizz Pop Bang has developed a refreshing look at Science and its resources bring this subject to life.” Year 5 primary school teacher

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