We can question the world around us
We are engaged in our learning
We can be curious
We can show resilience
We can apply new skills and knowledge
We can think like scientists
Intent: To provide children with the skills and knowledge to understand and make sense of the world around them, developing a sense of curiosity and an enquiring mind that can be built upon throughout their lives.
Reception
The World
I can ask questions about aspects of my familiar world such as the place where I live or the natural world.
I can talk about some of the things I have observed such as plants, animals, natural and found objects.
I can talk about why things happen and how things work.
I can start to develop an understanding of growth, decay and changes over time.
I can show care and concern for living things and the environment.
Goal
I know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things.
I can talk about the features of my own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.
I can make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.
Year 1
Working Scientifically
I can ask simple scientific questions.
I can use simple equipment to make observations.
I can carry out simple tests.
I can identify and classify things.
I can suggest what I have found out.
I can use simple data to answer questions
Biology
Plants
I can name a variety of common wild and garden plants
I can name the petals, stem, leaf and root of a plant
I can name the roots, trunk, branches and leaves of a tree.
Animals, including humans
I can name a variety of animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
I can classify and name animals by what they eat (carnivore, herbivore and omnivore).
I can sort animals into categories (including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals).
I can sort living and non-living things.
I can name the parts of the human body that I can see.
I can link the correct part of the human body to each sense.
Plants
I can describe how seeds and bulbs grow into plants.
I can describe what plants need in order to grow and stay healthy (water, light & suitable temperature).
Animals, including humans
I can explain the basic stages in a life cycle for animals, including humans.
I can describe what animals and humans need to survive.
I can describe why exercise, a balanced diet and good hygiene are important for humans.
Living things and their habitats
I can identify things that are living, dead and never lived.
I can describe how a specific habitat provides for the basic needs of things living there (plants and animals).
I can identify and name plants and animals in a range of habitats.
I can match living things to their habitat.
I can describe how animals find their food.
I can name some different sources of food for animals.
I can explain a simple food chain.
Chemistry
Everyday materials
I can distinguish between an object and the material it is made from.
I can explain the materials that an object is made from
I can name wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock.
I can describe the properties of everyday materials.
I can group objects based on the materials they are made from.
Uses of everyday materials
I can identify and name a range of materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard.
I can suggest why a material might or might not be used for a specific job.
I can explore how shapes can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.
Physics
Seasonal changes
I can observe and comment on changes in the seasons
I can name the seasons and suggest the type of weather in each season.
Knowledge, Skills and Understanding for Working Scientifically
Observing
Can they talk about what they see, touch, smell, hear or taste?
Can they use simple equipment to help them make observations?
Can they find out by watching, listening, tasting, smelling and touching?
Can they use what they see, touch, smell, hear or taste to help them answer questions?
Can they use some scientific words to describe what they have seen and measured?
Can they compare several things?
Can they suggest ways of finding out through listening, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting?
Performing Tests
Can they perform a simple test?
Can they tell other people about what they have done?
Can they give a simple reason for their answers?
Can they carry out a simple fair test?
Can they explain why it might not be fair to compare two things?
Can they say whether things happened as they expected?
Can they suggest how to find things out?
Can they use prompts to find things out?
Can they say whether things happened as they expected and if not why not?
Identifying and Classifying
Can they identify and classify things they observe?
Can they think of some questions to ask?
Can they answer some scientific questions?
Can they give a simple reason for their answers?
Can they explain what they have found out?
Can they talk about similarities and differences?
Can they explain what they have found out using scientific vocabulary?
Can they organise things into groups?
Can they find simple patterns (or associations)?
Can they identify animals and plants by a specific criteria, eg., lay eggs or not; have feathers or not?
Can they suggest more than one way of grouping animals and plants and explain their reasons?
Recording findings
Can they show their work using pictures, labels and captions?
Can they record their findings using standard units?
Can they put some information in a chart or table?
Can they use ICT to show their working?
Can they make accurate measurements?
Can they use text, diagrams, pictures, charts and tables to record their observations?
Can they measure using simple equipment?
Can they use information from books and online information to find things out?
Knowledge, Skills and Understanding for Biology
Plants
Can they name the petals, stem, leaf, bulb, flower, seed, stem and root of a plant?
Can they identify and name a range of common plants and trees?
Can they recognise deciduous and evergreen trees?
Can they name the trunk, branches and root of a tree?
Can they describe the parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaves, flowers)?
Can they name the main parts of a flowering plant?
Can they describe what plants need to survive?
Can they observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants?
Can they find out & describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy?
Can they describe what plants need to survive and link it to where they are found?
Can they explain that plants grow and reproduce in different ways?
Animals
including humans
Can they point out some of the differences between different animals?
Can they sort photographs of living things and non-living things?
Can they identify and name a variety of common animals? (birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals)
Can they classify and name animals by what they eat (carnivore, herbivore and omnivore).
Can they sort animals into categories (including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals).
Can they sort living and non-living things.
Can they name the parts of the human body that they can see.
Can they link the correct part of the human body to each sense.
