NC Objectives

Sessions / Key Knowledge and Vocabulary

Working Scientifically

Notice that humans have offspring which grow into adults

Find out about and describe the basic needs of humans, for survival (water, food and air)

Describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene

• Know that humans reproduce
• Understand the human lifecycle (baby, toddler, child, adolescent, adult)
• Know that all humans have basic needs and that these are what humans need to be kept alive (air, food, water, shelter)
• Know that humans also have wants and these are what make lives more comfortable (holidays, designer clothes, technology, fast food)
• Understand that personal hygiene is how we look after our bodies. To know it includes brushing teeth, washing hands and body regularly, wearing clean clothes and trying not to spread germs
• Understand the importance of a healthy diet and learn about the 5 food groups (Eat well Plate): fruit and vegetables; carbohydrates; proteins; milk and dairy; fats and sugars
• Understand that exercise makes the heart work faster and harder, makes you breathe quicker and deeper and that this gives your body more energy. Link to investigation (see right)

• Investigate the effects on bodies before and after exercise:

• Carry out a test in pairs measuring pulse rate before and after 1 form of exercise using a stop watch or egg timer
• Gather the data in a table
• Carry out a second test, as above, but with a different form of exercise
• Record final findings using a bar graph
• Talk about what they have found out and why

NC Objectives

Sessions / Key Knowledge and Vocabulary

Working Scientifically

Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses

Find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching

• Identify a range of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard and discuss their uses, becoming familiar with how some materials are used for more than one thing (e.g. metal can be used for coins, cans, cars and table legs).
• Identify objects that are made from man-made materials and others that are made from naturally occurring materials
• Recap on ‘properties’ touched upon in Year 1
• Discuss why certain objects are made from certain materials.  Recap on floating/sinking and waterproof and non-waterproof
• Introduce the word ‘suitability’ and investigate a range of spoons made from different materials including wood, plastic and metal and the reasons for such
• Know that some materials can change shape by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching using our hands
• Compare the uses of everyday materials in and around the school with materials found in other places

• Investigate the ways in which materials can be manipulated:

• Use their understanding of the properties of materials to predict whether each material can be squashed, bent, twisted and stretched
• Use equipment to test
• Record findings in a table
• Talk about what they have found out and why

NC Objectives

Sessions / Key Knowledge and Vocabulary

Working Scientifically

Explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive

Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other

Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats

Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food

• Know that things can be sorted into three categories: living, dead and never alive.
• Know that for something to be alive, they must carry out the following processes: moving, reproducing, respiring, eating (nutrition), excreting, sensing and growing
• Compare and discuss the three categories with a similar object e.g. a spider: one living; one dead; one toy spider (has never been living)
• Investigation link (see right)
• Understand the term ‘habitat’ as ‘the natural home or environment of an animal or plant’
• Understand that in order for an animal to survive in a habitat, it needs to not get too hot or too cold, be able to find enough food and be able to escape from predators
• Identify different habitats: desert; rainforest; arctic and ocean
• Understand which animals and plants live in each one and why (relating to above 3 criteria).
• Understand the term ‘micro-habitat’ as ‘a very small habitat’, e.g for woodlice under stones, logs or leaf litter
• Identify animals and plants that live in the local habitat, including micro-habitats and compare with a less familiar habitat such as the ocean.
• Understand that all living things need energy to live
• Understand that all living things get all get their energy from food
• Know that a food chain shows where plants, animals and humans get their food from and how they depend on each other as their source of food
• Understand that within a food chain, some living things create the energy (producers) and some use the energy (consumers)
• Know that plants are producers
• Know that animals are consumers and that there are 3 main types in the animal kingdom: carnivores; herbivores; and omnivores (recap on introduction to these terms as part of Year 1’s ‘Animals’ strand – spring 2)
• Create a simple 4-step food chain

• Investigate the differences between things that are alive, dead and have never been alive:

• Pupils explore and observe on an outdoor hunt, looking for things which can be grouped into each category based on specific criteria
• They use equipment including magnifying glasses
• They record their findings
• They talk about what they have found out and why

NC Objectives

Sessions / Key Knowledge and Vocabulary

Working Scientifically

Notice that animals have offspring which grow into adults

Find out about and describe the basic needs of animals for survival (water, food and air)

• Know that animals, like humans, reproduce.
• Recognise that animal offspring look similar to their parents
• Compare the physical similarities and differences of animals to their young e.g. cat/kitten; tadpole/frog etc
• Know the lifecycle of a butterfly – egg, caterpillar, chrysalis/pupa and butterfly, (link to investigation, see right)
• Know the lifecycle of a frog – eggs/frog spawn, tadpole, froglet and frog
• Know that all animals have 3 basic needs and that these are what animals need to be kept alive (air, food, water)
• Understand that animals, like humans, also benefit from being healthy and exercising (Link to Year 2’s Autumn 1 ‘Humans’ strand)
• Understand that most baby animals need to be fed and cared for by their parents in order to stay alive

• Investigate the lifecycle of a butterfly:

• Research the basic needs of a butterfly
• Set up and observe the changing states as they occur: egg; caterpillar; pupa/chrysalis; butterfly using equipment where appropriate e.g. magnifying glasses and address needs as researched e.g. sugar water
• Record by drawing
• Talk about what they have found out and why

NC Objectives

Sessions / Key Knowledge and Vocabulary

Working Scientifically

Observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants

Find out and describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy

• Know that a seed needs water and warmth to grow (germinate)
• Understand the word hydroponics and know that seeds do not need soil or light to grow (polar regions etc)
• Understand that if you remove one of these needs, the seed will not grow or will die – linked to investigation (see right)
• Know that plants need water, light, warmth and nutrients (soil) to grow
• Understand that if you remove one of these needs, the plant will not grow or will die
• Understand the differences between what a seed requires and what a plant requires

• Investigate what a cress seed needs to grow/ germinate:

• Set up 3 transparent pots 2 of which have 1 ‘ingredient’ missing, 1 of which has all ‘ingredients’ present
• Predict what will happen: how much will each seed grow, if at all
• Observe at regular intervals over several weeks
• Record findings in a bar graph