Science at Grove
Please click on the links below to discover what the children are learning this term.
Summer
Year 3 - How does your garden grow?
Spring
During the Spring Term, the children at Grove celebrated British Science Week. Click this link to see some of the fantastic experiences that the children (and their parents) had!
https://web.grove.bham.sch.uk/science-week-2024
Early Years
Spring 1 saw a focus on Winter across the Early Years Foundation Stage. The curriculum encouraged pupils to consider the plants in the outdoor environment and develop their questioning, “What could they see?”, “What couldn't they see?”, “Why might that be?” A timeline was created of a tree and a bush in the outdoor environment to support the pupils to monitor and discuss change. Pupils responded eagerly to this and expressed an interest in photographing winter trees and making comparisons between deciduous and evergreen. These key words became part of their vocabulary.
The icy weather greatly supported curriculum delivery in Spring 1 with the snow arriving in time for the study of arctic animals and the key text, ‘Percy the Park Keeper: One Snowy Night.’ First-hand experiences enabled pupils to engage with the weather with delight. The resulting questioning and deepening of understanding amazed staff. In reception, pupils explored ice using brushes, clothes and sponges in an attempt to release the artic animal trapped within. Staff recorded the development of understanding, “How will be get it out?”, “Let’s use the sponges”, “I know, let’s put hot water from the tap on it.” When asked why this might work pupils responded, “Ice doesn’t like the hot water and it melts.”
In Spring 2, with the warmer weather, the children were able to make some excellent comparisons when outdoors. They enjoyed seeing the growth of bulbs that they had planted earlier in the year, inspecting these with magnifying glasses and discussing which bulbs had grown best (and why this might be). The children really enjoyed beginning to investigate different sea animals, reading a range of fiction and non-fiction books to help them develop their vocabulary and understanding of: what animals live underwater; what features their body might have to make them well suited to this habitat; and how these animals might be different to those that live in the school pond.
Year 1
Spring 1- Make and Do Extravaganza (Materials)
Spring 2- My amazing body
During their 'Make and Do Extravaganza', the children looked at a range of objects to distinguish what material they were made from (including glass, brick, stone, water, metal and plastic). They developed their ability to describe the simple physical properties of each of the materials. The children conducted an experiment using different materials to see which would make the best waterproof coat for the class bear and were able to use their scientific knowledge to explain their reasoning to others.
In Spring 2, the children were exploring their senses. During Science week, they focused on hearing, by making and decorating their own string telephones. They loved experimenting with different dynamics with their parents to see if they could hear whispering too. They also developed their understanding of the vocabulary linked to tastes, smells and touch.
Year 2
Spring 2- The Apprentice Gardener
The children in Year 2 have been investigating plant this term. They really enjoyed keeping a bean diary and discovering the best conditions to provide for their own plants. During Science week, the children had great fun investigating healthy and unhealthy plants with their parents. They used their scientific knowledge to predict why the plants were unhealthy- some of the plants had been left in the cold, some had no water and some needed sunlight. During the term, the children then observed the changes to the unhealthy plants as they watered them, gave them sunlight and lots of time.
Year 3
Spring 1- The Power of Forces
Spring 2- Amazing Bodies
In Spring 1, the Year 3 pupils had the opportunity to explore friction and magnetism through a range of practical experiments. The children spoke with great enthusiasm about these experiments: they particularly enjoyed a fair test where they were investigating which would be the strongest magnet. Hands on Science came into school to work with the children during this topic: the children loved being able to apply their knowledge of forces to develop their own mini racers.
In Spring 2, the children have been learning about their amazing bodies. In Science Week, the children were excited to explore muscle groups by taking part in a range of exercises with their parents. By the end of the lesson, they spoke excitedly about how muscles pull bones to move them; how muscles are attached to the bones by tendons; and were able to name and locate muscles in their body. They have also enjoyed learning more about balanced diets and investigating whether people with longer legs jump further.
Year 4
Spring 1- Science in a state
In Spring 1, Year 4 took part in a range of experiments such as: investigating how quickly different shapes of ice melt, observing how quickly different solids melt and investigating how the rate of evaporation is linked to temperature. It was clear from the children’s books that they had thought really carefully about the variables in their experiments, and how they could make them a ‘fair test’.
Year 5
Spring 1- The Circle of Life
Spring 2- Body Pump
During Spring 1, the Year 5 children really enjoyed, and excelled, in their research on different life cycles, presenting these in a range of forms and using these to draw conclusions. The children were able to use their scientific vocabulary to make comparisons between organisms confidently. They particularly enjoyed learning about how cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and why they do this.
The children loved their Spring 2 topic, ‘Body Pump.’ They enjoyed making ‘blood soup’ when considering the components of blood and creating models of the heart during Science Week. They investigated the effect of exercise on their heart rate and have an excellent understanding of how the circulatory system works.
Year 6
Spring 1- Danger Low Voltage!
Spring 2- Lovely light
During Year 6’s electricity topic, the children demonstrated the ability to carry out a range of fair tests to investigate how the number of cells, lamps, buzzers or the use of resistance wire affected a circuit. The children were always delighted when they were able to use their circuit to make a scientific discovery.
During Spring 2, the children were investigating how to use mirrors to change the direction of a beam of light. They loved making periscopes during Science Week and could talk really confidently about how these work. The children also really enjoyed investigating how to change the size of shadows and finding out how refraction works.
Autumn
Nursery
The children in Nursery have continued to explore the signs of Autumn and Winter in our eco garden this term. They particularly enjoyed planting bulbs and can't wait to see how they have grown in the Spring. They have helped their teachers sort clothing to decide what they would wear during the different seasons and are selecting appropriate clothes to wear when going outdoors to play. The children have been drawing and labelling parts of the body and considering how their body is similar or different to their friend’s.
Reception
Our children in Reception have been exploring different signs of Autumn and Winter. They have loved collecting leaves, conkers and acorns, and comparing these to the items in their treasure box from the first half of the Autumn Term. They have grouped these items based on their characteristics and used these in a range of art projects. The children have also been exploring magnetism: they loved finding out which items in the classroom were magnetic and what these had in common. The children have enjoyed learning about how to stay fit and have written some fantastic sentences about this.
Year 1
Sensing Seasons
This term, the Year 1 children have been exploring Autumn as part of their ‘Sensing Seasons’ topic. They have investigated the best clothes to wear for the season and looked at how we can use symbols to represent the weather on different days. They have considered how the weather is different in different parts of the country, and then considered how this would affect your clothing choices. The children loved going on an Autumn walk to collect evidence of the time of the year: they found some fantastic pine cones, autumn leaves and looked at a range of different seeds.
Year 2
Materials: Good choices and shaping up
This term, the children have been investigating the properties of different materials. They read ‘the Wooly saucepan’ poem by Michael Rosen and thought about why each item was not well suited for its purpose. They then carried out a fair test to investigate the best fabric to make a hard-wearing pair of dungarees, looking at which fabric they could rub a hole in the quickest. The children looked at a range of different materials and thought about how they could test these to find out what actions change the shape of an object (which objects could we squash, twist, bend and stretch).
Year 3
Can you see me?
This term, Year 3 pupils have thoroughly enjoyed their light topic. They have investigated shiny and dull objects, and why some objects are easier to see than others. The children enjoyed investigating what happens when we shine a torch onto a mirror, and then looking at how other objects reflect light. They are very confident in speaking about opaque, translucent and transparent objects and have investigated how shadows change during the day. Their favourite experiment was based around investigating what the best material for making a pair of sunglasses was.
Year 4
Good Vibrations
This term, the Year 4 children have investigated how loudness and pitch can be changed using different instruments. They have used tuning forks to think deeply about sound being caused by vibrations. The children created their own pair of ‘ear gongs’ to test how sound moves through different materials. This was a huge highlight for them! The Year 4 pupils have successfully used data loggers to investigate the statement ‘sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases’ and created their own instruments to investigate how to change the pitch of plucked elastic bands.
Year 5
Materials
Year 5 pupils have continued investigating materials this term. The have been investigating reversible and non-reversible reactions by carrying out a range of experiments; their favourite was testing a selection of solids and liquids to find out which is likely to provide the best mix to inflate their plastic glove. They have looked at what liquids are most effective at preventing rusting to solve the ‘Lucy’s birthday bike’ challenge and have investigated how long a candle burns in different sized jars. Finally, they have created their own ‘pocket rockets’ using effervescent tablets.
Year 6
Everything Changes
The Year 6 pupils have thoroughly enjoying their Evolution and Inheritance topic. They have learnt how a fossil is formed and have considered adaptations of different animals to their environment and how this causes natural selection. They have investigated selective breeding: they decided which parent dogs to breed to create offspring with particular traits. The children impressed us all with their work on natural selection, clearly applying their prior learning when writing their explanation of this tricky concept.
Autumn 1
EYFS
In Reception and Nursery, the children have been exploring the season through exciting Autumn walks, where they have enjoyed collecting signs of Autumn in their ‘treasure boxes’. These have been used to create artwork (based on Autumn leaves), to explore further with magnifying glasses and to support with their counting. The children have thoroughly enjoyed cooking Autumn soup with their teachers: they enjoyed using the apparatus to cut their vegetables, describing what the texture and taste of the vegetables was like and talking about how the ingredients had changed during the cooking process. They have enjoyed their work with the school gardener: hunting for minibeasts and planting bulbs which they will revisit in the Spring term.
Year 2
What's in your habitat?
Year 2 have been learning about habitats this term. They have enjoyed exploring different microhabitats, predicting what minibeasts they thought they might see, and why.
Their favourite lesson was based around identifying minibeasts that live inside our school pond: the children loved hunting through the pond water samples and studying the water boatmen with their magnifying glasses.
Year 3
Rock Detectives
Year 3 have been learning about rocks this term. They have particularly enjoyed using the microscopes to look closely at different types of soil and setting up fair test experiments to find out how waterproof different rocks are. The children’s ability to identify different types of rocks using a key was very impressive.
Year 4
Where does all that food go?
Year 4 have been finding out about the digestive system and their teeth. The ‘Hands on Science’ workshop was a definite highlight for this year group: they loved learning about the function of all of their teeth and making a model of them to take home. They also thoroughly enjoyed replicating the process of digestion by sending a mixture of crackers and orange juice through tights. A messy but thoroughly enjoyable experience for the children, and one which we know they still talk about years later! The pupils’ excellent investigative skills were evident in a fair test experiment where they observed the effect of different liquids on egg shell.
Year 5
Marvellous Mixtures
Year 5 pupils have been completing a Marvellous Mixture topic, looking at separating, dissolving and evaporating. The children have thoroughly enjoyed setting up their own experiments to solve a problem posed by the teacher. They were very excited to see the results of their ‘observation over time’ experiment- seeing if they could use the process of evaporation to separate salt and water. They have also enjoyed investigating how different variables affect the rate that different substances dissolve.
Summer
EYFS
The children in Nursery and Reception have loved working with the school gardener weekly to plant seeds and see how they change over time. They have enjoyed watching the lifecycle of caterpillars whilst reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar and observing frog spawn hatching into tadpoles. They can’t wait to see these turn into frogs! They have continued their exploration of the seasons and are really confident in talking about how the trees and plants around them are changing as we enter Summer. The children have created their own bug lab in the role play area where they study and write about different minibeasts, whilst dressed in their homemade lab coats.
In Summer 1, Year 1 children worked with the school gardener to explore wild plants and garden plants and notice similarities and differences. They enjoyed learning about different roots when exploring what Rebecca Rabbit might see when she was underground.
The children in Year 2 enjoyed learning about the human life cycle and looking in depth at how they have changed since they were babies. Lots of the children really enjoyed sharing ideas from what they have observed at home. They also thought about the importance of eating healthily, exercise and hygiene.
Year 3 - How does my garden grow?
In Summer 1, the Year 3 children worked with the school gardener to explore plants. They used magnifying glasses to make close observations of different parts of a plant and carried out an experiment to find out what would happen if the leaves were removed. They also enjoyed exploring how the stem of a plant works by watching red food colouring travel through a plant, changing the colour of its petals.
In Summer 1, the Year 4 children had a wonderful time experimenting with electricity. They learnt how to use the circuit diagram symbols and could problem solve to find out why different circuits did not work. The children really enjoyed creating different types of switches and then adding these to their own circuits. They impressed all of their teachers when they were investigating electrical conductors and insulators to see what they could use to make their own wires.
In Summer 1, Year 5 explored the structure of the solar system: they loved drawing their own solar systems on the playground in chalk and talking about the orbits of the different planets. They enjoyed finding out about the cycle of the moon to solve a problem for Ted the angler, who needed to know whether there was a sequence to the patterns of the Moon’s shapes, as he liked to go fishing at night, but preferred to go if it was a Full, or nearly Full, Moon so that he could see more easily. By the end of the lesson, the children not only understood the Moon’s cycle but could also use calendars confidently to talk about dates Ted might expect to see different phases of the Moon.
The Year 6 children have enjoyed exploring classification in Summer 1 and 2. They created their own keys to sort vertebrates and invertebrates, showing real improvement in this. They also enjoyed learning about the different types of micro-organisms and looking in depth at the five kingdoms, when learning about the work of Carl Linnaeus.
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Grove School
Dawson Road
Handsworth
Birmingham
B21 9HB
Telephone: 0121 464 4669
