Science: Blog items
Nursery explore the snow and ice
Date: 19th Jan 2024 @ 6:50am
Brrrrrrr! It's been a cold one this week - but that didn't stop us exploring! The children have had a great time playing in the snow and ice and made some amazing dicoveries! The water in our sink in the mud kitchen was frozen with very thick ice - so thick that matter what the children tired, they couldn't crack it! We also found a pair of gloves that had been left outside and were frozen to the table! There was no moving them no matter what we did! Best of all, we managed to have a quick snowball fight before or all the snow melted.
Nursery Explore What Winter Feels Like
Date: 15th Jan 2024 @ 10:19pm
This week we read the story "A Little Bit of Winter" about a hedghog who asks his friend rabbit to save him a little bit of winter so he knows what it feels like. The children have held ice to and talked about what it feels like and compared it to holding something warm. We have also explored cold colours through painting and collage and made some winter cocktails, There were some lovely conversations about snow at our winter sensory tray and discussions about fun things we can do in the winter as the children played with the mini ice skating rink.
Date: 15th Dec 2023 @ 9:15am
One of Santa's elves has been visiting us recently. Today, we brought a snowman from the North Pole to visit us. Unfortunately, the snowman had melted. We discussed why he had melted and used our States of Matter knowledge from Science to work out that the classroom was too hot. Someone asked if we could take him to the freezer but we realised we couldn't because he would then freeze in the shape of the container.
Date: 7th Dec 2023 @ 2:32pm
In this lesson, pupils investigated which materials were good conductors of heat and which materials were good conductors of electricity. We concluded that metals were the best conductors of heat and electricity, and also that materials that were good heat conductors were also good electrical conductors. Materials that are not good conductors are called insulators.
Year 2 - Which ship can hold the most weight?
Date: 7th Dec 2023 @ 7:27am
Last week, we conducted an experiment as part of our Everyday Materials unit to test which ship can hold the most weight? We made different sized boats using tin foil and placed counters on the top, counting how many counters it took until the ship sunk. This week, we used our results to use an online program to record our data in a block chart. We thought about the axis and giving the chart a title as well as inputting our own data before we interpreted our results using the chart. We found that the biggest ship could hold the most weight whilst the smallest ship held the least. This is because we can spread the weight.
Date: 30th Nov 2023 @ 11:26am
Nursery visited outerspace this week! We read the story "The Way Back Home" by Oliver Jeffers about a boy who finds an areoplane and flies all the way to the moon! He runs out of petrol and meets an alien whose spaceship has broken down! We learnt all about the different planets and used balloons to print some planets. Outside we built a rocket using the bricks and went on lots of adventures to space! One day we discovered some aliens in our garden and we talked about how they might of got there. We also used magnetic shapes and building blocks to build our own rockets. We had to think carefully about the shapes we needed to make a rocket. Its been a very busy week!
Year 4 - Most effective toothpaste
Date: 30th Nov 2023 @ 8:50am
This week we tested which the most effective toothpaste is. We observe how damaged egg shells (representing our teeth enamel) were after leaving them in white vinegar for 24 hours. We had one control egg, one egg covered in children's toothpaste, one egg covered in a toothpaste which cost £1 and one egg covered in a toothpaste which cost £5. Which do you think was the most effective? Ask a Year 4 child for the answer!
Date: 29th Nov 2023 @ 6:16pm
Today we helped Ted solve another problem! Firstly, we learnt our new vocabulary. We learnt that transparent means it allows light to pass through so that objects behind are seen easily. We also learnt that opaque means that no light is able to pass through it. We looked at different examples together until we were confident in identifying transparent and opaque. We then learnt that Ted had another problem! His new house needed curtains because his windows are transparent and let lots of light in. We then tested different materials to offer him advice on which material would be best to make curtains from. We identified how to make it a fair test and the method we needed to follow.
Date: 23rd Nov 2023 @ 3:00pm
This week, Year 3 have explored Fossils and how they are formed. We did a mixture of activities such as sorting, becoming a paleontologist, making fossils and looking closely at the texture, shapes and colours of the fossils.
Date: 20th Nov 2023 @ 8:31pm
Last week, we were introduced to the digestive system. Using our new knowledge, today we made our own digestive system to represent what it's like inside our bodies.
Date: 16th Nov 2023 @ 4:00pm
This week pupils in year 5 conducted an experiment to find out which solids would make a solution when mixed with water. Solids that dissolve into a liquid are known as soluble. Solids that do not dissolve are called insoluble. Salt and sugar were soluble, whereas sand and soil were insoluble. A liquid can only hold so much of a soluble material, as all of the gaps between the particles are filled. Increasing the temperature allows the solute (liquid) to hold more.
Date: 16th Nov 2023 @ 2:46pm
In Science, the children have been exploring the process of Sedimentary rocks forming into Metamorphic rocks. Normally, this process would take millions of years however we sped this process us by using chocolate! The children enjoyed creating the sediments, then applying heat and pressure to form their own metamorphic rock!
Date: 15th Nov 2023 @ 8:25am
In Science, Year 3 have been looking at rocks. We looked at a range of rocks to identify the characteristics of Metamorphic, Igneous and Sedimentary rocks. We sorted them into groups and identifies similarities and differences between them.
Year 2 - Absorbency Investigation
Date: 14th Nov 2023 @ 4:30pm
Today, in Science, we had a problem to solve. Mrs Jones-Boast wanted to know the best material to help mop up spills in the dinner hall. We discussed the problem and decided that the material needed to be absorbent. We then planned our investigation, thinking about what we needed to change, what we will measure and what we needed to keep the same to ensure a fair test. We also consolidated our maths skills by using a ruler to measure our results. We found that the most absorbent material was felt. The tinfoil and the cellophane were non-absorbent because they didin't absorb any liquid.
Year 1 Waterproof or Absorbent?
Date: 14th Nov 2023 @ 7:50am
Today we used what have learnt about materials, their properties and our new vocabulary to solve Ted’s emergency. We had to test the best material to make Ted an umbrella so he could stay nice and dry! We read our brief and collected the equipment needed for our test. We discussed how we were going to make it a fair test, by using the same amount of water and the same amount of time. We then worked in small groups to complete our experiment. In these groups we made our predictions, before following our method. Finally we all came back together to discuss what happened during the test? Did we correctly guess what would happen? What have we found out from doing the experiment and if we were going to do the equipment again what would you do differently?
Date: 10th Nov 2023 @ 4:42pm
This half-term, Year 4 our topic in science is Animals including Humans. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been looking at the functions of each one of our teeth. After this, we modelled our own teeth using playdough. We have also looked at why it is important that we brush our teeth twice a day. To test why we need to do this, we put 6 eggs into a range of different liquids and observed what happened to their shells. We found that the driinks with the most sugar caused the egg shells to decay and discolour. This showed us that too many sugary drinks can damage our teeth.
Date: 9th Nov 2023 @ 4:04pm
In this lesson, pupils used universal indicator paper to find out if different substances were acid, alkali or neutral. Pupils also found out what happened when you mix an acid (vinegar) with an alkali (bicarbonate of soda). We obseverved that a gas is produced which makes it fizz. Pupils identified that this gas was carbon dioxide.
Date: 9th Nov 2023 @ 4:03pm
Today, pupils in Year 6 were given the oportunity of taking part in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) workshop. Working in small groups, they had to build a lego robot, which incorporated a small computer, lights and motors. Pupils then coded algorithms to guide their robot around a circuit.
Date: 9th Nov 2023 @ 3:54pm
Today, pupils in year 5 were given the oportunity of taking part in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) workshop. Working in small groups, they had to build a lego robot, which incorporated a small computer, lights and motors. Pupils then coded algorithms to guide their robot around a circuit. The final challenge was to collect an item in their robot using a scoop or magnet. All the pupils had a great experience and learnt a lot about coding and engineering.
Date: 8th Nov 2023 @ 5:01pm
Yesterday, in Science, we investigated the different ways we could change materials. We twisted, squashed, teared, snapped, stretched and bent a range of different materials to see if we could change them. Some of the things we tested included: plastic bags, foil, cling film, rubber, ruler, plastic bottles, paper, pencils, pens and many other objects made from a variety of materials. We found that some materials were easily changed where as others were much harder.
Date: 2nd Nov 2023 @ 11:28am
Nursery have a had a very spooky time this week. We have had lots of halloween activities to support our social and emotional development, our communication and language and physical development. The children have been mixing their own potions, exploring how to get halloween objects out of ice and counting legs on spiders. There have also been some very messy activities that have encouraged the chidlren to talk about what they can see, smell and feel.
Date: 31st Oct 2023 @ 9:34pm
As part of our journey into 'Materials and their Properties', we have been learning about the 'fire triangle' - which explains that a fire needs fuel, oxygen and heat. In today's lesson, we conducted an experiment to show that oxygen is needed for a fire to burn. We timed how long a candle would burn when trapped inside different size glasses. We predicted that the flame would burn for longer in the biggest glass because there was more oxygen.
Date: 30th Oct 2023 @ 7:02pm
In todays lesson we explored what an object is and what materials are. Working together, we explored our classroom and school environment to find and name different materials. We shared our own experiences and knowledge of materials and where we have found them.
Date: 20th Oct 2023 @ 11:22am
Nursery have had a throughly good time outside this week with lots of exciting and stimulting experiences. All our outdoor experiences are great for supporting social and emotional developemnt as the children learn to share, take turns and interact with their friends. Whilst they are doing this they also develop their communication and langauge skills. This week the children have been making ramps to roill conkers down. They investigated lots of differnent heights for the ramp and where thrilled when they discoverd if the conkers land on the trampoline they will bounce! The children also counted the conkers and explored capacity by putting them in different containers. The conker fun didn't stop there - we had to clean them all up! This was great for developing physical development as the children sweprt them in to a pile. Have a look at the photos to see what else we have been doing.
Year 3 Welcome their parents to The Royal Ballet
Date: 19th Oct 2023 @ 7:48am
This week was our last week dancing with The Royal Ballet School. To celebrate the success we have had over the last 6 weeks, we invited parents in to watch what we have been learning. It was a great turn out and we appreciate the support from our friends and family! We showcased our spotting, skipping, sautes, reverence and finally a routine we had put together linking to our Science topic on Forces.
