Science Curriculum

Rationale

a) In science VI students must be taught basic practical skills alongside the curriculum, these skills may take longer to master for a student with VI than for their sighted peers. These skills include:

lighting a Bunsen burner, pouring and measuring liquids, measuring length and mass,measuring time heating liquids and solids, using a microscope.

Some of these skills will be taught independent of topics at the start of year 7 but will be revisited throughout their science education.

b) For pupils with additional needs the curriculum will need to track back to key stage 2 and possibly key stage 1. For example within Atoms/Elements/Compounds the pupils will be checked for their knowledge of separating mixtures from key stage 2 before moving forwards. Also before teaching any work on chemical reactions pupils will be assessed as to their understanding of the difference between chemical and physical changes. The curriculum will be mapped so that some topics will be revisited throughout key stage 3 to ensure concepts are understood as far as possibleSome areas of the curriculum will be moved into key stage 4 for those learners who are unable to meet the demands of the full key stage 3 curriculum. These areas will be dependent on individual pupils on a year on year basis.

c) To ensure that all the needs of our learners are met we have made the following changes to the 2014 curriculum.Biology Genetics and evolution – this is a topic area that requires a very high level of

ability and understanding. If the pupils are unable to meet the areas required they will cover the evolution and inheritance sections from the yr6 curriculum and the key stage 3 curriculum aspects will be then covered in year 10 or 11.

Although the level of ability and understanding for reproduction is similarly high, it is a safe guarding issue that this area should be taught before year 9; however links can be made to the year5 curriculum to support those learners who require it.

Chemistry

Conservation of mass may need to be moved into key stage 4 - particularly for those students who also have low mathematics levels.

The rock cycle is taught within geography and to ensure that there is enough time to cover all areas of the curriculum this will be taught solely in the geography lessons.

States of matter from year 4 will need to be fully understood before moving onto changing state in key stage3.

Physics

Energy – there is currently no types of energy in the curriculum. For of our pupils it is important that they understand the types of energy and examples of these before they can understand energy changes, transfers and calculations. Therefore this topic will be included in year 7 and 9.

Space physics – a space topic will be delivered in year 7 which will cover the Key Stage 2 statutory requirements and allow the students to be concrete in understanding our place in the universe. The calculations aspect of this section of the curriculum will be delivered in line with the pupils skills in mathematics.

Many aspects of the physics curriculum will be linked back to the Key stage 2 statutory requirements as the needs of individual pupils require. For example students will be assessed in their understanding of the year 4 and 6 curriculum areas on components and circuits before moving onto current electricity. It may be necessary to cover electricity and magnetism twice throughout key stage 3 to ensure that sufficient learning and progress has taken place.

Please also note that there are 2 parallel curriculum overviews for year 9: 9a and 9b to reflect the different ability levels of these 2 groups.

Curriculum Overview: Years 7, 8 and 9

Year Autumn 1 Autumn 2 Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1 Summer 27 Base line

assessment

Key Skills from working scientifically

Chemical and Physical changes

Energy – simple changes and types of

Interactions and InterdependenciesLiving thingsHabitats and food chains etc

Acids & Alkalis Space

Cells & OrganismsEnsuring that plants and animals from KS1&2 is concrete

Materials and their properties(solubility and conductivity etc.)

Forces Push and Pull Balanced/non

balanced Types of forces Floating and Sinking

Circuits Changing State

8 Reproduction Light Digestion and Nutrition

Static Electricity Separating Mixtures

Cells and organisation

AtomsElements

Compounds

Sound Structure of the Earth

Health Magnetism (1) Acid and Alkalis (2)

9 Types of Chemical Reactions

Respiration Space Physics Conservation of mass (if appropriate)

Photosynthesis The Periodic Table

Current Electricity & Magnetism (2)

Carbon cycle(environmental

Chemistry)

Skeletal and Muscular System (if appropriate)

Energy Calculations Genetics and Evolution

Pressure and Moments

Year 7 Curriculum Overview

Autumn 1 Base line assessment On entry into year 7, pupils will be assessed on their scientific knowledge and understanding to ensure that the statutory requirements from key stage2 have been met. This will take place during the first science lessons and will help to focus the curriculum to their needs.

Key Skills from working scientifically

VI students must be taught basic practical skills alongside the curriculum, these may take longer to master for a student with VI than for their sighted peers. These will be the focus of the learning until October half term. They will be delivered in mini investigative topics at this time but will also be revisited throughout the curriculum The skills to be covered are:

Lighting a Bunsen burner safely – how to be safe in the science Lab and then used to be able to heat liquids and solids

Pouring and measuring liquids – what would you use to measure different volumes Measuring time Measuring length and mass – concluding in ‘Which carrier bags are the best’

investigation What is a fair test?

At the end of this topic the children will plan and carry out the investigation of ‘Which crisps burn the fastest?’ This will allow them to implement the majority of the skills covered here.

Autumn 2 Chemical and Physical changes

Students will spend time ensuring that they have concrete knowledge of the difference between a chemical reaction and a physical change. They will be able to name and identify a selection of both and will carry out practical examples.

Cells & OrganismsEnsuring that plants and animals from KS1&2 is concrete

Statutory requirements from plant and animal lifecycles from key stages 1&2 will be concrete before new knowledge will be developed.Students will develop skills on how to use a microscope.They will be able to label plant and animal cells.They will link structure and function to cells, tissues and organs

Spring 1 Energy We will cover types of energy and simple energy changes

Types of energy light, sound, thermal (heat), kinetic (movement), electrical, nuclear, chemical, gravitational potential, strainThe energy changes will be for known everyday energy uses. For example: using a hairdryer

Materials and their properties(Solubility and conductivity etc.)

Ranges of materials, what are their properties, what are their uses and how are these linked. Investigation activity – what would you use for a specific job and why?

Spring 2 Interactions and Interdependencies

This topic will focus on Living things; we will look at their habitats and food chains. We will look at the local environment and two extreme environments. Desert and ArcticWe will look at the difference in a habitat over both 24hrs and through the seasons.

Forces What is a force, what do they do Types of forces Push and Pull Balanced/non balanced Floating and Sinking

Summer 1

Acids & Alkalis examples of eachproperties of eachHow to test for an acid/alkalipH scale, What is neutral? How to neutralise an acid/alkaliHow to be safe with acids and alkalis

Circuits Components names and symbolsHow to make a series circuit, how do they work – bulb brightness/buzzer loudness to number of cells and number of components? What happens when the circuit is broken?How to make a parallel circuit, how they differ from series circuits

Summer 2

Space (taken from the 2014 Key Stage2 Year 5 Programme of study) The movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar

system The movement of the Moon relative to the Earth

The Sun is a star at the centre of our solar system and that it has eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

What is a moon (Earth has one moon; Jupiter has four large moons and numerous smaller ones).

describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies Use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent

movement of the sun across the sky. Pupils will use models of the Sun and Earth to explain day and night.

Changing State States of matter (SOLID LIQUID and GAS) from year4. compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids

or gases how some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or

research the temperature at which this happens in (°C) how are particles arranged in S/L/G how do the particles changes as a material changes state

Year 8 Curriculum Overview

Autumn 1 Base line assessment

Due to the new curriculum being introduced to the whole of Key Stage 3 for 2014 all students will be assessed on their scientific knowledge and understanding to ensure that the statutory requirements from key stage2 have been met. This will take place during the first science lessons and will help to focus the curriculum to their needs.

Reproduction Structure and function of male and female reproductive systems, How fertilisation in humans occurs (how a baby is made), Pregnancy and a healthy lifestyle of the mother, Menstrual cycle Reproduction in Plants – including flower structure, pollination and seed dispersal.

(Links to be made to the Key stage 2 year5 statutory requirements as necessary for the individual children)

AtomsElements

Compounds

Difference between atoms/elements and compounds and mixtures Names, symbols and formulae of elements and compounds Identifying atoms and compounds Practical examples of making compounds – copper sulphate, magnesium oxide, copper

oxide

Autumn 2 Light Sources of light (ensure concrete) Properties of Light & How we see things (taken from year6 programmes of study) and

expanded as required per group Speed of Light Law of reflection and refraction Colours of light

Sound How sound is made, how we hear, what is pitch and what is volume (key stage 2 year4) The speed of sound in different mediums (Air/Water/Solids) Frequencies od sound (Hz) Auditory ranges – humans and animals

Spring 1 Digestion and Nutrition

What is a healthy diet – Carbohydrates/Fats/Proteins/vitamins and minerals/fibre and water, what foods contain these and why they are needed

Energy requirements Consequences of an imbalanced diet (obesity/starvation etc.) How the digestive system

Structure of the Earth

What is the Earth Made Up Of?The structure of the Earth – diagrams and modelsThe composition of the Earth

Spring 2 Static Electricity What is static electricity, how does it form, positive and negative chargesPractical activities, models and diagrams

Health The names of some recreational drugs The effects of recreational drugs on behaviour, health and life processes

Summer 1

Separating Mixtures

Recapping the differences between elements, compounds and mixturesIdentify mixtures from a range of materialsSeparating mixtures – filtering, evaporation, distillation (demo) and chromatography.

Magnetism (1) How magnets attract and repel each other What materials are magnetic North and south poles of magnets plotting the magnetic field

Summer 2

Cells and organisation

recap how to observe, interpret and record cell structure using a light microscope the functions of the cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole, mitochondria

and chloroplasts the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells diffusion the structural adaptations of some microbes

**** (Note: this is the 2nd visit to this topic area in Key stage 3, students will need to be assessed on their concrete knowledge from year 7 before moving onto this topic) ****

Acid and Alkalis (2) Revisiting Acids and Alkalis covered from Yr7 to ensure that knowledge and understanding is concrete - examples and properties of each How to test for an acid/alkali (including the pH scale) How to neutralise an acid/alkali Reacting metals with acids to make a salt plus hydrogen (how to test for hydrogen) Reacting metal oxides with acids to make a salt plus water

Year 9 curriculum overview (9a)

Autumn 1 Base line assessment

Due to the new curriculum being introduced to the whole of Key Stage 3 for 2014 all students will be assessed on their scientific knowledge and understanding to ensure that the statutory requirements from key stage2 have been met. This will take place during the first science lessons and will help to focus the curriculum to their needs.

Types of chemical reactions

Before beginning this topic it is essential that students have concrete knowledge of the difference between a chemical reaction and a physical change. They should be able to name and identify a selection of both and will carry out practical examples. Once this is concrete the students will carry out simple combustion, decomposition, oxidation and displacement reactions and be able to identify which is which. They will be able to represent the reactions in terms of atoms and compounds used and be able to write the equations and formulae for these reactions.

Current Electricity and Magnetism

Is the following concrete? Components names and symbols How to make a series circuit, how do they work – bulb brightness/buzzer loudness to

number of cells and number of components? What happens when the circuit is broken? How to make a parallel circuit, how they differ from series circuits

Move onto Measuring current and voltage and how they differ between series and parallel circuits Measuring resistance – how do components vary in their resistance and how does p.d.

(volts) relate to resistance (Higher ability students only) Revisit and secure from year 8

How magnets attract and repel each other What materials are magnetic North and south poles of magnets plotting the magnetic field

Moving onto if appropriate using a compass electromagnets

Autumn 2 Respiration structure and function of the lungs impact of exercise, asthma and smoking on a person’s breathing what is aerobic and anaerobic respiration

- word equation for aerobic respiration- practical respiration experiments- differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration

Carbon Cycle(Environmental

chemistry)

The composition of the atmosphere what is the carbon cycle

- build, draw and label carbon cycles- link to impact on climate and production of CO2 by humans

Spring 1 Space Physics gravity force, weight = mass x gravitational field strength (g), on Earth g=10 N/kg, different on other planets and stars; gravity forces between Earth and Moon, and between Earth and Sun (qualitative only)

that our Sun is a star, look at other stars in our galaxy, and other galaxies the seasons and the Earth’s tilt, day length at different times of year, in different

hemispheres knowing light year as a unit of astronomical distance.

Skeletal and Muscular system

Why do we need skeletons and muscles – support/protection/movementDiscuss basic bones and what they do – eg. Skull/ribs/tibia/fibiaDiscuss simple muscles and their jobs.Using skeleton/own bodies and labelled diagrams

Spring 2 Conservation of Mass

Looking at a range of chemical reaction (repetition ensuring that different types of chemical reactions is concrete) and looking at the arrangement of atoms and showing that the mass of reactants is = to the mass of the products

Energy Calculations

Types of fuels Comparing energy values of different foods (kJ) how can you tell which food has the most energy

Burning foods experimentComparing power ratings of appliances (W,kW) – which appliances use the most energyComparing amounts of energy transferred (J, kJ, kW hour)Looking at and calculating domestic fuel bills, uses and costs

Summer 1

Photosynthesis What is photosynthesis What carries out photosynthesis Photosynthesis practical (testing a leaf for starch) Photosynthesis word equation Structure and function of a leaf Relationship between plants and the atmosphere (link back to carbon cycle)

Genetics and Evolution

Depending on the needs of the pupils they will either cover: heredity as the process by which genetic information is transmitted from one generation

to the next a simple model of chromosomes, genes and DNA in heredity, including the part played

by Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Franklin in the development of the DNA model differences between species the variation between individuals within a species being continuous or discontinuous, natural selection and completion within a species extinction the importance of maintaining biodiversity and the use of gene banks to preserve

hereditary material.OR for less able pupilsTaken from the KS2 statutory requirements for year 6 2014

Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago

Recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind but normally off spring vary and are not identical to their parents

Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.

Summer 2

The Periodic Table Identify metals and non-metals in the periodic table Identify the 8 groups Label groups and periods Identify the structure of an element and what information can the periodic table give us

about an element Draw the 1st 20 elements Group 1 and Group 7 elements

Pressure and Moments

Pupils will be taught that atmospheric pressure, decreases with increase of height as weight of air above

decreases with height pressure in liquids, increasing with depth; upthrust effects, pressure measured by ratio of force over area – acting normal to any surface. How to carry out pressure calculations Moment as the turning effect of a force.

Year 9 Curriculum Overview (9b)

Due to the additional learning needs of the students in this class additional time has been given to some topics and some topics have been adapted or removed as the ability to understand these areas requires a higher level of learning than the group’s current capabilities. If the topics above have been delivered successfully before the end of the academic year then the students will begin to focus on the programmes of study for Entry Level Science.

Autumn 1 Base line assessment

Due to the new curriculum being introduced to the whole of Key Stage 3 for 2014 all students will be assessed on their scientific knowledge and understanding to ensure that the statutory requirements from key stage2 have been met. This will take place during the first science lessons and will help to focus the curriculum to their needs.

Types of chemical reactions

Before beginning this topic it is essential that students have concrete knowledge of the difference between a chemical reaction and a physical change. They should be able to name and identify a selection of both and will carry out practical examples. Once this is concrete the students will carry out simple combustion and displacement reactions and be able to identify which is which. They will be able to represent the reactions in terms of atoms and compounds used and are able to write the equations and formulae for these reactions.

Current Electricity and Magnetism

Is the following concrete? Components names and symbols How to make a series circuit, how do they work – bulb brightness/buzzer loudness to

number of cells and number of components? What happens when the circuit is broken? How to make a parallel circuit, how they differ from series circuits

Move onto Measuring current and voltage and how they differ between series and parallel circuits

Revisit and secure from year 8 How magnets attract and repel each other What materials are magnetic North and south poles of magnets plotting the magnetic field

Moving onto if appropriate using a compass

Autumn 2 Respiration structure and function of the lungs how we breathe (why we need to breathe) impact of exercise, asthma and smoking on a person’s breathing

When concrete move onto what is aerobic and anaerobic respiration

- word equation for aerobic respiration- practical respiration experiments

- differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration Space Physics Revisit Space topic from year 7.

(taken from the 2014 Key Stage2 Year 5 Programme of study) The movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar system The movement of the Moon relative to the Earth The Sun is a star at the centre of our solar system and that it has eight planets: Mercury,

Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. What is a moon (Earth has one moon; Jupiter has four large moons and numerous

smaller ones). describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies Use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement

of the sun across the sky. Pupils will use models of the Sun and Earth to explain day and night.

Once happy this is concrete look at The Sun is a star What is a galaxy How seasons occur Day length and the Earths tilt

This topic will take longer to be delivered than most so should also be delivered at the beginning of Spring 1.

Spring 1

Skeletal and Muscular system

Why do we need skeletons and muscles – support/protection/movementDiscuss basic bones and what they do – eg. Skull/ribsDiscuss simple muscles and their jobs.Using skeleton/own bodies and labelled diagrams

Spring 2 Energy Calculations

Types of fuels Comparing energy values of different foods (kJ) how can you tell which food has the most energy

- Burning foods experimentComparing power ratings of appliances (W,kW) – which appliances use the most energy

Photosynthesis What is photosynthesis What carries out photosynthesis Photosynthesis practical (testing a leaf for starch)

Photosynthesis word equation Structure and function of a leaf

Summer 1

Genetics and Evolution

(Evolution and Inheritance)

Taken from the KS2 statutory requirements for year 6 2014 Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information

about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago Recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind but normally off spring

vary and are not identical to their parents Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways

and that adaptation may lead to evolution.

Summer 2

The Periodic Table Identify metals and non-metals in the periodic table Identify the 8 groups Label groups and periods Identify the structure of an element and what information can the periodic table give us

about an element Draw the 1st 20 elements Group 1 and Group 7 elements