NAIGS 2008 Breaking out of the science straight jacket Anne Goldsworthy

What are the restraints? What holds us back? Too much emphasis on the levels rather than the learning Not enough teaching of skills and investigating Fluffy multiple cross-curricular links Not enough resources

Levels before Learning or Learning before Levels? Can you name a specific instance when knowing a child’s level in science has helped you take their learning forward? Can you give me an example where the collection of data has improved your science teaching and/or the children’s learning?

Simon Jenkins Guardian A school is not a football team, always to be threatened with relegation. The league table culture demoralises staff and pupils and poisons the well of local support. Overseas experience suggests that the most stable school, primary or secondary, is one firmly rooted in its locality …. preferably small in scale. A neighbourhood school answers to people, a national school answers to statistics. People help, statistics merely humiliate.

The skills tool box Children have to know what the tools are and how to use them Children make progress through adding more advanced tools to their tool kits Children must use the tools to carry out their own investigation

Science Enquiry Games KS 2 book out already KS 3 book in progress KS 1 hopefully on its way

Build a Graph Each group has a table Aim - construct the graph to go with the table (2 axes with scales, 2 labels for the axes, 1 set of plotted points) From KS 3 Science Enquiry Games NAPPY – memory aid re axes

Using skills in your own enquiry We weighed some crisps on digital scales over several days and drew a line graph. They got heavier and heavier and they went soggy We got some bread and did the same thing. We all thought it would get heavier like the crisps but it didn’t. It got lighter What causes could there be? How could you test out your ideas?

Forthcoming ASE publication from the Primary Committee Different kinds of science enquiry (other than the fair test) Each one illustrated with practical examples and suggestions Progression identified in each type Session at the Annual Conference in Reading Liz Lawrence, Jane Turner, Debbie Eccles Kathy Schofield and Anne Goldsworthy

Exploring Progression through context and content Pattern Seeking (Survey) Progression through skills Observing and measuring over time Progression through skills Classifying Progression through skills Fair Testing Progression through skills Problem Solving Progression through context and content

Cross Curricular Themes Some inspiring stuff going on but ….

It’s great this creative curriculum – I did 8 learning objectives from 3 different subjects in one lesson The way we’re doing the curriculum is to take something the child brings in like an egg and develop our learning from it. So that for science you’d roll the egg down a slope and do friction. Comments from primary teachers

What is inside a bird’s egg? How could we find out? What science have you learnt?

This is a cup nest made by a Blackbird. The nest has been woven out of stalks of grass.

This is a cup nest made by a Scottish Crossbill Look how the thickest twigs are on the outside of the nest. The nest is lined with feathers and animal hairs.

The Reed Warbler makes a deep cup nest. It is found in reeds near water. It uses reeds to support the nest. Nest types – Woven nests

Can you see how carefully the Reed Warbler has attached its nest to the reeds?

What do birds build nests from?  Sticks and twigs  Grass stalks and reeds  Mosses and lichens  Leaves and down from plants  Mud  Feathers  Hair and fur from other animals  Spiders’ silk  Man-made materials

What are the materials used for?  Building the nest  Holding the nest together  Camouflaging the nest  Lining the nest to make it soft and warm

Birds use materials with different properties to build their nests  Sticks and twigs are strong  Grass and reeds are flexible  Plant down, feathers, animal hair and fur are soft and light  Spiders silk is sticky and elastic  Wet mud can be moulded and used for cementing other materials together

Build a nest using newspaper strips and tape. Can it hold four mini-eggs? And a tennis ball (parent bird)?

Full ppt. available from ASAB whilst web site developed available free from Michael Dockery whilst web site developed available free from Michael Dockery Or from Or from

Give them question starters such as.. Can worms …? Do worms ….? Are worms ….? Investigating their own ideas Register for free resources

Some children’s ideas Are worms afraid of water? Do worms lay eggs? Can worms smell? Do worms like some colours better than others? Which would we have to look up? Which can we investigate? (torch, worms, soil provided) How would we do it?

Did closed trap contain fly? How long did it take to re-open? (days) yes9 no1 2 yes7 12 no1 1 2 yes10 yes14 yes10

Number of trigger hairs touched Number of times trigger hairs were touched Did trap close? 21yes 11no 00 21yes 11no 12yes no 21yes 22

Primary Science needs champions to break free of the straight jacket Under threat curriculum pressures time and resources Rose review I’m expected to get high standards in science throughout the school and enthuse everyone. But I’m not given much time or resources. It’s really hard to make it work. Science Co-ordinator and AST

Why save primary science? A great subject for young children to do – matches their way of learning by doing and trying things out Fantastic context for literacy, numeracy and thinking skills 3 years running – primary schools have been overall winners Rolls Royce Science Prize – St Anne’s Primary School, NI – water quality

Science should be core. Children are experiencing science every day of their lives. Every time they discover something new about the world they live. During the primary stages the level of discovery is huge because their world is slowly growing about them It is the only subject which allows primary children to try and test out their ideas about the way the world works by collecting their own evidence. It is ideally suited to the way primary children learn as it interweaves both thinking and doing. From ASE submission to the Primary Review