KS2 Science Outline

For more help in understanding the national Curriculum and SAT's visit this BBC link

The scence syllabus is divided into four main areas

• How to carry out experiments and do investigations (practical work)
• Life processes and living Things (biology)
• Materials and their Properties (chemistry)
• Physical Processes (physics)

The more you know about each area the higher the level you reach.

By getting just over half the questions correct you will reach level 4

The numbers in brackets below show the level reached by knowing each stage

1. Experimental Science

• Be able to describe what you see (1)
  
  
• Make a simple observation (2)
  
  
• Be able to use simple equipment (eg a beaker) (2)
  
  
• Make a simple table (2)
  
  
• Make a simple prediction (3)
  
  
• Know why something is a fair test (3)
  
  
• Know why a a fair test is important (4)
  
  
• Be able to vary one factor while keeping other factors the same (4)
  
  
• Be able to identify or name the main factors that might effect the outcome of an experiment.(5)
  
  
• Be able to make predictions based on scientific knowledge and understanding.(5)
  
  
• Be able to select the correct apparatus for several experiments and use it safely (5)
  
  
• Be able to make observations and measurements with enough accuracy to get a good result. (5)
  
  
• Be able to explain why two measurements for the same observation may be different. (5)
  
  
• Be able to record your observations or measurements accurately, using a table if necessary. (5)
  
  
• Be able to present your data as a line graph (or bar chart) and interpret a trend (5)
  
  
• Be able to draw sensible conclusions from the evidence you abserve. (5)

2. Life Processes and Living Things

• Recognise and name external parts of the body eg arm and leg (1)
  
  
• Recognise and name external parts of a plant eg leaf and flower (1)
  
  
• Be able to describe a range of animals and plants in terms of simple features eg the colour of the coat or size of leaf (1)
  
  
• Be able to identify some common animals eg fly, goldfish and robin (1)
  
  
• Be able to describe the basic conditions that plants and animals need in order to survive
  eg a supply of food, water air and light. (2)
  
  
• Recognise that living things grow and reproduce (2)
  
  
• Be able to sort living things into groups using simple features such as number of legs, shape of leaf (2)
  
  
• Recognise that different things are found in different places eg ponds and woods. (2)
  
  
• Be able to describe the difference between living and non-living things using knowledge of the seven life proceses (MRS NERG) (3)
  
  
• Be able to provide a simple explanation for changes in living things
  eg diet effecting the health of humans; lack of water or light effecting plant growth (3)
  
  
• Be able to identify ways in which an animal has adapted to suit its environment
  eg a fish having fins to help it swim, a bear having thick fur to keep it warm (3)
  
  
• Be able to use scientific names for some of the major organs in the main body systems
  eg The circulatory system contains the heart, veins, arteries and capillares (4)
  
  
• Know the position of the main organs in the body (4)
  
  
• Know the main organs in a flowering plant
  eg petal, stamen, stigma and ovary (4)
  
  
• Be able to use a key to identify animals animals and plants according to external features you can see (4)
  
  
• Know about the feeding relationships between plants and animal and know words like herbivore and carnivore (4)
  
  
• Be able to use a food chain to describe a feeding relationship and know words like producer, predator and prey (4)
  
  
• Know the names and the main functions of the important organs in the human body more (5)
  
  
• Know the names and the main functions of the organs in a flowering plant (5)
  
  
• Know the main stages in the life-cycle of a human (5)
  
  
• Know the main stages in the life cycle of a flowering plant (5)
  
  
• Understand how the life cycle of a flowering plant and the life cycle of a human are similar (5)
  
  
• Know that there is a large variety of living things and understand the importance of classification (5)
  
  
• Know the names of the main animal groups and be able place animals into their group according to their external features
  eg vertebrates have a backbone, fish have a scaley body, breath through gills and live in water (5)

3. Materials and their properties

• Know that materials have different properties eg texture or appearance (1)
  
  
• Be able to identify (know the names of) a range of common materals
  eg brick, glass, metal, leather, wood and rubber (2)
  
  
• Know about some of the properties of the materials mentioned above
  eg glass is transparent, leather is flexible, metal is strong (2)
  
  
• Be able to describe the simalarities and differences between materials
  eg wood and metal are both hard (2)
  
  
• Realise that materials can be sorted into groups according to features that are similar
  eg hardness, smothness. (2)
  
  
• Be able to describe ways in which materials can be changed
  eg by neating, cooling or stretching. (2)
  
  
• Be able to describe a list of ways of sorting materials into groups according to their properties (3)
  
  
• Be able to explain why some materials are suited for a particular purpose
  eg metal (copper) for electric cables because it conducts elecricity
  eg rubber for bicycle tyres because it is flexible (3)
  
  
• Recognise that some changes are reversible (eg freezing water)
  and some are irreversible (eg baking clay) (3)
  
  
• Be able to classify a list of changes as being reversible or irreversible. (3)
  
  
• Be able to descibe the differences between the properties of some different materials (4)
  
  
• Be able to decribe the differences in the the properties of a solid, liquid and gas. (4)
  
  
• Know about some of the methods used to separate simple mixtures
  eg filtration, evaporation, using a magnet and chromatography (4)
  
  
• Know the names of some simple changes eg evaporation, condensation, freezing (4)
  
  
• Be able to predict whether a change might be reversible or irreversible (4)
  
  
• Be able to describe some metallic properties
  eg good conductor of electricity, good conductor of heat, shiney, hard, strong
  and use these properties to distinuish metals from other solids (5)
  
  
• Be able to identify a range of situations where certain changes take place
  Example 1: evaporation takes place whenever some water is exposed to air eg at the surface of a puddle
  Example 2: condensation takes place when water vapour is cooled eg when steam hits a cold mirror. (5)
  
  
• Understand that a number of factors can speed up the rate of evaporation
  eg the surface area of the water, the temperature of the air, whether a wind is blowing or not. (5)
  
  
• Have a knowledge of how particular mixtures can be separated
  eg Salt and water can be separated by evaporation, sand and water can be separated by filtration. (5)
  
  
• Be able to apply this knowlodge to explain how other similar mixtures may be separated (5)

3. Physical Processes

• Be able to describe a change that might take place that results from a simple action
  eg switching on a circuit that contains a bulb
  pushing or pulling an object (1)
  
  
• Know the names of simple physical processes that may be taking place and be able to describe them
  eg something may be making a sound, producing light or moving (2)
  
  
• Be able to compare simple physical processes between situations
  eg are the lights the same brightness, are they the same colour?
  are the sounds the same volume or the same pitch? (2)
  
  
• Be able to compare the movementof different objects in terms of speed or direction
  eg are the cars moving at the same speed? Are they moving in the same direction? (2)
  
  
• Are able to link cause and effects when trying to explain something.
  In other words say why something is happening as well as saying what is happening.
  eg A bulb will fail to lght because there is a break in the circuit
  The direction (or speed) of a moving object has changed because a force has been applied to it (3)
  
  
• Be able to make generialisations about what they can see.
  This means make up a simple rule to explain something.
  eg sounds become fainter as you move further away from the source of the sound.
  Shadows get larger if the object making the shadow gets nearer to the light (3)
  
  
• Understand about how motion is effected by forces
  including gravitational attraction, magnetic atraction, friction, upthrust and springs (4)
  
  
• Know that sound is made by something vibrating and that sound can travel through a variety of materials (4)
  
  
• Be able to explain how shadows are formed using their knowledge that light travels in straight lines. (4)
  
  
• Understand how to alter things around them
  eg changing the current in a circuit will change the brightness of a bulb
  The brightness of a bulb can be changed by changing the current in a circuit
  The pich of a sound can be changed by changing the length or tightness of a string
  The speed of a falling object can be changed by changing the air resistance (5)
  
  
• Be able to explain why certain things happen
  eg If an object is stationary then the forces on it must be balanced.
  We see somthing because light from a light source reflects from the object and enters our eyes
  A bulb lights up because an electric current is flowing through it (5)
  
  
• Understand effects caused by the movement of the Earth
  eg The length of a day and night is caused by the Earth is spinning
  The movement of the sun in the sky is caused by the Earth spinning
  The length of shadows shortens as the sun gets higher in the sky
  The lenth of a year is caused by the Earth orbiting the sun
  Seasons are caused by the Earth orbitting the sun (and the fact that the Earth is tilted)
  The phases of the moon are caused by the moon going around the Earth (5)