Autumn - Animals Including Humans 

Having learned about human body parts, the senses and survival in Key Stage 1, children now focus on
specific body systems and nutrition in Key Stage 2. In the autumn term of Year 3, they learn about the skeletal and muscular system in the project Animals, including humans. This learning again links to other animals, with children identifying similarities and differences. Children also learn about healthy diets alongside the autumn term design and technology project Cook Well, Eatwell.

Spring - Rocks, Relics & Rumbles

In the Rocks, Relics and Rumbles project, your child will learn about the different layers of the Earth, including plate tectonics and their potential effects on the Earth's surface. They will investigate different types of rock to learn about their uses and properties. They will also investigate soil and fossils, including learning about the work of Mary Anning. They will have the opportunity to use maps to learn about the lines of latitude and longitude and a compass to learn about the cardinal and intercardinal points. They will also learn about volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis and the long and short-term consequences that these can have.

The curriculum objectives we cover in this unit are: 

• I can compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties.
• I can describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock.
• I can recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.

Please find below a knowledge organiser, which shows everything we need to know. 

Spring Term - Forces 

In the Forces and Magnets project, your child will learn what forces are and what they do. They will learn about pushing and pulling forces and sort different actions into pushes and pulls. They will identify and explain contact forces. They will learn about and investigate frictional forces. They will use force meters to measure the forces needed to carry out everyday tasks and record their measurements. They will learn about magnetism (a non-contact force) and explore bar magnets. They will find out about magnetic attraction, repulsion and magnetic fields. They will test the magnetic properties of different objects. They will learn about the magnetism of the Earth and how this enables compasses to work. They will use this knowledge to make compasses. They will learn about the uses of friction and magnetism and carry out research. They will use different methods to investigate the strength of magnets.

The curriculum objectives covered in this unit are: 

• I can compare how things move on different surfaces.
• I can notice that some forces need contact between two objects, but magnetic forces can act at a distance.
• I can observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others.
• I can compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted to a magnet, and identify some magnetic materials.
• I can describe magnets as having two poles.
• I can predict whether two magnets will attract or repel each other, depending on which poles are facing.

The working scientifically objectives we cover are: 

•  I can ask relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them. 
• I can set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.
• I can make systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, take accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers.
• I can gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions.
• I can record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables. 
• I can report on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions.
• I can use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.
• I can identify differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes.
• I can use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Here is a knowledge organiser for this unit, which tells you all we need to know.

Summer Term 1 - Plant Nutrition & Reproduction

In the Plant Nutrition and Reproduction project, your child will learn to link plant structure to function and identify plant parts associated with water transport and reproduction. They will build on prior learning, naming and describing the function of different parts of flowering plants, including the roots, stems, leaves and flowers. Your child will observe fibrous roots and taproots and investigate how water and nutrients are transported in plants. Your child will create the life cycle of a flowering plant and learn the parts and functions of flower parts. They will ask scientific questions about pollination and research to find the answers. They will learn about seed formation and dispersal and identify how the structure of seeds aid dispersal.

The objectives we cover in this unit are: 

• I can identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers.
• I can explore the requirements of plants for life and growth (air, light, water, nutrients from soil, and room to grow) and how they vary from plant to plant.
• I can investigate the way in which water is transported within plants.
• I can explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal.

The working scientifically objectives we cover are: 

• I can ask relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.
• I can set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.
• I can make systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, take accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers.
• I can gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions.
• I can record findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables.
• I can report on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions.
• I can use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.
• I can identify differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes.
• I can use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Here is a knowledge organiser for the unit, which tells you what we need to learn.