Autumn Term

In the autumn term of Year 5, children broaden their knowledge of forces, including gravity and air and water resistance, in the project Forces. They revisit learning from design and technology projects, including Making it Move and Moving Mechanisms, to explore various mechanisms and their uses. Their knowledge of gravity supports the autumn term project Earth and space, so they can understand the forces that shape planets and our solar system. They also develop their understanding of day and night, first explored in the Year 1 project Seasonal changes.

Spring Term - Living Things & Their Habitats

This term, this Science unit comes through our Geography topic, Sow, Grow & Farm. They will learn about food webs and animal life cycles, including how living things are dependent on one another within a habitat. They will investigate the different ways that plants reproduce and will dissect flowering plants to identify the different structures. 

The curriculum objectives covered in this unit are: 

• I can describe the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird.

• I can describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals.

The working scientifically objectives covered are: 

• I can plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary.
• I can develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.
• I am equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. 

Here is a knowledge organiser, which includes the information we need to know. 

Spring Term - Human Reproduction & Ageing 

In the Human Reproduction and Ageing project, your child will learn what life cycles are, order the stages of life cycles for different animal species and compare them. They will learn what mammals are and the five key mammalian characteristics. They will sort vertebrates, deciding whether or not they are mammals. They will look closely at different mammalian life cycles and make comparisons. They will investigate the relationship between the mass of mammals and how long they carry their young by creating and interpreting scatter graphs. They will learn about the stages and processes of the human life cycle. They will learn about human gestation from embryo to birth. They will investigate how humans change and develop from infant to adolescence in the juvenile stage. They will interpret data about human growth. They will learn about how humans change as they get older. They will investigate how ageing affects reaction times.

The objectives covered in this unit are: 

• I can describe the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect and a bird.
• I can describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals.
• I can describe the changes as humans develop to old age.

The working scientifically objectives covered are: 

• I can plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary.
• I can take measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate.
• I can record data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
• I can use test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.
• I can report and present findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations.
• I can identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.
• I can develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

Here is a knowledge organiser, which tells you what we need to know. 

**Please note - we do not look at puberty or sexual reproduction in this unit, as this is covered in PSHE**

Summer Term - Properties & Changes of Materials 

In the Properties and Changes of Materials project, your child will revisit prior learning about the properties of materials. They will plan and carry out tests to determine the properties of a range of materials. They will use their results to suggest suitable materials for different purposes. They will learn about the property of thermal conductivity and identify materials that are thermal conductors and insulators. They will also learn about the property of solubility and test various materials to discover which are soluble and insoluble. They will find out about heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures and will separate heterogeneous mixtures using sieving and filtration. They will also separate homogeneous mixtures, investigating how to reverse dissolving by evaporation. They will ask scientific questions about separating unusual mixtures and research to find out the answers. They will learn the difference between reversible and irreversible changes and follow instructions to observe the signs of an irreversible change firsthand. They will complete their learning by finding out about materials scientists and their innovative materials.

The curriculum objectives covered in this unit are: 

• I can compare and group together everyday materials on the basis of their properties, including their hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity (electrical and thermal), and response to magnets.
• I know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution.
• I can use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating.
• I can give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular uses of everyday materials, including metals, wood and plastic.
• I can demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes.
• I can explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible, including changes associated with burning and the action of acid on bicarbonate of soda.

The working scientifically objectives covered are: 

• I can plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary.
• I can take measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate.
• I can record data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
• I can use test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.
• I can report and present findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations.
• I can identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.
• I can develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

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