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St Anthony's Catholic Primary School

Growing together on a journey with Jesus

 

Science

Our Curriculum Intent (2023-2034)

Our aim is to provide our children with an ambitious curriculum which is rich in opportunities to learn and explore vocabulary.

Amazing Autumn Adventures

Inspirational Science Week

As part of our inspirational science week, we spent the day as 'Habitat Hunter's at Nell Bank in Ilkley. This was an amazing opportunity to bring our Science topic to life. We explored the woods and investigated its biodiversity, worked in teams to carry out a habitat hunt and finished the day as pond dippers. We even managed to catch the very elusive Great Crested Newt. What a fantastic day Year 4!

We have had an amazing week of inspirational Science. Through a bespoke selection of wonderful 'hands on' experiences we have extended our knowledge, skills and passion for this fascinating subject. As part of our topic on habitats, we have explored, collected and analysed data about the vertebrates and invertebrates that live in our outside school environment. We have set up our class wormery and snail habitat which are incredible to enjoy, monitor and discuss.  We have made excellent use of explorify to deepen our scientific thinking and used skittles to find out about diffusion.

 

In addition, we were very lucky to be visited by 'Science Boffins' and experience a wide range of investigations relating to electricity and we even learnt how to make slime. This day culminated with our very own rocket launch.  In order to enhance our learning about vertebrates and invertebrates, we were thrilled to handle a wide variety of small creatures. These are memories that we will cherish forever!

Year 1 - Summer 1 Science Provision 2024 (Topic: Growth)

Our Curriculum Intent, Entitlement and Enrichment for Science

Year 4 - The Digestive System

As part of our topic on 'The Digestive System', we investigated the effects that different liquids have on teeth.  We used hard boiled eggs as the shell is very similar to the enamel on our teeth. We conducted a fair test using water, vinegar, cola and orange juice. We were amazed with the results!

Reception Visit to Cannon Hall Farm

Year 1 Science - Identifying Parts of a Tree (Thursday 25th April)

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Today, Year 1 have been expanding their knowledge of plants by identifying parts of a tree. We learned that trees have roots, a trunk, branches and leaves. We explored also how some trees also have fruit and that not all trees are the same (we loved looking at blossom trees in particular!)
Next, we explored our own school grounds and worked in partners to label the different parts of the tree we could observe. Super work Year 1!

Year 1 Science - Dissecting Flowers (Friday 19th April)

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This half term, Year 1 are learning all about plants. We begun our exciting learning journey today by learning all about the different parts of a flower. We explored the stem, petals, leaves, anther and also looked at the roots of a plant. We conducted an experiment to observe what the function of the stem of a plant is and discovered that stems transport water and nutrients to the plant/flower. We then dissected the flowers and labelled the different parts. Well done Year 1!

Year 1 - Exploring the Key Features of Fish (Thursday 18th January)

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Today, we explored the features of fish up close! We identified their special features and used our observational skills to discover more. Year 1 were amazing at describing how fish have fins, scales, gills and a tail. We discussed what each of these features help a fish to do and how they help them to survive. We used magnifying glasses to explore the scales and fins up close. Mrs Gledhill was so impressed with our amazing use of scientific vocabulary and Mrs Reuben - our Science Leader - was blown away by our knowledge. Amazing work Year 1!

Year 1 Materials - Exploring Wood, Metal, Glass and Plastic (November 2023)

Year 1's Science Focus Question this half term is: What material would be best to make a boat and why?

 

Year 1 have begun exploring a range of everyday materials, considering their properties. We recognise that we have a variety of materials around us, including wood, plastic, glass and metal. We considered why these materials are chosen for different objects based on their property features e.g. Wood is used for tables because it is hard and cannot be bent easily. We then explored a range of different everyday objects into groups and recognised that some objects could be in more than one group (e.g. Our classroom chairs have metal legs and a plastic seat). Super Scientific exploration Year 1!

Year 1 - Amazing Animals

Year 1 Wildlife World - Lotherton Hall

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To enhance the science topic of animals, year 1 had an amazing day at Wildlife World. They completed a workshop which reinforced their learning of animal classification and showcased their superb retention of knowledge from learning in the classroom. All the adults were amazed by the vocabulary the children were able to use and the questions they asked whilst walking around showed what scientific minds the children now have! Well done year 1 - you were all a pleasure to be with!

This half term, Year 3 have been studying the question: Is my classroom an appropriate place for a plant to grow? We have looked at the role of water, air, nutrients and light in the growing of a plant and how this helps a plant to grow. We have been watering our seeds regularly and can't wait to see our flowers grow!

Year 4: States of Matter

We are learning about the properties of solids, liquids and gases. We investigated the similarities and differences between liquids and pouring solids. We can explain why rice is a solid and not a liquid.
 

Year 2 Science (March 23) - Exploring Microhabitats

In Science, Year 2 are exploring 'microhabitats'. To begin with, we explored different types of microhabitat, exploring photographs and discussing why the microhabitat will be suitable for the animal. We all recognised that the microhabitat provides food, water and shelter for the living thing. We then explored our school grounds to see which microhabitats we could find. Mrs Gledhill was so impressed with how well you all used Science knowledge such as 'predator' and 'camouflage' to describe how the micro-habitat helps the living thing to survive. 

We found:

- leaf litter

- fallen logs

- clumps of grass

- moss

- piles of sticks

- lumps of soil

Well done Year 2, some super Science investigations!

Year 3 Science investigation: do people with longer legs jump further? Do people with longer arms throw further?

As part of our Science topic, the children in Year 3 took part in a Science investigation. The children were given two questions to investigate; do people with longer legs jump further and do people with longer arms throw further? The children planned their investigation, looked at variables and things they would change, things they would keep the same and made predictions about what they thought would happen. The children then completed the investigation. They started by measuring their legs and arms, they then jumped/threw a ball and measured how far they had jumped/how far the ball travelled to see if there was a link between people with longer arms and their legs if that affects the distance they jumped or threw the ball. The children loved investigating this question and were able to apply skills they have learnt in Maths into Science! They are in the process of communicating their results to Miss Leonard to let her know the outcome of the investigation. Check back for more pictures of this! Well done to everyone in Year 3!

Science club - why do we have different teeth?

During Science club, the children were posed the question ‘why do we have different teeth?’ The children used their observational skills to look in each others mouths and see what types of teeth we had. The children the researched this further and used posters to showcase their learning. Well done everyone!

Year 3 - Forces and Magnets

As part of our Forces and Motion topic, Year 3 carried out a fair test to investigate which surface a toy car moves on the best. We investigated a number of different surfaces such as sandpaper, tin foil, card, the table and the carpet. To ensure the test was fair, we used the same amount of force to push the toy car each time and the same toy car. We will carry on our forces learning this week and investigate which surfaces the toy car moves on outside. Well done to all of Year 3!

Understanding the World in Early Years - Photostory

Displays - Inspiring Science at St Anthony's

Here is our Science Curriculum coming alive so far this year! We have displays and evidence from both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

We hope you enjoy seeing our Science Curriculum in action! Check back next half term for some more pictures of our brilliant learning.

Year 2 Science - Planting Seeds - May 2022

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Year 2 have been planting their own seeds! Beforehand, we made predictions about how our plants would grow and described what we predict they will need in order to grow in a healthy way and survive. We gathered our equipment and carefully planted each of our seeds in healthy soil, making sure they have space to grow. We are so excited to document their journey as the weeks progress!

Year 2 - Observing/Investigating Seeds and Bulbs - May 2022

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Year 2 have been using their scientific investigation skills to explore a range of different seeds and bulbs! We used magnifying glasses to look closely at the size, shape and colour of each seed and bulb, including their distinguishing features. We discussed which one was the 'odd one out' and used our speaking skills to carefully reason our choices. We then made careful observational drawing of each seed and bulb, whilst describing what we could see. By the end of the lesson, we could all describe the difference between seeds and bulbs, including the difference in planting patterns throughout the year. Well done Year 2!

Reception - Signs of Spring at Harlow Carr Gardens

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We went on our very first school trip to Harlow Carr Gardens! Our good looking eyes were put to the test as we searched for signs of Spring in the glorious sunshine. The children made bark rubbings, listened to bird song, collected signs of Spring and even planted some seeds to bring back to school! Every single child was so well behaved and enthusiastic as we explored the gardens.

Year 1 Chicks!

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There has been great excitement this half term in Year one as we have been very lucky to have our own chicks! We have loved watching them hatch, grow and taking care of them. Our chicks have helped us learn all about Spring and new life in readiness of Easter.
Well done Year one for caring for our new chicks so carefully. Take a look at see...

Year 2 - Microhabitats March 2022

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This half term, Year 2 have been learning all about Animals and their Habitats. We have been deepening our understanding of Microhabitats, including the animals that live there. We explored how microhabitats enable certain animals to survive and how they provide them with things like food and shelter. We then hunted for microhabitats in our school grounds and enjoyed finding a whole host of different minibeasts! We developed criteria of what a microhabitat needs, then we decided to create our own to put in our school grounds. Take a look at some of our microhabitat investigating!

Year 2 - New life...chickens! March 2022

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Year 2 loved exploring the theme of 'New Life' before we broke up for Easter. In Science, we have been learning all about animals and their habitats, and loved being able to hold the chickens after we watched them for a number of weeks within their eggs. We were so lucky to see the special moment the eggs hatched and our chickens appeared! Take a look at Year 2 with our new chicks!

Year 1 Cannon Hall Farm

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Year 1 Senses

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Whole School Science Week

Our Science Week in 2021 was sharply focussed and planned to address missed content in our curriculum from past lockdowns. The aim was to ensure all children are fully on track to begin their Summer term topics. The content was arranged to be inventive, first hand, exciting and to ensure retention of knowledge. Take a look over the amazing Science work across our school. Truly outstanding.

PSQM GILT

Primary Science Quality Mark Award - Gilt Level Evidence

Look at the many creative ways we present our science work...

Reception - Autumn

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We have been working really hard exploring the season of Autumn. Our autumn walk around our school grounds was fantastic and we collected some absolutely beautiful leaves. We made close observations of the leaves we found and used them to make autumn crowns and autumn leaf stick puppets. Some of us were very interested in what hedgehogs and squirrels are doing during autumn time. We researched this using non-fiction texts and made our own hedgehog bread rolls inspired by what we had found out. Our scientific observation skills were amazing as we transformed our ingredients into dough and then shaped them into bread rolls. We were amazed when our bread dough rose!

Reception - Animals from Around the World

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We had a fantastic workshop from Askham Bryan Wildlife Park. They brought lots of different animals that live in different parts of the world for us to meet. We were very brave and handled lots of unusual animals, making close observations of the different colours, textures and sizes. We also had the opportunity to ask lots of questions to find out more information about each animal with our excellent questioning skills. What super science learning!

Reception - Pets

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We have had lots of exciting animal visitors to help us to learn about animals you can keep as pets. Thank you so much to all of our animal owners for helping us to provide these amazing hands-on experiences. The children have really enjoyed meeting the animals, learning about how to look after them, making observations and generating questions to ask the owners. We have learnt so much about being a pet owner and I know many of the children have been inspired to become a pet owner themselves!

Science in Reception: Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Reception's Visit from the Owls

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To further our learning all about birds we were so lucky to have a visit from some very beautiful birds. Three magnificent owls came to our school. We had the opportunity to meet them, make our own observations of them and learn lots of interesting facts. All of the children behaved so beautifully and enjoyed asking and answering lots of different questions. Following the visit the children were so keen to talk about what they had learnt.
"Molly is my favourite. She can run and she has yellow eyes. She is so cute!"
"I liked the biggest one. It has blue eyes and really big wings"

Science Week in Reception - Investigating Chicks

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During science week we had some very special visitors! We looked closely at the eggs and made a prediction of how many we thought would hatch. Then we watched closely and made some fantastic observations as 9 chicks hatched from their eggs. We thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and observing them closely.

Science Week in Reception - Investigating Birds

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During our science week we have been learning all about birds. We have even become birds ourselves and re-enacted the life cycle of a bird outdoors. Our giant nest on the field was amazing! We hope you enjoy watching this video of some of our highlights.

Science Week in Reception

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We had an amazing time developing our skills during science week. We have conducted experiments, used our good looking eyes and listening ears to investigate, and even made our own predictions. What super little scientists we have in Reception!

Reception - Knowledge of the seasons with a focus on Autumn

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Reception developed their understanding of the world by learning all about autumn.

St. Anthony's Scientists: Science Wonder Days and developing investigating skills in Reception

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Come and watch all the exciting acitivites, experiments and workshops we all participated in during our special science week...

Reception - Exploring autumn

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Reception - Exploring the language of habitats and under the sea with a visit from the Rockpool animals

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Reception - Ice Exploration

Reception - Exploring Floating and Sinking

Science Week in Year 1

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Science Week in Year 1- The life cycle of a chicken

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Year 1- The Rockpool Company

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This half term Year 1 have been learning all about animals in Science. To help with this, the Rock pool company came into school with lots of different animals that you can find in the sea. They brought different types of star fish, a hermit crab, a spider crab and lots more. The children absolutely loved it and learnt many amazing facts.

Year 1 - Identifying the Features of Fish

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Year 1- Materials

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This week Year 1 have been looking at which materials are waterproof and which our not. We investigated materials to find out what would be best to make an umbrella for teddy! We poured water over materials such as plastic, cotton, netting and kitchen roll to see if teddy would get wet. Year 1 came to the conclusion that plastic would be the best material as it is the most waterproof.

Year 1- Trip to Eureka

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Year 1 went on a school trip to Eureka and explored the 'All about me' gallery. The children were able to explore the human body and the senses, linked to our science topic this half term.

Year 1- Senses

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Year 1 completed some amazing work when learning about the five senses. In this lesson we developed our science skills and looked at our sense of hearing. We went on a sound walk around school to see what we could hear

Year 2 - Animal Magic at Skelton Grange

Year 2 - New Life at St Anthony's

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We were so excited by the arrival of some special eggs in school! We watched the eggs wobble and move until eventually...new chickens were born! Year 2 were extremely lucky to be present when three of our many chicks hatched from their eggs! We saw their tiny wings, feet and beaks in their very first moments. After that, we could observe how the chickens were growing...seeing the difference in their feathers and size. We each then got a turn to hold a chicken so we could observe it up close. Take a look at some of our beautiful photos from this special time!
Mrs Gledhill

Year 2 - The Life Cycle of a Butterfly

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As part of our Science learning, 'Animals and their Habitats', Year 2 have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. We began by seeing the tiny caterpillars and observing them through a microscope. Next, they grew and grew before they went into their pupa in order for the metamorphosis to begin. We watched and waited as the caterpillars changed into magnificent, beautiful butterflies! Year 2 got to see the butterflies wiggling their way out of their pupa and transform into butterflies. We each got to observe the butterflies up close before releasing them.
Take a look at our special photographs from our learning...

Year 2 - Rockpool Visit

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Year 2 had a wonderful time learning about underwater habitats! We learned so much about animals that live in rockpools and how they have adapted to their habitat. We got to hold lots of different animals and could describe lots of facts about them too. Take a look at some photos from our special visit!

Year 2 - Planting Seeds

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Year 2 have been learning all about plants and how they germinate in order to grow. On Friday, we gathered our equipment and planted our own seeds in the sun. We then watered our seeds in order to help them grow. We will continue to observe how they grow with our own personal sunflower growth diary.
Take a look at some of our planting pictures!

Year 2 - Investigating Plants and Trees

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In class we were looking at the key features of different plants and trees, including deciduous and evergreen trees. Afterwards, we explored our school grounds to try and identify as many plants, flowers and trees as possible. We thought carefully about the structure of each plant, in order to ensure we identified it correctly. We had lots of fun investigating and found so many different varieties of plants, flowers and trees! Take a look at some of our photos...

Year 2 - Micro-Habitats

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Year 2 were so excited to make micro-habitats with Miss Taylor! They spoke carefully about the key features of a micro-habitat, in order to determine how to construct their own. They worked really well together in order to build their micro-habitats. We then went into our school grounds to place our habitats outside. Each pair gave fantastic, scientific reasons, as to why they had placed their micro-habitat in a certain place. Have a look at some pictures of our super micro habitats!

Y2 Materials topic: Can a material be changed through bending, stretching, twisting and squashing?

Y2 - Exploring seeds and bulbs (Focus: Plants)

Y2 Materials topic: Which material is the most suitable for toddler dungarees?

Y2 Science Week Experiments

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Y2 Chicken visit - March 2020

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Focus: Animals including humans/Living things

Y2 Teddy Bear Hospital

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Year 2 have been learning all about animals including humans. They brought their teddy to the Teddy Bear Hospital, to help them learn more about bodies and how to keep them healthy. Take a look at some of our pictures!

Year 2 Life Long Ago workshop

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Y2 Wiggly Worms

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Focus: Living things and their habitats (Y2)

Year 3 - Plants

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The Year 3 children have been discovering the simple pleasures of planting a seed and watching it grow as they learn about what plants require to be healthy.

Year 3 Topic: Forces

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Year 3 have been experimenting how to make objects move using the forces push and pull.

Science Week in Year 3!

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During science week, year 3 learnt about animals and their habitats.

Year 3 Rock Detectives!

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Year 3 have been looking at how rocks erode and weather over time. We had a walk to a local graveyard to observe and collate the evidence first hand.

Year 3 - Sun Safety!

In Science we have been learning all about light. The children learnt how sunlight can be dangerous and harmful to our skin and our eyes. We learnt about different ways to protect ourselves such as sunhats, sun cream and sunglasses - we created a news report to show our research! Stay safe out there!

Year 3 have used lots of inventive ideas to retain key knowledge from their Science topic of Light. Ask your child all about it! Well done Year 3.

As part of our 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' themed Wonder Day, the children made little animal toys by decorating old egg trays. The children were very creative with their ideas and worked hard to bring them to life! 

Year 3 - Skeletons

We have been learning all about our amazing bodies in Science - in particular we have been focusing on the importance of the human skeleton. We learnt that the skeleton helps to keep us upright, it is vital in protecting our organs and it helps us to move! There are 206 bones in the body. We have thought of many mnemonics to help us to remember the names of the bones and we have really enjoyed playing 'Simon Says' to practise them! In our last lesson, each child accepted the challenge to cut out, label, and then assemble their own skeleton using the knowledge they have acquired throughout our half term. As always, Year 3 were brilliant and worked together to make sure that everyone completed their very own skeleton. Teamwork makes the dreamwork! 

St Anthony's Sensational Science Week - Year 4

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As part of our work on forces, we investigated friction. We worked together to carry out an investigation where we tested different surfaces. We recorded our results and used these to justify our scientific conclusions.

St Anthony's Sensational Science Week - Year 4

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We worked co-operatively to create model skeletons and label them correctly. We discovered the scientific names for the bones in our bodies. We particularly enjoyed investigating the replica bones!

St Anthony's Sensational Science Week - Year 4

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As part of our work on forces, we investigated and found out which materials were magnetic and non-magnetic. We carried out an investigation and tested the strength of different magnets. We created graphs to represent our results and used these to justify our scientific conclusions.

St Anthony's Sensational Science Week - Year 4

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We used our knowledge of the properties of magnets to design a magnetic game. We followed our designs carefully, made and tested our games. We evaluated them and considered any possible refinements.

Year 4 Scientists

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We had a fabulous time during our science themed week. We enjoyed a wide range of exciting investigations and developed our scientific understanding. Have a look at what we experienced!

Year 4 - Classifying vertebrates and invertebrates

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As part of our science topic on animal classification, we visited Meanwood Valley Urban Farm. We explored a variety of habits looking for invertebrates. We were amazed at what we found!

Year 4 - Classification

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As part of our science topic, we had a wonderful time exploring our school environment searching for different types of leaves. We took these back to our classroom and classified them into different groups.

Year 5 - Virtual Reality Space Workshop

To help launch our novel and space topic, Year 5 were lucky to take part in a Virtual Reality Space Workshop where every child in the classroom became an astronaut! The whole class simultaneously blasted off into space, piloting their research vessels around planets and moons, learning about the solar system. Who knows... perhaps we inspired the next generation of scientists and astronauts who may one day blast off into space for real!

 

Year 5 - Gears and Engineering Workshop

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Year 5 were incredibly lucky to take part in a fantastic engineering workshop today which was fascinating! It all started with an inspirational Career Kids Presentation, looking at what an engineer is and what they do in the world. I know this inspired some future engineers! This was followed by an exciting workshop all about gears. We looked at how and why gears are used and built different gears together to investigate rotation direction, rotation speed and ratio. The final part of the workshop had the children working in groups to build a small part of a machine, which we put together to build them all into one large class machine!

Year 5 - Measuring Forces

We learnt that forces are measured in a unit called Newtons. We then learnt how to measure forces using a force meter and used this to consider how friction impacted the size of the force required to move an object on different surfaces.

Year 5 - Flower Dissection

In Science, we dissected flowers to help us learn about their structure. Dissecting a flower visually showed us the different parts of a flower. We learnt and revisited lots of scientific vocabulary today! Good work Year 5 scientists!

Sam's Safaris Animal Workshop

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Today, Year 5 took part in a rainforest animals workshop led by Sam’s Safaris. The workshop gave us the opportunity to meet rare and exotic invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals from around the world. We had the chance to handle and observe the animals whilst learning about their life cycles.

Year 5 Science Week: Mad Science

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The perfect start to our St Anthony's Science Week! Mad Science launched the week with a very exciting assembly. This was followed by a hair-raising 'Watts Up' workshop in the classroom. We learnt about static electricity, lightning, electrons and much more! The Van de Graaff generator was fascinating to explore! Thank you Mad Science!

Year 5 Science Week: Engineering and Gears Workshop

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Year 5 were incredibly lucky to take part in a fantastic engineering workshop today which was fascinating! It all started with an inspirational Career Kids Presentation, looking at what an engineer is and what they do in the world. I know this inspired some future engineers! This was followed by an exciting workshop all about gears. We looked at how and why gears are used and built different gears together to investigate rotation direction, rotation speed and ratio. The final part of the workshop had the children working in groups to build a small part of a machine, which we put together to build them all into one large class machine!

Year 5 Science Week: Wonderdome

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Today we had a special visit from the Wonderdome to enhance our learning of space! The planetarium provided us with a completely blacked out environment which was perfect for observing the stars and planets in our galaxy – the Milky Way. We truly were space explorers and were fascinated by some of the new things we learnt today! Remember your challenge Year 5...can you spot big bear and little bear in the sky tonight?!

Year 5 Science Week: Investigating Circuits

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Today we were investigating circuits! We looked at a range of simple circuits and worked in groups to predict whether or not the circuits would work, explaining our reasoning. After that we constructed the circuits to test our predictions and recorded our findings!

Year 5 - Measuring Forces

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We learnt that forces are measured in a unit called Newtons. We then learnt how to measure forces using a force meter and used this to consider how friction impacted the size of the force required to move an object on different surfaces.

Year 5 - A visit from the Wonderdome

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Today we had a special visit from the Wonderdome to enhance our learning of space! The planetarium provided us with a completely blacked out environment which was perfect for observing the stars and planets in our galaxy – the Milky Way. We truly were space explorers and were fascinated by some of the new things we learnt today! Remember your challenge Year 5...can you spot big bear and little bear in the sky tonight?!

Year 5 - Measuring Forces

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In Year 5, we have been learning all about forces and what a force is. We learnt that forces are measured in a unit called Newtons. We then learnt how to measure forces using a force meter.

Year 5 - Bowland Farm

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Year 5 had great fun on Friday meeting and learning about all the animals from Bowland Farm!

Year 5 - Science Week

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Wow! Year 5 loved St Anthony's Science Week! From slime to dinosaurs, we have enjoyed so many exciting investigations and developed our scientific understanding. Take a look at what we experienced during our science themed week!

During our Science topic 'The Nature Library', Year 6 have been learning about the difference between vascular and non-vascular plants as well as classifying them in a number of different ways. Our favourite lesson was when we had to create our own garden centre floor plan and write a commentary for visiting customers. They all definitely look like places I would like to visit - well done, Year 6! You all showed super teamwork and communication skills during this activity. 

Body Pump - Year 6

In Year 6, we have been learning about the circulatory system. During our first lesson, we created a circulatory system using three children on the playground to be the lungs, heart and rest of the body whilst the rest of the class became the blood stream and travelled around them in a figure of eight. In our second lesson, we created a human heart on the playground with lots of children being the different parts of the heart (eg. atriums, ventricles, valves, veins and arteries) and the rest of the class being the blood stream. By making these lessons practical, we were all really confident in labelling the diagrams and writing an explanation text in our books afterwards to show our excellent understanding. Finally, in our most recent lesson, we all made ‘blood soup’ which helped us to understand the different components of our blood. We have created a display to show all our super science work….

Blood Soup - Year 6

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On Wednesday 29th September, we created ‘Blood Soup’ in Year 6! In our science lessons, we have been learning about the circulatory system and the different components and their individual functions. This week’s science lesson was all about our blood. We used orange juice to represent the plasma; strawberry jelly to represent the red blood cells; marshmallows to represent the white blood cells and rice to represent the platelets. Afterwards, we were all able to explain the different components and the important functions they have within our blood. We had lots of sticky fun during this lesson!

Science Survival Day

Year 6: Survival Day at Skelton Grange

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To consolidate the forces and materials learning from our Sensational Science Week, Year 6 visited Skelton Grange for a bespoke Survival Day. Firstly, when we arrived at Skelton Port, we were asked to embark our ship and head off on a voyage. Unfortunately (as predicted) the voyage didn’t go to plan and we all ended up shipwrecked on Skelton Island!
Our first task of the day was to search the shore for valuable resources which we could use to survive our time on the island. Next, we found a deep, thick, oozing bog and the only way across was by stepping on turtle shells! However, it was not as easy as that: if a child was not stood on a shell then it would disappear into the bog so it took a lot of teamwork. Thankfully we all were able to cross! Our next challenge was to build some shelters – thank goodness we had these at lunchtime when the heavens opened with both rain and hail!
After lunch, we applied our mixtures and materials knowledge by using filtration to make clean water as well as testing different materials to find the best insulator for our baby bottles. Afterwards, we had to search the area for materials which could be used to protect an egg in a 10ft drop! We were all incredible during this task and many eggs survived the fall! Finally, we all warmed ourselves up by sitting around a camp fire and enjoying homemade popcorn. What an absolutely fantastic day – thank you so much to all the Skelton Grange staff who made this possible!

Year 6 Science Week: Exciting Experiments

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Throughout Sensational Science Week, Year 6 have completed different experiments to enhance their understanding of the Forces and Materials/Mixtures topics they have covered. Watch the video above to see...
Dissolving – does the temperature of water affect how quickly a sugar cube dissolves?
Water Resistance – which is the most suitable bow shape for a speedboat?
Separation processes – how can you separate flour and raisins, water and sand and rice and paper clips?

Year 6 Science Week: Engineering and Gears Workshop

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On Thursday 22nd April, Mr Dickinson (from Rotork) visited Year 6 and, firstly, explained to Year 6 the difference between Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The children were asked to select items of clothing and pieces of equipment that they thought an engineer would use; they were surprised to learn that absolutely anybody could become an engineer and they didn’t necessarily have to be wearing overalls or a hard hat!
Afterwards, Mr Dickinson completed a Gears workshop with Year 6. Firstly, they were given different gears and given the challenge to make them work (mesh together). Afterwards, each pair built a gear structure which was they attached to the rest of the class’ structure to create: ‘The Impossible Machine.’ It is given this name as it would take 240,000 years to turn the final gear!

Year 6 Science Week: Mad Science Assembly and Workshop on Forces

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On Tuesday 20th April, Year 6 were visited by Turbo Tom (from Mad Science). Firstly, we had an assembly in the hall which wowed us with some incredible experiments. Afterwards, Turbo Tom came to the Year 6 classroom and we explored different machines and forces. Firstly, we powered a car using an elastic band. Next, we created levers with spoons and attempted to catapult paper boulders into a target. Finally, we created zip-line pulleys across the classroom. It was all so much fun!

Year 6 Science Week: Heart Dissection

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On Tuesday 20th April, Mount St. Mary’s Science Department visited Year 6 and completed a heart dissection with them to consolidate their learning about the Circulatory System. Year 6 were able to name all the different parts of the heart and explain their functions. Furthermore, they learnt that the left side of the heart is thicker than the right due to the fact that it has to pump blood around the whole body, unlike the right side which just has to pump blood to the lungs. All the children were incredibly sensible throughout the lesson and, I think, we may have some future surgeons!

Year 6 - Optometry

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On Friday 25th October, Mrs Mehmood visited Year 6 to explain her fascinating job as an optometrist. Firstly, we looked a model of our eye and explored the different parts and their functions. Next, we were taught why a person would be short or long sighted and how glasses can correct this as well as learning new scientific vocabulary like convex and concave. Finally, we all explored a contact lens...

Year 6 - Dissection

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As we came to the end of our Circulatory System unit, the science department from Mount St. Mary’s came to complete a dissection lesson of the heart with us. Mr Hicklin was extremely impressed with our knowledge of the heart, particularly the four chambers and how blood leaves the heart in an artery and returns in a vein. After the dissection, we extended our knowledge about arteries, veins and capillaries. Watch the video above to see our very exciting lesson...

Year 6 - Brightstorm Science

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During Autumn 1, Year 6 have been reading Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy in Guided Reading. As we have been reading and identifying our words of the week, we have noticed a lot of scientific vocabulary. Therefore, we completed two experiments to further our knowledge on density and air resistance. We made lava lamps to explore the density of water and oil and we created our own sky ships with a variety of materials as the balloon to investigate air resistance. It was all so much fun and we learnt so much...

Dissection

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Today (27th June) the children in Year 6 had the opportunity to learn about the function of the heart and lungs through dissection. This was delivered by teachers from Mount St. Mary's High School who were extremely impressed with the children's subject knowledge and also their maturity when completing the dissection.

Science in St Anthony's

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Take a look at all of the wonderful Science displays around our school!

Science CPD for our School Direct students

This year we have been working towards achieving an award in science called the Primary Science Quality Mark to celebrate all of the wonderful science work which takes place at St Anthony's! Together with the staff and children we made some core principles in science!

St Anthony's Core Principles of Science

Science at St Anthony's

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Take a look at the wonderful science activities at St Anthony's!
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