England

The Science Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades

In 2015, students who participated in the fourth grade TIMSS science assessments (Year 5) were taught under both the 1999 and the 2013 versions of the national curriculum. Students who participated in the eighth grade science assessments (Year 9) were taught under the 1999, 2007, and 2013 versions successively.  In 2014−2015, students were taught under the newly introduced national curriculum described in this chapter.

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all students:

• Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics
• Develop understanding of the nature, processes, and methods of science through different types of science inquiry that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
• Are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future

The programs of study for science are set out year by year for Key Stages 1 and 2.  (Year 5 students are in their penultimate year of Key Stage 2.) A description follows of the focus of the upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6) program of study and provides the specifics of the Year 5 curriculum.

At upper Key Stage 2, students explore a wide range of scientific phenomena and systematically analyze functions, relationships, and interactions. They deal with abstract ideas and work toward understanding and predicting how the world operates, recognizing that scientific ideas change and develop over time.  They select appropriate ways to answer scientific questions and notice patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests, and using a wide range of secondary sources.  They draw conclusions based on data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.  They also are expected to read, spell, and pronounce scientific vocabulary.

During Year 5, students are taught to use practical scientific methods, processes, and skills including planning scientific inquiries, taking measurements using a range of equipment, recording data and results, using results to make predictions, reporting and presenting their findings, and identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.

The content areas and main curriculum elements include:

• Living Things and Their Habitats
• Animals, Including Humans
• Properties and Changes of Materials
• Earth and Space
• Forces¹¹

Due to word limits, this is a sample of the curriculum content. Full details are available online.¹²

There is a single science program of study for Key Stage 3 students, the principal focus of which is to develop a deeper understanding of a range of scientific ideas in biology, chemistry, and physics. Students make connections between these subject areas and become aware of the big ideas underpinning scientific knowledge and understanding (e.g., the links between structure and function in living organisms, the particulate model as the key to understanding the properties and interactions of matter, and the resources and means of transfer of energy as key determinants of all of these interactions). They relate scientific explanations to phenomena in the world around them and use modeling and abstract ideas to develop and evaluate explanations.

Students come to understand that science is about working objectively, modifying explanations to account for new evidence and ideas, subjecting results to peer review, deciding on appropriate types of scientific inquiry, and developing a deeper understanding of important factors in collecting, recording, and processing data. Students learn to evaluate their results and identify further questions arising from them. Students are expected to use scientific vocabulary, including scientific nomenclature and units and mathematical representations.

Working across the three disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics, students receive instruction in the following learning domains:

• Scientific attitudes—Conducting experiments with accuracy and objectivity, developing theories and conducting research in scientific contexts, and performing risk analysis
• Experimental skills and investigations—Developing skills in questioning and inquiry, making accurate predictions, planning scientific research and inquiry, using apparatus and equipment, recording and interpreting data, and applying sampling techniques
• Analysis and evaluation—Applying mathematical concepts, recording and interpreting observations, selecting appropriate methods, presenting reasoned explanations, evaluating data, and conducting further research
• Measurement—Understanding and using SI units and IUPAC chemical nomenclature, writing equations and calculating answers, and performing basic quantitative data analysis

The science curriculum at Key Stage 3 includes the following subject content:

• Biology—Structure and function of living organisms
  • Cells and organization (examples)
  • The skeletal and muscular systems
  • Nutrition and digestion
  • Gas exchange systems
  • Reproduction
  • Health
• Biology—Material cycles and energy
  • Photosynthesis
  • Cellular respiration
• Biology—Interactions and interdependencies
  • Relationships in an ecosystem
• Biology—Genetics and evolution
  • Inheritance, chromosomes, DNA, and genes
• Chemistry
  • The particulate nature of matter
  • Atoms, elements, and compounds
  • Pure and impure substances
  • Chemical reactions
  • Energy transformations
  • The periodic table
  • Materials
  • Earth and the atmosphere
• Physics—Forces and motion
  • Energy, including the calculation of fuel uses and costs in the domestic context
  • Changes in systems
  • Motion and forces
  • Pressure in fluids
  • Balanced forces
• Physics—Waves
  • Observed waves
  • Sound waves
  • Energy and waves
  • Light waves
• Physics—Electricity and electromagnetism
  • Current electricity
  • Static electricity
  • Magnetism
  • Matter
• Physics—Physical changes
  • Particle models
  • Energy in matter
  • Space physics

Due to word limits, this is a sample of the curriculum content. Full details are available online.¹³