Science

Week 14 - Seasons Wheel 

Intro:

Ask children to think and share the names of the seasons, how they are different and some of the different things that happen during them.

Ask children to think and share the months of the year.

Ask them if they think they know which months make up each season.

Show children the flashcards, which have the seasons and the months colour-coded

Main: Children to add the months to a seasons wheel:

Reception children to be given the names of the months to cut out and stick on the wheel; Year 1 to write the months on.

Once they have added the months, children to add the number for each month, colour in each section in a suitable colour e.g. brown, orange and yellow for autumn and draw an icon to go with the season e.g. leaves for autumn. 

Plenary:

Hide a month and ask the children to tell you which month is hidden and which season it belongs to.

Week 13 Animals in winter

Intro: Ask your child if they know any ways that animals change or change their behaviour in winter to survive.

Read information to them on how different animals survive by hibernating, migrating, storing food and changing fur colour.

Explain that other animals also just ‘tough it out’

Model for child how to scan the text for the names of the animal and to use the subheadings to see how that animal survives winter e.g. you find the name of the Arctic fox in the paragraph on ‘Changing fur’

Main:

Children to find the name of each animal in the information and see which paragraph it is in.

Cut and stick the animal in the right column of a table with headings of ‘Hibernate’, ‘Migrate’, ‘Store food’ and ‘Change fur’

Reception -to be given text with animals’ names highlighted in bold and to be given worksheet to stick the animals on top

Year 1- to be given text without the animals’ names highlighted and to stick animals in their books

Extension: Children to find the names of the animals that they were not given images for and to draw them in the correct column of the table

Plenary:

Children to compare where they stuck the animals and discuss any differences

Revise the different ways that animals can survive winter and why winter is harder for them

                                Intro:

What do you notice about tress at different times of the year?

Does anyone have fruit trees in their garden or do you walk past fruit trees? What grows on them in the summer?

Watch the BBC video clip below  on how apple tress change throughout the year.

Revise how the apple tree changes throughout the year.

With the support of an adult, make a list of key words e.g. leaves, buds, fruit, die, green, brown etc.

Next to each key word, draw a little picture to show what it means.

Main Activity:

Cut and stick images of tree branches at different times of the year in a diagram showing the seasonal cycle of a fruit tree.

Under each image, write a sentence explaining what happens to the tree/s in that season. Remember to send me any pictures of your fabulous work. 

Intro:

Ask you child if they have heard of deciduous and coniferous (evergreen) trees before.

If they have, ask them if they think they know anything about them.

Ask them to think about the name ‘evergreen’, and see if they can think of why a tree might be called ‘evergreen’

Watch video below (with the sound on first time and with sound off and you reading the information second time), which covers:

• the similarities between deciduous and evergreen trees (that they all have roots, stems and leaves – add about branches and trunk myself)
• shows images of deciduous trees and their leaves
• explains that deciduous trees grow flowers
• shows how the leaves of deciduous trees change colour in the different seasons
• introduces coniferous trees by explaining how a Christmas tree is a coniferous tree
• explains how coniferous trees have pointy, thin leaves called needles
• explains how these needles stay on the tree all year round (apart from a few that die and fall off)
• explains how coniferous trees keep their seeds in cones, which they then drop
• lists some common deciduous and coniferous trees
• summarises the similarities and differences between deciduous and coniferous trees in a Venn diagram

Explain independent work, revising how deciduous trees have broad, flat leaves and coniferous trees have pointy, thin leaves (show this with the examples of real leaves if you have any close to home)

Main:

Sort leaves into groups of deciduous and evergreen

Extension: Look in books to find some more examples of leaves and draw them in the correct group (and name the tree that they come from, if they can do this)

Week 9 -  To identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees

Intro:

Ask children to think, pair, share the names of as many different types of plants (flowers and trees) as they can

Show them the cards that we will be using for the game

These cards have the name of a plant on one side (with a phonetic version underneath e.g. tulips: choo – lips) and an image of the plant on the other side

Read all of the names of the plants with the children.

Main:

Give your child 3 sets of cards: a double-sided set, a set with just the terms and a set with just the definitions

Play ‘Go Fish’ – 2 sets of cards, placed face up.

Children need to find the two matching cards

They can use the double-sided cards to check if they have found a matching pair

(If they get very good, they can turn the cards face down to make the game harder)

Plenary:

Try to remember and write down as many of the names of the different plants as you can, and add any more of your own that you know. Have a go at the Scavenger Hunt if you feel like it or you could find out more about a tree on your street. (see below) 

 Week 8   Classifying Fruits and Vegetables

Ask your child to and share the names of as many fruits and vegetables as they can,

Ask if they'd like to explain where they think fruit and vegetables come from.

Explain that they all grow as part of plants.

Ask if they think they can explain the difference between fruits and vegetables.

Watch the video below that explains the differences between fruits and vegetables. 

Cut open a range (or any spare you have a home) of fruit and vegetables, sorting them into fruits and vegetables, without telling your child how we tell if each item is a fruit or a vegetable. Ask them to look at the insides of the fruits and the insides of the vegetables and see if they notice any difference between them (hopefully they should notice that the fruits all have seeds, whereas the vegetables do not)

Explain that the reason a plant produces fruit is to spread its seeds so that it can reproduce

Explain that the reason a plant produces vegetables depends on the plant e.g. a lettuce is leaves for photosynthesis, potatoes are a way for a potato plant to store food and rhubarb and celery are the stems of plants

Watch the video on growing fruit and vegetables in an allotment.  

Main:

Leave a quarter / slice of each fruit / vegetable in the middle of each table, so that your child can look to see if they have seeds or not.

Children to classify each item into groups of fruits or vegetables.

Extension: Children to add some of their own examples. Leave Google images open on the computer/s (with ‘safe search’ on). If children need to use Google images to check if the item has seeds or not, let them type its name in and search for it.

Plenary:

Ask children to name some other fruits and vegetables.

Ask them to vote on whether they think each one will be a fruit or a vegetable. Look each fruit or vegetable that they suggest up on Google images to see if it has seeds inside or not, and therefore if it is a fruit or a vegetable.

Week 7 Plants

This week we are going to start investigating plants! Ask your child what things they think plants need to grow strong and healthy. Use the following PowerPoints to show your child that plants need sunlight and water to grow well.

I have attached a plant diary if you would like to grow your own plant at home and monitor its progress.