Throughout KS1 the children will be learning about the importance of asking questions, gathering evidence, carrying out experiments and looking at different ways of presenting their results. Lessons are practical and will focus on the world around them. The children will probably study a different topic each term, which could include:

Life processes and living things

• Differences between things which are alive and those which have never lived
• How animals and humans move, feed, grow, use their senses and reproduce
• External parts of the body (humans and animals)
• Importance of healthy eating and exercise
• How plants grow from seeds
• Parts of a plant: leaf, flower, stem and root
• Living things in their environment
• What sort of plants and animals live locally

Materials and their properties

• Recognising and naming common materials
• Sorting materials into groups
• How different materials are used for different purposes
• How materials can change, for example if they are heated, cooled or stretched

Physical processes

• Electricity: circuits, batteries, wires and bulbs
• Forces and motion
• Speed and direction
• Pushing and pulling
• Light
• Sound