Science
Spring 1 - Forces and Magnets
This half term we will be exploring contact and non-contact forces.
Contact forces - pushes and pulls
We created a sports circuit using contact forces. Each group designed their own activity which included either a push, push or twist. Can you spot which contact force is being used in our photographs?
Non- Contact Forces - Friction
We explored friction in this lesson. Learning about how friction impacts the distance an object travels and the positives and negatives of this non-contact force.



Measuring forces
We used force meters to measure the force needed to lift and drag books. We were working on our predictions today and found that our predictions were more accurate as we progressed through the experiment as we were able to base them from our previous knowledge.






Measuring Friction using forcemeters






World Science Day
This morning used the story of Little Lumpty to inspire us to complete STEM tasks.
Little Lumpty was excited to climb up the wall. He danced on the top and could see for miles! But then his legs started to tremble and he was too scared to walk back to the ladder!
We had to think of a way to help Lumpty to get down off the wall. This lead to lots of discussion regarding ideas and compromise so everyone in our group was happy. Some of us linked our ideas to our own experiences, thinking about the foam pits in Fusion etc. Others linked to their own knowledge from previous science lessons.
Designing














Group 1

Group 1 - improvements

Group 2

Group 3

Autumn 2 - Light
This half term we will be exploring light through lots of different investigations.
What is a shadow?
Today we were set a challenge to make an opaque tower using Lego. We then used a torch to create a shadow, before exploring how the shadow of an object changes when you move the light source closer or further away.
Some of our class recorded their data on scatter graphs.










Exploring Light - Can you see without light?









We placed different colour card into a dark box. We recorded whether or not we could see the card when there was no light and if this changed when we shone a torch in to the box 🔦
We found that colours such as yellow were the most visible because it reflects the most light. We considered how yellow is used to help protect people in jobs where there need to be visible.
Autumn 1 - Sound
Today we started our new topic about Sound. Here’s what we already knew:
We started by learning about solids, liquids and gasses. We demonstrated how sound passes quicker through solids by playing a game. We could only wiggle once we were touched by someone else who was wiggling. It took a long time to pass the sound (wiggle) in a gas because we were so spread out but it was very quick in a solid because we were all squished together.
We then explored this by listening to our teacher scratching the table. We wanted to see if we could hear the scratch better through the table or through the air. Some of us couldn’t here the sound through the air at all!
We then completed our first group investigation….. Will the rice move if we hit a neighbouring drum.













The React Foundation Annual Science Show
This year the science show was all about space. We learnt about how scientists theories about the solar system changed over time as technology advanced.
Summer 1 - Living things (habitats)
Classifying and Grouping
After focusing on vertebrates in previous lessons, today we looked at the groups of invertebrates.
We started with a game of dominoes to remind us of our key terms: vertebrate and invertebrate.









We then looked in more detail at invertebrates. We spoke about how we can categorise invertebrates into insects, annelids, crustaceans, molluscs and arachnids. We then had a hunt for images of invertebrates that were around school and used the information sheets below to help us sort them into the correct category. It was fantastic to overhear all the discussions taking place.
To finish our lesson on invertebrates we went outside to find real life invertebrates. We added photographs to our information sheets on seesaw!
Designing our own animal
Each group were given a habitat to explore and given the challenge to design their own animal considering adaptations. We started by researching animals that currently lived in the habitat we were given to find out how they had adapted. We then used these ideas to design our own animal within groups.
Researching animals who live in our habitat







Painting our creature
British Science Week 2024 - Time
We have stared every day this week with a science thinking task - making observations, watching videos, comparing objects, and looking for links. We even learnt about an important scientist called Maria Meridan who found out about the life cycles of insects and discovered lots of new insects and plants during her travels.
We have also took part in additional science skills activities in our other lessons such as using our observational skills and using adjectives during a games of mystery object. During our lifeskills lesson we found out about job roles in science. We looked at our hobbies and interests to find out if they linked to any STEM careers. Children left the session with aspirations of being astrophysicists due to their love of stars, Computer programmers as they spend their spare time gaming, Sports scientists due to their love of sports, cosmetic scientists due to their interests in makeup and even zoologists and animal researchers due to their love of animals and drawing. We explored job roles using Scientist Like me, which had a vast array of people all with jobs in science!
Mystery Object investigation








Ideas of what makes a scientist before or after our Smashing Sterotypes Session
Spring 2 - States of matter
This half term we will be learning all about the three states of matter - solid, liquid, gas.
We will be learning what ‘mass’ means, what makes something a solid, liquid or gas and how the atoms behave in these states, and changing states with a focus on melting, evaporating, and condensing.
This science topic enables us to revisit and consolidate our learning of the water cycle from our Georgraphy topic last half term.
Take a look at our knowledge organiser for an insight into our key coverage.
What is mass?
In today’s lesson we learnt about mass and introduce key words such as volume, increase, decrease and atoms. We discussed how everything is made up of tiny particles named atoms. We even talked about how these are named electrons and neutrons. We will investigate this further in other lessons.
We used our working scientifically skills of observing to investigate what happened to the volume of water when we added items. We recorded our predictions and then worked as a team to observe and record our results.








Exploring the difference between the three states of matter
In todays lesson we have been learning about the different properties that make things a gas, a solid or a liquid.
We challenged on another to categorise items we had written into the three states.
Our investigation this lesson focused on the keyword Viscosity.
Within our groups we discussed how we could test liquids to find out with was most/least viscous. There were lots of super ideas raised during this discussion such as turning bottles over to observe which liquid was quickest to flow to the other side and using stop watches to time the time it took for liquids to pour in to other containers…. We have super scientists in Crummock class!
In the end we took part in a viscosity race! Our science skill focus of the investigation was writing predictions, with our Y4s using scientific terms within their reasoning. We selected our four liquids within teams and then wrote predictions linked to our own experiences. Some of our predictions were correct and our investigations went exactly as we thought however others were surprised by the results!







Ready, steady, go!

Ready, steady, go!

Spring 1 - Rocks
This half term we will be learning all about the three different types of rocks - sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic - and how these rocks are formed.
We will also be classifying rocks and finding out about their properties, linking these to their uses.
Properties of rocks
Crummock class worked in teams to investigate the properties of different rocks. We started by looking at the rock’s appearance. We tried to classify them into sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks by their appearence, looking for layers or crystals as clues. We then identified our rocks so we could use the correct names during our investigation.
It was then investigation time! We worked as team to test each rock against a fingernail scratch, nail scratch , coin scratch and a scratch from another rock. We were using our observation and recording skills.
We finished the lesson by reporting back our findings to the others to see if we all had the same results.








Limestone Hunters!
Crummock class were set the task of hunting for limestone in different rocks today. We used vinegar as we found out that when acids come in contact with limestone gas is released and creates a fizz.
We looked at the chemical compounds for limestone and carbon dioxide and found out what this meant using the periodic table. We found out that limestone contains carbon dioxide.









Local Geologist Visit
We enjoyed a visit from a local geologist who came into school to share his vast knowledge and collection of rocks. He even showed us videos of his trip to Iceland where he seen a live volcanic eruption. He wore special gloves to pick up rocks that had formed when the lava cooled. This is called igneous rock.
We also got to examine fossils, glow in the dark rock and even meteors that had fell to earth from space!
We then linked our history knowledge and recreated the volcanic eruption that happened during Pompeii.
Creating a volcano - Pompeii

Creating a volcano - Pompeii

Creating a volcano - Pompeii

Making Ash Clouds

Autumn 2 - Electricity
This half term we will be exploring electricity; learning about appliances, components and circuits!
Investigation - Which team can light the bulb using the least number of components?
Does the brightness of the bulb/s differ if you have more bulbs in a circuit?
We planned our own investigation to find out!
Some of us thought that it would be brighter with more bulbs because if you have more lights it makes a room is brighter. Others thought one bulb would be brighter as it would have all of the battery power to itself.






Autumn 1 - Animals including humans: Diet
Today the children learnt about how we need a balanced diet, meaning we need to eat all foods in moderation. The children gave some fantastic examples such as talking about how sugary foods can cause tooth decay, but also how eating too many fruit and vegetables can give you stomach ache.
We then went on to discuss nutritional labels and how they can help us understand what we are eating and drinking.
We used the nutritional labels to help us measure out how much sugar were in different drinks, including ones we thought were ‘healthy’. We even found that water contains sugars when it is flavoured and that although Coke Zero doesn’t contain sugars, it does contain sweeteners which should also only be consumed in moderation. We were also very shocked to find that chocolate milk and pure orange juice contain lots of sugar too!
We discussed how it’s ok to eat all foods, we just need to make sure we eat a variety of food group to keep healthy 🙂













Working Scientifically Day - 15th September 2023
Which biscuit is the best dunker?
Today we planned our first experiment independently. We were also joined by some pupils from Derwent Water class.
We had to decide how we would test the ‘best dunker’. Some groups decided this was the biscuit that would dunk the highest number of times before crumbling and others believed it meant the biscuit that would last the longest being held in the hot water before crumbling.
Each group of four planned their own different investigation. We had dunking and holding for two seconds before our next dunk, holding in the liquid, and repeated dunking and timing. All the children decided on their own independent and dependent variables, with lots of discussion surrounding fair testing.
We then used purple mash to create graphs to show our results.
Take a look at our videos and photos to see what we got up to and make sure you ask your child who was Top of The Dunkers!
Planning, Investigating and Recording
Team Scientists

Team Green Science Wizards

Team Investigators

Team Panda

Team Panda 2

Summer 2 - Living things
This half term has been filled with school trips and visits linked to our science.
We have used MRS GREN to help us to classify items into living and not living, taking part in a class game show to test our ideas.
We have been on a field trip to Siddick Ponds to observe creatures that have found home on a nature site hidden between a supermarket, factory and a housing estate! We enter in a bug hunt and bird watching, even spotting a kestrel hunting for her dinner!
Plus a visit from some real living things in our classroom…..Nikitas hen and chickens. The mother chicken was hatched by Windermere class last year and now has chicks herself!
Siddick Ponds
Perry the chicken returns
Summer 1 - Plants
This half term we are learning all about plants. We will be looking at the different parts of a plant and their jobs, what plants need to thrive, how they make their own food, flowers and pollination.
Photosynthesis School!
Are you a new budding leaf who needs to learn how to help your plant survive?
Crummock Class have all the help you need!
Watch our videos below and they’ll tell you all you need to know about creating glucose!
Cooking Show 1

Cooking Show 2

Cooking Show 3

Tulip Dissection at Crummock Hospital
























Whole School Science
’What is the quickest way to dissolve a gummy bear?’
Today we had a whole school science investigation about gummy bears! In Crummock class we split into two teams and planned our own experiment linked to the question.
One team decided to explore the differences between hot and cold liquids because they knew objects can melt with heat so thought heat might also help them to dissolve. They used the same liquid and measured the same amount of liquid to keep the test fair. They found that the gummy bear dissolved quicker in warm water.
The second team linked their experiment to our digestion topic. They knew that acid helped food to be broken down in the stomach so wanted to see if acidic liquids such as vinegar and orange dissolved the gummy bear quicker than water. They used the same amount of fluid and the same temperature.
Both teams had lots of fun working independently to test their own ideas 💡
Spring 2 - The digestive system
Today we followed the journey of weetabix and banana through the digestive system. This meant that we had to do the jobs of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus!
Take a look at our photos each stage.
The link below will take you to the BBC Bitesize page about digestion.
In our mouth!
Our incisors chop and slice the food (we used scissors) and our molars help grind and crush the food (we used a pestle). We also added ‘saliva’ as this helps to start breaking the food down.











In the stomach
Food travels down the oesophagus and into the stomach. Here we added ‘acid’ and ‘bile’ to help the food break down.
The small intestine, large intestine and anus.
The food then moves into the intestines. The small intestine is where nutrients is taken from our food and absorbed through the intestine wall. Waste products then travel through the large intestine then to the anus which is where it is excreted from our bodies.
As you can see from the photos, this part was a bit messy!








Spring 1 - Forces and Magnets
This half term we with explore both contact and non-contact forces. The children will explore pushes and pulls, how forces act in opposite directions, friction and resistance. They will also investigate magnets.
Today we started our topic by investigating the contact forces that we use in school. After exploring in the classroom and identifying forces such as pulling doors, pushing chairs in etc, we decided to go outside to test when we use pushes and pulls during playtimes and P.E. The children then used their iPads to scribe the forces that they noticed were happening in the photographs.
I have uploaded the edited images below so you can see which forces the children identified.
Contact Forces
Investigating Friction
This afternoon the children investigated how different materials created different resistance. The children had two independent investigations to complete as a team then one supported investigation using a toy car and ramp.
Non-Contact Forces
Today we began to explore non-contact forces. Everyone was very confused when we didn’t start our lesson by writing a learning question, and instead I set a challenge for the children to solve.
We started by drawing a meandering river (linked to our current geography) and I gave each group two paper clip ‘boats’. To start with I asked each group to make the boat travel down the river without touching it. We had lots of sliding and blowing until one pupil spotted the magnets on the side 🧲
I then started adding different rules to aid the groups to investigate further such as the river (paper) being the only object able to make direct contact with the boat. I was really impressed with everyone’s ideas today and the classroom was alive with group discussion! 💡
Investigating magnets
Eureka Moments 💡

Fun with magnets

Testing new ideas

Testing ideas!

Autumn 1
This half term Crummock class have had lots of fun exploring sound. We have enjoyed creating our own experiments to research how we hear sound, how sound travels and how we can alter the pitch and volume of a sound.
There has also been lots of fabulous scientific discussions from our Crummock Scientists this half term!
Autumn 1 - Exploring Pitch
Sound Facts



Autumn 2 - Light
We started our new science topic by exploring the question 'Do we need light to see?' through a carrousel of activities.
We played a describing game where we described different light sources or reflectors, investigated which colour was the best reflector and explored whether or not transparent materials reflect light. We used our findings to help us answer whether or not we actually needed light to see.
It was fantastic to hear all the scientific discussion in our classroom today! I also heard lots of the children applying their knowledge within independent group discussions. I overheard one group discussing which colour clothes would be the best to wear with nights currently being so dark!
Do Transparent objects/materials produce shadows?







Today the children were given the statement - 'I think translucent materials do not cast shadows because they allow light to pass through them.'
The children were then given access to a variety of materials/objects to explore, aiming to prove or disprove the statement. As you can see all the children used similar items during their investigation and discussed their observations with other teams.
Following their investigation, all four teams agreed that the statement was false. They noticed that translucent objects still cast shadows however they may be faint, blurry or coloured. They also noticed interesting patterns that were formed due to the shapes within the objects and creases in the tissue paper.
Our Last experiment for 2022!
Groups planned an investigation to find out whether a shadow changes depending on how close you are to the light source!
We used our data to create graphs using purple mash. This helped one group to identify an anomaly within their result and we had lots of great discussion about where they might have gone wrong.