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Science – Year 6

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Download our Year 6 Science curriculum here.

Essential Skills and Knowledge
I can describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including micro-organisms, plants and animals.
I can give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics.
I can identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood I can recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function.
I can describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.
I can recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago.
I can recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents.
I can identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.
I can recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines.
I can use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye.
I can explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes.
I can use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.
I can associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit.
I can compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches.
I can use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
Communication SkillsWorking together Collaborative SkillsProblem Solving
I can report and present findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and a degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations.
I can discuss reasons why living things are placed in one group and not another.
I can explain how to keep my body healthy and how my body might be damaged by some drugs and other substances that can be harmful to the human body.
I can explain the idea that characteristics are passed from parents to their offspring e.g.- consider different breeds of dogs, and what happens when Labradors are crossed with poodles.
I can appreciate that variation in offspring over time can make animals more or less able to survive in particular environments e.g.- How giraffes necks got longer or the development of insulating fur on the Arctic fox.
I can explain how to work with electricity safely.
I can plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary.
I can identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.
I can explore and answer questions that help me to understand how the circulatory system enables the body to function
I can use test results to make prediction to set up further comparative and fair tests.
I can classify animals into commonly found invertebrates (such as insects, spiders, snails, worms) and vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals).
I can design and make a periscope and using the idea that light appears top travel in straight lines to explain how it works.
I can use shadow puppets to investigate the relationship between light sources, objects and shadows.
I can construct simple series circuits to help me answer questions about what happens when I try different components e.g. switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors.
I can design and make a set of traffic lights, a burglar alarm or another useful circuit.
I can represent a simple circuit in a diagram using recognised symbols.
Application of numberInformation Technology
I can take measurements using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate.
I can record data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
I use ICT to explain my hypothesis, my methods and my results.
When recording my results, I can use a digital camera or I pod independently.
I can use secondary sources and recognise when they will be most useful to research my ideas and begin to separate opinion from fact.
I can use ICT to research the work of famous palaeontologists e.g Mary Anning, Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace.
I can explore the work of scientists and scientific research about the relationship between diet, exercise, drugs, lifestyle and health.
I can find out about the significance of the work of scientists such as Carl Linnaeus (pioneer of classification)

Reviewed Summer 2014 – New National Curriculum