This resource provides Key Stage Three National Strategy training materials to run a day session with science teachers to help them develop an understanding of the key elements of Assessment for Learning and how it might affect their practice.

The search for life on other worlds is one of the most fascinating contexts that science lessons can have. In this guide, several of the resources focus on practical experiments or investigations that link astrobiology to the science curriculum. In all cases, regular scientific concepts such as factors affecting...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the unit called ‘Particles’ and was intended to lead to an understanding of the ways in which some properties of materials can be explained in terms of the type and arrangement of their atomic and molecular...

This teaching resource is based on the discovery of a giant 30 000 year old virus, still alive under the permafrost. As the world warms, others may be uncovered. Could such an ancient virus wipe out the human race? In this activity, students learn how to interrogate sources to separate science fact from fiction....

This longer-duration activity involves prototyping a low-power lighting system. It could be used in an off-timetable workshop or across a series of lessons.

Students are challenged to work through the whole design process, and to place a micro-controller (in this case a BBC micro:bit) at the centre of the...

The BBC micro:bit is a great tool for carrying out surveys that involve quickly counting and recording one or two variables. Using the button inputs provides a simple interface to the device allowing, for instance, quick tallying of the numbers of two different types of bee around a plant. Other examples might...

Birmingham Institute for Forest Research (BIFoR) has provided a free online learning platform for schools which includes curriculum linked activities, developed to support secondary school students. These activities provide the opportunity for students to join a growing community of citizen scientists who are...

This activity, suitable for a multi-lesson sequence or a single extended session, challenges students to design and prototype a simple motion-sensing alarm. The device is intended to prevent theft or the accidental picking-up of a bag.

Motion is sensed using the accelerometer built-in to the BBC micro:bit,...

This resource from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a practical, classroom activity that allows the students to make a balloon model of a disease-causing bacterium. This illustrates its basic shape and structure. Students can choose from three bacteria species...

In this activity, students consider the evidence for causal links between sugar consumption, obesity and disease. They then weigh up arguments for and against banning sugary drink sales to children.

Curriculum links include:

Key Stage Three:

*Working Scientifically: Analysis and evaluation –...

In this activity students work as researchers on a TV show and plan a report about the claim that sunbeds cause skin cancer.

Learning objectives:

*Use knowledge about UV light to explain the link between sunbeds and skin cancer.

*Understand how scientific evidence can support a claim.

...

This manual, from the Microbiology Society, provides a basic introduction to microbiology, aseptic technique and safety.

Part 1 of the book includes information on good microbiological laboratory practice, equipment, preparation of culture media, sterilisation and disinfection, inoculation, aseptic technique...

This practical activity explores beak adaptations in bird populations and looks at the way in which variation in beak shape is related to the available food sources within an environment.

Students simulate bird feeding by using a ‘beak’ to collect food and place it into a stomach. There are four different...

In this resource, students use their STEM skills to help them design and build a model of a flood- proof house. Activities to help them with their design include testing materials (for strength and absorbency) and structures. Set on a fictitious island coping with the devastating effects of flooding caused by...

This training resource from the National Strategies considers the causes of poor behaviour for learning as well as staff behaviour and its impact on learning. The aim is for teachers to: • Develop an understanding of how both student and teacher emotions can impact on learning. • Develop some strategies to avoid...