Key Stage Three: SO2 in the Atmosphere

A lesson from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)'s Seeing Science. Students investigate sulphur dioxide, its sources and its impact on the environment and on life. In the main activity, students create a animated presentation to tell the story of sulphur dioxide. Images and graphics for each act...

Earth rocks and space rocks

In this activity, pupils will consider some properties of different rocks. They will also learn about classifying, or sorting things into groups to help them identify which rock is which. They can then take a closer look at the meteorites, tektite and ammonite in their sample boxes. There are two versions of the...

Earth, Sun and Moon Presentations

These presentations cover the following topics:Aurora - the link between the solar wind and auroraeBlue skies and red sunsets - scattering and refractionCraters - why the Moon and Mercury have more craters than the EarthDifferent designs of telescopes - reflecting and refracting telescopesEcliptic - how the plane of...

Earth and the Solar System

This resource from Physicists in Primary Schools (PIPS) supports the teaching of Earth and Space at Key Stage Two. A presentation introduces Earth and the planets of our solar system, with an activity in which children help demonstrate the relative sizes of planets and the distances between them. It moves on to look...

Magnetic Earth

This AstroPi resource helps secondary school students investigate the magnetic field of the Earth. The series of activities develops from basic principles of magnetism through to some understanding of the nature and cause of the Earth's magnetism.The guide links to several other eLibrary resources and a bespoke...

Imaging the Earth

Combing satellite and ground-based imagery, this cross-curricular learning resource for primary teachers explores planet Earth from a range of perspectives.The activities are intended to build map skills and recognition of many physical geography features in familiar and unfamiliar locations. Mathematics activities...

Our Earth under threat

This activity is designed as a ‘virtual mission’. Students will play the part of Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) scientists to the scenario of a possible asteroid impact with the Earth. By following the story of the mission (led by an automated powerpoint), students will apply their understanding of kinetic energy, density...

Drama and science : an unlikely synergy

This paper, presented at the Using STEM Research Conference in May 2016, reports on an approach, that could be used in primary classrooms, to develop the kinds of process skills that could enable children to comprehend a more scientific way of looking at the world through improvisation as a...

Timbers: hardwoods and softwoods

 In this lesson students will gain an understanding of  the properties of both hardwood and softwood timbers. Completion of a card match up task will demonstrate their understanding which forms useful revision notes for the examination. They will learn the names of different hardwoods & softwoods and...

Ratios and proportional relationships

This series of short tasks is designed to assess how well students understand proportional reasoning in practical contexts. The contexts featured include:Relating a photograph to its negativeWater used by a washing machineCoffee powder and cups of coffee madeStamp collectionsA detailed rubric is provided for each task...