Science for Ages 10 to 12 Course

What you will learn in 8 lessons

1. 1

   Fair Tests

   Start here

   The child plans a fair test, decides what to change, measure and keep the same, takes repeat readings, and presents results in tables, bar charts and line graphs to draw a conclusion.

   4 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Turn a question into a fair test
   2. 2.Plan and carry out a fair test
   3. 3.Record and show your results
   4. 4.Draw conclusions and judge your investigation
2. 2

   Puberty and Life Stages

   The child describes the stages of human life from baby to old age and the body changes of puberty, with accurate vocabulary and reassurance that timing varies.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Describe how people grow and change from baby to old age
   2. 2.Explain what puberty is and how it changes every body
   3. 3.Describe how female and male bodies change in puberty
   4. 4.Understand periods and how to manage them
   5. 5.Take care of your body, your feelings and your relationships
3. 3

   Heart and Lungs

   The child explains how the heart, blood vessels and lungs work together to carry oxygen and nutrients, takes a pulse before and after exercise, and links diet, exercise, smoking and drugs to health.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Follow your blood around your body
   2. 2.Explain what your blood carries and why
   3. 3.Explain how your lungs and breathing work
   4. 4.Measure how exercise changes your pulse and breathing
   5. 5.Make choices that keep your heart and lungs healthy
4. 4

   Microorganisms

   The child classifies living things into broad groups including micro-organisms, gives reasons based on characteristics, and explains that some microbes are helpful and some cause disease.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Sort living things into groups the way scientists do
   2. 2.Discover the hidden world of microorganisms
   3. 3.Explain how microorganisms help us, harm us or do neither
   4. 4.Investigate how yeast and mold grow
   5. 5.Stop germs from spreading and understand how your body fights them
5. 5

   Adaptation and Evolution

   The child explains that offspring vary and resemble their parents, that adaptations suit living things to their environment, and that fossils show living things have changed over very long times.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain how offspring are like and unlike their parents
   2. 2.Explain how adaptations help living things survive
   3. 3.Explain why some living things survive better than others
   4. 4.Use fossils as evidence of life long ago
   5. 5.Explain how life has changed over very long times
6. 6

   Dissolving and Separating Mixtures

   The child compares materials by hardness, solubility, transparency and conductivity, uses a simple particle idea to explain dissolving and states, and separates mixtures by sieving, filtering and evaporating.

   4 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Compare materials by their properties
   2. 2.Use the particle idea to explain matter
   3. 3.Explain dissolving and solutions
   4. 4.Separate mixtures
7. 7

   Earth, Sun and Moon

   The child explains day and night with Earth's rotation, the year with its orbit, the Moon's phases, and the order and features of the planets; they link seasons to Earth's tilt.

   5 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Discover that the Sun is a star and that the Sun, Earth and Moon are spheres
   2. 2.Use Earth's spin to explain day, night and the moving sky
   3. 3.Explain the year and the seasons
   4. 4.Explain how the Moon moves and why it seems to change shape
   5. 5.Explore the planets of the Solar System
8. 8

   Gravity, Friction and Air Resistance

   The child explains that unsupported objects fall because of gravity, tells mass from weight, measures forces in newtons and investigates air resistance, water resistance and friction.

   6 learning goals

   What you will learn

   1. 1.Explain why things fall
   2. 2.Measure forces and tell mass from weight
   3. 3.Investigate air resistance and parachutes
   4. 4.Explore water resistance and streamlining
   5. 5.Investigate friction
   6. 6.Put the forces together