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Primary school science at home

We’ve put together a list of science and mathematics resources for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 students, containing our own resources and those of well-respected organisations and campaigns in the UK. These resources can help to support primary school teachers and parents while students are learning from home. At primary level, a focus on promoting reading and numeracy skills may be useful.

 

  • Brian Cox school experiments: six primary science activities with supporting worksheets and videos covering questions like ‘how do you change the size of a shadow?’ and ‘at what temperature does chocolate melt?’.
  1. Do plants need soil to grow?
  2. What affects your heart rate?
  3. At what temperature does chocolate melt?
  4. How can we clean our dirty water?
  5. What factors affect the pitch and volume of sound?
  6. What factors affect the size of a shadow?
  • Young People’s Book Prize 2019 activity sheets: six activity sheets for young people linked to the 2019 shortlisted books. Each activity sheet provides a mini-experiment, maths challenge and information for the adults in charge.
  • Problem solving resources: teachers from the Royal Society Schools Network trialled and identified a few simple activities that can be used at primary level to help students develop problem solving skills, valuable for a wide variety of subjects.

See also

  • Do try this at home: a series of fun science experiments from the Institute of Physics, with short demonstration videos and simple, step-by-step instructions.
  • NRICH - Primary: primary level activities and support from The NRICH Project, aiming to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners.
  • STEM learning - primary science resources: a large range of primary science resources to support home learning.
  • Explorify: activities using online images to help young children question and explore the world around them.
  • Science fun at home: short activities from the Primary Science Teaching Trust and Science Sparks.
  • Great Science Share for Schools (GSSfS): information about the Great Science Share for Schools, sharing science virtually on 16 June 2020.
  • GSSfS inspiration and resources: a padlet page with links to a range of free resources, blogs and videos to engage young people while they are at home.
  • Engineering challenges to try at home: Dyson engineers have designed these challenges specifically for children. Ideal for home or in the classroom, they encourage inquisitive young minds to get excited about engineering.
  • Using CREST at home during COVID-19: guidance from the British Science Association as to how to use CREST Award activities at Star, Superstar, Megastar, Discover and Bronze level to keep young children (aged 5-13) engaged with science while learning from home.
  • My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!: More than 50 humanitarian organisations have come together to create a new storybook that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19.
  • Oak National Academy: the new Oak National Academy is an online classroom and resource hub, created by teachers for teachers but with additional support for parents. Supported by the Department for Education, this site contains a wealth of information to support learning from home across many subjects.
  • BBC Bitesize Daily Lessons: lessons created by the BBC with teachers and other educational experts, featuring a mix of videos, animations, practice activities, quizzes and games.
  • The StomaToy: created by previous exhibitors at the Summer Science Exhibition, the StomaToy project has developed a set of activities that combine plant science, music and drawings to communicate concepts of plant stomatal biology through play.
     
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