Science

Use real observations alongside the diagrams. Supervise practical work; never taste unknown materials or plants, handle unknown animals, or look at the Sun. Return to plants, weather and daylight throughout the year, not just once.

These are short sessions to revisit, not a one-day course. Follow the child's readiness and school teaching.

The Year 1 strands are introduced, but diagrams and word cards cannot replace identifying real species and materials. Use accurate local photographs or real examples. The on-page observation notebook lets an adult help record, download and reopen dated observations; it does not collect results automatically or submit them to the account. Supervised investigations and repeated seasonal observations still need to take place. Those practical requirements cannot be completed in one reading session.

These are our reference keys, not official DfE numbering. Each link identifies a teaching introduction, not a completed curriculum requirement or assessed mastery.

Ask, observe, test, classify and record evidence with adult support.

S-WS

• Be a careful observer
• Meet some plants
• A flowering plant has parts
• Trees are plants too
• Do trees keep their leaves?
• Look at an animal's body
• Birds and mammals
• More animal groups
• What do animals eat?
• Explore with our senses
• How does the material feel or look?
• Choose a sorting rule
• Which sample keeps water out?
• A year has four seasons
• What is the weather today?
• When is it light outside?

Identify familiar plants and evergreen and deciduous trees.

S-P1

• Meet some plants
• Do trees keep their leaves?

Identify and describe the basic parts of flowering plants and trees.

S-P2

• A flowering plant has parts
• Trees are plants too

Observe changes across all four seasons.

S-S1

• Do trees keep their leaves?
• A year has four seasons

Identify familiar fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

S-A1

• Look at an animal's body
• Birds and mammals
• More animal groups

Compare animal structures and features.

S-A3

• Look at an animal's body
• Birds and mammals
• More animal groups

Group familiar animals by what they eat.

S-A2

• What do animals eat?

Name body parts and connect body parts with senses.

S-A4

• Name parts of our bodies
• Explore with our senses

Distinguish an object from its material.

S-M1

• What is it? What is it made from?

Name familiar materials, including water and rock.

S-M2

• What is it? What is it made from?

Describe observable properties of materials.

S-M3

• How does the material feel or look?
• Which sample keeps water out?

Compare and group materials using their properties.

S-M4

• Choose a sorting rule
• Which sample keeps water out?

Observe weather and changing daylight through the year.

S-S2

• What is the weather today?
• When is it light outside?