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Science // Insects & Minibeasts

What is a minibeast? Small creatures without backbones, found in gardens, parks, and woodland. Bug hunts — searching under logs, stones, and leaves using…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Recognising and naming common minibeasts: ladybird, ant, bee, butterfly, spider, snail, worm, woodlouse, caterpillar, beetle. Building positive attitudes toward…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Where minibeasts live: micro-habitats. Different minibeasts prefer different conditions — under logs (damp, dark), in soil (underground), on leaves (sunny), in…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Minibeasts in the food chain: simple garden food chains. A caterpillar eats a leaf, a bird eats the caterpillar. The idea that minibeasts are food for other…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

How minibeasts move: crawling (ants, beetles), flying (butterflies, bees), slithering (worms, slugs), jumping (grasshoppers, fleas), burrowing (earthworms)…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Caterpillar to butterfly: the life cycle of a butterfly as an observable transformation. Egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly. The idea that one creature…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Caring for minibeasts: observing minibeasts gently, handling them carefully, putting them back where you found them. Why minibeasts matter — they help gardens…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

The insect body plan: all insects share three body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), six legs attached to the thorax, and antennae on the head. Most have wings…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Not all minibeasts are insects: distinguishing insects from other minibeasts. Spiders have 8 legs and 2 body parts (arachnids), woodlice have 14 legs…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Using classification keys to identify minibeasts. Branching yes/no questions: 'Does it have legs?' → 'How many legs?' → 'Does it have wings?' Dichotomous keys…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Social insects: how ants and bees live and work together in colonies. Queens, workers, and drones. Division of labour — some gather food, some build, some…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Bees and pollination: how flowers and insects depend on each other. Bees visit flowers for nectar, pollen sticks to their bodies and transfers to the next…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Camouflage, warning colours, and mimicry: how insects survive by hiding or sending visual signals. Stick insects look like twigs, leaf insects look like leaves…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Insect life cycles — complete metamorphosis in detail. Egg → larva → pupa → adult. The larva (caterpillar, grub, maggot) looks completely different from the…

Science // Insects & Minibeasts

Incredible insects — record-breakers and superpowers. Dung beetles are the strongest animals relative to body weight. Dragonflies are among the fastest flying…

Science // Matter & Materials

Name and distinguish the three states of matter — solid, liquid, and gas — using properties vocabulary: hard, rigid, runny, flows, keeps its shape, fills its…

Science // Matter & Materials

Describe simple physical properties of everyday materials such as hard/soft, stretchy/stiff, shiny/dull, rough/smooth, waterproof/absorbent, transparent/opaque

Science // Matter & Materials

Distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made, understanding that objects can be made from different materials

Science // Matter & Materials

Identify and name a variety of everyday materials including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock

Science // Matter & Materials

Compare and group everyday materials based on their simple physical properties

Science // Matter & Materials

Investigate how the shapes of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching

Science // Matter & Materials

Identify and compare the suitability of everyday materials for particular uses, explaining why specific materials are chosen for specific purposes

Science // Matter & Materials

Observe and describe that some materials change state when heated or cooled, and measure the temperature at which changes occur in degrees Celsius

Science // Matter & Materials

Draw and interpret particle diagrams — dot representations showing the arrangement, spacing, and movement of particles in solids (close, regular, vibrating in…