The "Primary SPACE Project Research Report: Sound" (Watt and Russell, 1990) provides interesting reading relating to primary-aged children's concepts of sound. It reveals a range of children's views on how sound is made, how sounds are heard and how sound travels. While some children are shown to have knowledge that sounds travel and are…

Science is one of the most important subjects for students at all educational levels. To promote engagement, hands-on experiments can provide a 'realistic and exciting experience of the content' (Holstermann, Grube and Bögeholz, 2010: 744) and hopefully facilitate motivation. In this article, George Stylos and Konstantinos T. Kotsis present four…

Although international school systems and resources can differ from those in the UK, it is always useful to have an informed worldview of practice in primary science. The COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably changed the ways in which pupils around the world have access to knowledge. Furthermore, it has changed the ways in which teachers globally…

In this article, the author, a teacher at Cookridge Primary School in Leeds, West Yorkshire, reflects on the teaching of science from reception across the year groups. To really compare and understand the differences of teaching science in early years, the author looks at its place in the progression of science throughout primary school. The…

Marble tracks are a very popular toy and big ones can be found in science centres in many countries. If children want to make a marble track themselves it is quite a job. It takes a long time, they can take up a lot of space and most structures are quite fragile, as the materials used can very quickly prove unfit for the task and do not last very…

When the author took on the role of primary science advisory teacher at Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) she thought it would be a really interesting role that would give her room to develop her skills as a teacher, but she had not appreciated just how powerful the links to industry can be for children. One example of how such an…

The short view of inheritance is that it is about what every organism gets from its parents, one generation to the next. Young children appreciate that offspring have strong similarities with their parents. A longer perspective embraces the similarities and diversity in relatives' features; it includes the characteristics of predecessors within…

Electricity can be a fun topic in a primary school class. It includes many practical experiments and links to real life contexts. However, teachers can feel daunted by the subject as they think they do not know enough about the science behind it to answer off-topic questions. The reason for the difficulty is that much of the science takes place…

Thorntree Primary is a small school in Greenwich, London, with strong links to the local community and an appealing village feel that is unusual in its inner London setting. The children come from a mix of cultural and economic backgrounds, with those entitled to free school meals being higher than average. The school has a strong inclusive and…

Changes in the National Curriculum for England in 2014 included the introduction of levers, gears, and pulleys into primary science. Although simple mechanisms had been part of the design and technology (DT) curriculum for some time, it was the first time that the science behind the mechanisms had been included at the primary school level. These…

Teaching children about circuits and the way electricity works is a "tricky business" because it is invisible. Just imagine all eyes are on the teacher as he or she produces for the class what looks like a ping-pong ball and then, with a wave of their hand, the incredible happens! This wonderful white sphere begins to glow red and a…

During a final seminar with BA year 4 science specialist trainee teachers, the authors posed a question about the difficulties associated with understanding magnetism. The ensuing discussion focused on a number of concerns commonly identified by students, which may also be of interest to classroom teachers teaching magnetism. Issues raised…