Key Stage 2 science: what your child will learn

Science is one of the compulsory subjects on the Key Stage 2 national curriculum. As a hands-on subject, many children enjoy learning about science by interacting with the world around them.

In this article, we’ll help you understand what your child will learn in Key Stage 2 science. Keep reading to find out:

• Which topics are on the KS2 science curriculum

• How to help your child build science skills at home

What is the national curriculum?

The national curriculum is a programme of study for primary and secondary schools in England. State schools teach the same subjects and standards so that children across the country all learn the same things.

The national curriculum is organised into ‘key stages’, which span different age groups. Tests at the end of each key stage assess your child’s performance and understanding of what they have learnt.

• Early years: ages 3–5 (nursery and reception)
• Key Stage 1: ages 5–7 (years 1–2)
• Key Stage 2: ages 7–11 (years 3–6)
• Key Stage 3: ages 11–14 (years 7–9)
• Key Stage 4: ages 14–16 (years 10–11)

What’s on the KS2 science curriculum?

Here’s a breakdown of the topics your child will learn on KS2 science national curriculum.

Year 3 science curriculum

Plants

• Describe the functions of parts of flowering plants
• Understand how the requirements for life and growth vary between plants
• Investigate how water is transported within plants
• Understand the role of flowers, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal

Animals including humans

• Identify that animals, including humans, can’t make their own food and need specific nutrition
• Understand the role of skeletons and muscles

Rocks

• Group rocks based on their properties
• Describe how fossils are formed
• Recognise that soil is made from rocks and organic matter

Light

• Understand the relationship between light and dark
• Understand how reflections work
• Understand the danger of direct light and the importance of protection
• Recognise that shadows are formed when light is blocked by an opaque object

Forces and magnets

• Compare how things move on different surfaces
• Observe how magnets attract or repel each other
• Compare and group materials based on their magnetic attraction

Working scientifically

• Use scientific enquiry to answer questions
• Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
• Take accurate measurements using equipment such as thermometers and data loggers
• Gather, record, classify and present data using drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables
• Use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions, and suggest improvements

Here’s an example of a Year 3 science question on Atom – the online learning platform for ages 7–11.

Year 4 science curriculum

Living things and their habitats

• Recognise and use classification to group, identify and name living things in the environment
• Understand that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things

Animals including humans

• Describe the simple functions of the digestive system
• Identify different types of human teeth and their functions
• Construct and interpret food chains and identify producers, predators and prey

States of matter

• Group materials based on whether they are solids, liquids or gases
• Measure the temperature change in degrees Celsius when materials change state
• Understand evaporation and condensation in the water cycle

Sound

• Identify how vibrations make sound
• Find patterns between sound pitch and features of the object making the sound
• Find patterns between volume and the strength of vibrations

Electricity

• Identify common appliances that run on electricity
• Construct a simple series electrical circuit using cells, wires, bulbs, switches and buzzers
• Understand how a switch can open and close a circuit, and turn a lamp on or off
• Recognise common insulators and conductors, including metals

Working scientifically

• Use scientific enquiry to answer questions
• Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
• Take accurate measurements using equipment such as thermometers and data loggers
• Gather and record data using drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables
• Use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions, and suggest improvements

Take a look at an example Year 4 science question on Atom.

Year 5 science curriculum

Living things and their habitats

• Describe the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds
• Describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals

Animals including humans

• Describe the changes to the human body as it gets older

Properties and changes of materials

• Compare and group everyday materials based on their properties
• Understand how materials dissolve in liquids to form a solution
• Use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures can be separated
• Discuss the uses of everyday materials, including metal, wood and plastic
• Understand which changes of state are reversible and irreversible

Earth and space

• Describe how planets in the solar system are are relative to the Sun
• Describe the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth
• Understand how Earth’s rotation creates day and night

Forces

• Understand the force of gravity
• Identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction
• Recognise how mechanisms such as levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect

Working scientifically

• Recognise and control variables to answer scientific enquiries
• Take measurements with increasing accuracy and precision
• Gather and record data using drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, classification keys, tables, and scatter, bar and line graphs
• Draw conclusions based on test results to make predictions
• Present findings from enquiries, including conclusions

Here’s a science question appropriate for Year 5 on Atom.

Year 6 science curriculum

Living things and their habitats

• Classify microorganisms, plants and animals based on similarities and differences
• Give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics

Animals including humans

• Name the main parts of the human circulatory system
• Describe the functions of the heart, blood, and blood vessels
• Recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the human body
• Describe how nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans

Evolution and inheritance

• Recognise that living things have changed over time
• Recognise how fossils provide historical information
• Recognise that living things produce offspring, but they vary and are not identical to their parents
• Identify how animals and plants are adapted to their environment
• Understand that adaptation may lead to evolution

Light

• Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines and use this ideal to explain how we see objects
• Explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them

Electricity

• Associate lamp brightness or buzzer volume with the number and voltage of cells in a circuit
• Use recognised symbols in a diagram of a circuit

Take a look at a Year 6 science question on Atom below.

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How is KS2 science tested?

Key Stage 2 science is no longer formally tested. Only English and maths are tested in Year 6 SATs.

Instead, your child’s scientific knowledge and skills will be assessed by their class teacher. They will look at whether your child is working at the expected standard in each topic. This information is usually available in your child’s school report.

KS2 science experiments to try at home

Here are some practical activities you and your child can try at home!

1. Plants: experimenting with flowers

In this activity, your child will need to identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants. They will see how the relationship works between structure and function. They will observe the way that water is transported in plants.

Materials

• White flowers (white carnations work well)
• Food colouring (a variety of colours)
• Drinking glasses
• Water
• A spoon
• A pair of scissors
• A kitchen knife

Instructions

1. Using the scissors, trim about one inch off the ends of the flowers.
2. Fill the drinking glasses with water. Add around 10 drops of different food colouring into each glass of water and stir with the spoon.
3. Place a couple of flowers into each glass. Save some remaining flowers for dissection.
4. Write down what you think will happen to each plant in the coloured water!
5. Use the kitchen knife to dissect the spare flowers. Name and label all the different parts of the flower and explain what purpose each part has.
6. Observe how the flowers change every day and think about how it compares to your hypothesis.

2. Changing materials: make bath bombs

In this activity, your child will learn how some changes are irreversible and result in the formation of new materials. They will observe what a chemical change looks like.

Materials

• Food colouring
• Flower petals or biodegradable body glitter
• Sweet almond oil
• A scented oil of your choice (e.g. lavender)
• A small glass jar
• A muffin tin
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Citric acid
• Two large bowls
• Rubber gloves
• A tablespoon

Instructions

1. Mix three tablespoons of citric acid and ten tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda in the bowl.
2. Mix in the flower petals or the biodegradable body glitter.
3. In the small jar, combine six drops of the scented oil, five teaspoons of sweet almond oil, and ten drops of food colouring.
4. Slowly pour the oil mixture into the bowl. Mix it together until it’s not too crumbly.
5. Grease the muffin tray with some sweet almond oil and scoop the mixture into the tray.
6. Set the mixture aside to set (this might take a few days). When it’s set, run yourself a bath and watch what happens when you put a bath bomb into the water!

3. Gravity-defying magnets

In this experiment, your child will learn how magnetic forces can act at a distance and how they attract or repel each other.

Materials

• A stick
• String
• Paperclips
• A pair of scissors
• Tale
• Strong magnets
• A metal ruler
• A few books

Instructions

1. Tie a paperclip to a piece of string. Tie the other end of the string to the stick.
2. Lift the stick so that the paperclip is hanging from it. Note the effect of earth’s gravity on the paperclip. No matter how you tilt the stick, the paperclip is always pulled towards the earth by gravity.
3. Place a magnet on a metal ruler.
4. Create two stacks of books with a gap between them, and place the ruler on top so that it crosses the gap like a bridge. Make sure the magnet is facing down.
5. Untie the string from the stick (keeping the paperclip attached) and tape the string to the table directly under the magnet.
6. Slowly lift the paperclip to the magnet until it’s suspended and looks as if it is floating in the air underneath. Lift up the ruler to see how the paperclip drops to the ground again. What do you think is happening?