Key Stage 1 science · Working scientifically
KS1 working scientifically: a guide for parents
In Years 1 and 2, science is as much about how to find things out as about what is already known. Children learn to ask simple questions, look closely, try out a simple test, sort things into groups, record what they find and use it to suggest an answer. These skills are called working scientifically, and they are taught through the plants, animals, materials and seasons topics rather than as a separate subject.
Working scientifically, explained
The national curriculum lists six things children should be taught across Years 1 and 2: asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways, observing closely using simple equipment, performing simple tests, identifying and classifying, using their observations and ideas to suggest answers, and gathering and recording data to help answer questions. Teachers do not teach these in a block. A lesson on materials, for example, might involve asking which material makes the best umbrella, looking closely at fabrics, testing them with a few drops of water and recording the results.
Asking a question is where it starts, and children are taught that questions can be answered in different ways. “Do all leaves look the same?” can be answered by looking. “Which of these toys is heaviest?” needs a test. “How long do tortoises live?” is best found out by asking someone or looking in a book, which is what is meant by a simple secondary source. Learning to match a question to a method is a real scientific skill, and it is worth saying aloud: “How could we find that out?”
Observing closely means using the senses carefully, and sometimes simple equipment such as a magnifying glass, a ruler, a set of scales or an egg timer. Children are encouraged to notice small details, to compare (“this one is bigger, that one is rougher”) and to draw or label what they see. Changes over time are a favourite at this age: a bean growing, ice melting, a puddle drying up or a tree changing across the year. Classifying simply means sorting by a feature that children can see or measure, such as “has wings” and “has no wings”, or “floats” and “sinks”.
Testing at this age is simple and comparative. Children try the same thing on two or three objects and see what happens. They begin to get the idea of keeping some things the same, such as using the same amount of water on each fabric, but formal fair testing and controlling variables are taught later, in lower Key Stage 2. Recording is deliberately simple too: drawings, tally charts, tables, tick sheets and block graphs, usually done with help. Children then use what they found to say what they think the answer is, in a sentence such as “I found out that the plastic stayed dry because water cannot go through it.”
There is no national science test at this age, and teachers judge how well children are working scientifically by watching and listening during lessons. Not every skill is expected in every topic, and children are not expected to write long reports. What matters most is a habit of curiosity, careful looking and saying why they think something, which is the foundation for the more structured enquiries in Years 3 and 4.
Words your child will hear
- Observe
- To look at something carefully, using your senses, and notice details.
- Predict
- To say what you think will happen before you try it.
- Test
- Trying something out to find an answer to a question.
- Compare
- To say how things are the same and how they are different.
- Sort (classify)
- To put things into groups because they share a feature.
- Record
- To write, draw or tally what you found out so you can remember it and share it.
- Results
- What happened when you did the test.
What the National Curriculum says
In Key Stage 1, pupils should be taught to:
- Ask simple questions and recognise that they can be answered in different ways
- Observe closely, using simple equipment
- Perform simple tests
- Identify and classify
- Use their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
- Gather and record data to help in answering questions
Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Try it: which fabric keeps a toy dry?
A class wants to find out which of three fabrics (felt, plastic bag and cotton) would make the best umbrella for a toy. How could they work scientifically to answer the question?
- Ask the question and predict. The teacher asks, “Which fabric will keep the toy driest?” Children each say what they think and why: “I think the plastic bag, because water slides off it.”
- Decide how to find out. The class agrees to test each fabric by spreading it over a small pot, pouring on the same amount of water, and seeing whether any gets through. They talk about keeping the pot, the fabric size and the amount of water the same, so that only the fabric is different.
- Observe closely. Before the test, children look at and feel each fabric with a magnifying glass. They notice that the cotton has tiny gaps between its threads, the felt is made of fluffy fibres pressed together, and the plastic bag is smooth with no gaps.
- Do the test and record. A teaching assistant or parent helper pours the water and children look at the pot underneath. They record in a table: felt, a lot got through; cotton, some got through; plastic bag, none got through.
- Use the results to answer. The class compares the table with their predictions and sorts the fabrics into “waterproof” and “not waterproof”. Children say what they found out and suggest a reason.
“The plastic bag is the best umbrella fabric because no water went through it. The cotton and felt were not waterproof because water soaked into them and got through the tiny gaps.”
Common mistakes and how to help
Thinking a prediction has to be right
In much of school, answers are marked right or wrong, so children can feel disappointed or even change their prediction after seeing the result.
What helps: Praise a clear prediction whatever the outcome, and say, “It’s interesting that it didn’t happen how you thought. What might explain it?” Being surprised is a normal part of science.
Believing a test is “fair” just because everyone had a go
Young children think about fairness as taking turns. Keeping conditions the same, so that only one thing changes, is a new and abstract idea.
What helps: Ask, “What did we keep the same?” and “What did we change?” in everyday tests, such as which towel dries a spill best, without expecting long answers.
Recording only what they expected to see
Children often draw what they know about a thing, such as a flower with five symmetrical petals, rather than the one in front of them.
What helps: Encourage drawing slowly, with the real object in view, and ask them to find one detail that is different from what they expected. A magnifying glass makes this easier.
Saying a result without a reason
Children can often report what happened (“the felt got wet”) but find it hard to link it to a cause. This takes time and talking.
What helps: Use the sentence starter “I think that happened because…”. It does not matter if the reason is not quite right at this stage; the habit of giving one matters more.
How to help at home
- Ask “How could we find out?”. When your child asks a question, such as why puddles disappear, talk about whether you could look, test, ask someone or read. Not every question needs an answer straight away. The thinking about how is the useful part.
- Predict, then test. Before bath time, guess which household objects will float or sink, then try them. Let your child record the results by drawing two columns. Keep any water play supervised.
- Go on a close-looking walk. Take a magnifying glass, if you have one, to a garden, park or even a windowsill. Look at the bark, leaves, stones or soil and ask for three things they can see, one thing they can feel and one thing they can hear.
- Sort anything. Sorting socks, spoons, leaves or toy animals is classifying. Ask, “What is the same about this group?” and then try sorting the same things a different way.
- Keep a simple weather or growth chart. A tally of sunny, cloudy and rainy days, or a drawing of a plant every few days, shows how records help answer questions. Ask what the chart tells you after a week or two.
Related topics
Leads on to
- Years 3 and 4: Fair tests and enquiries
- Years 3 and 4: Results and conclusions
Updated .