Anne gave a presentation at the Teachmeet with loads of ideas for reusing those plastic bottles for science experiments and models. Ideas included collecting CO2 gas, making model lungs and hearts, stomp rockets and loads more.
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The ASE annual conference was a fabulously opportunity to attend 3 days of primary CPD and meet many teachers and primary science experts from all over the country. Above shows photos from 'Exploring Rock, Soil, Water and Fossils and a session on 'A world of choices for child-led enquiry'. I helped for a couple of hours on the ASE stand in the exhibition hall and Johnny Ball was signing copies of his latest book. Liz Lawrence's talk 'Do I have to draw a bar chart miss' was really great for working on the connections between maths and science and which types of data representation fit in well with different enquiry types. I also attended a hands-on session on levers, gears and pulleys. This structure for holding pulleys was great. Maggie Aderin-Pocock's lecture on BBC Terrific Scientific was an inspiring way to start the last day of the conference. Stuart Naylor gave so many ideas in his 'Adaptable Animals' talk for teaching 'Living things' in a more active and comparative way. I was tempted by these science puppets, Discovery Dog and Naughty Nora!
Below are some recent examples of practical work carried out by pupils as part of the Science PPA cover we deliver at Holy Spirit Primary and St Michael and All Angels Primary, Wirral.
Primary Science Teachmeet with ASE at Holy Spirit Primary School, Wirral: 9th November 201729/1/2018 Craig Keaney from St George's Primary, Wallasey spoke about 'Apps for Science', Katy Pallas from 'Farming and Countryside Education' spoke about using farm venues to confidently deliver engaging science and Francesca Farlam from Poulton Lancelyn Primary spoke about the benefits of taking part in the 'Big Science Challenge' science competition. Brian Broxham displayed a variety of interesting light resources that can be used in primary science and also gave a quick run down of how some of them could be used in lessons. Wishtrac displayed some amazing visualisers. Pat Dower from the ASE spoke about the benefits of joining the ASE and how to apply for CSciTeach. He also brought along various interesting ASE publications for teachers to browse through. Kirsty Marting from the Veolia Recycling Discovery Centre in Liverpool described the different primary science workshops on offer there. Other speakers were Nicky Bolton from Heswall Primary School who talked about 'Bucket School', Rose froud from Ness gardens, Lucinda Lewis from the Catalyst Centre, Widnes, Tim Griffiths from Liverpool Hope University, Adrian Greenall from Stem Learning Ltd, Anne Buckley and Kim Harvey from Inspiring Science. Many thanks to Mrs Cartmell the headteacher at Holy Spirit for hosting the event and members of staff who helped set up and clear away.
Here are some highlights from the the many different practical activities the pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 have carried out this term during our science lessons.
We were back again at Emmaus Catholic and CofE primary working with Year 2. This time we delivered a 'Snots and Sneezes' workshop all about germs and how to stop them spreading. The children also made some model germs and some 'snot'.
The investigation questions were as follows: Y1 St Andrew's: Do plants grow when we water them with our own drinks? Y3 Poulton Lancelyn: Is a white egg stronger than a brown egg? Y2 Church Drive: What is the most suitable material to make a model of a Christopher Columbus boat? Y6 St Andrew's: Do boys prefer blue and girls prefer pink? Y5 Poulton Lancelyn: Does your age affect how your fingers wrinkle in water? Y3/4 Church Drive: How do you stop an egg from breaking? It was a very hard job to judge these amazing investigations, especially as these were already the best investigations chosen from their schools. However after careful consideration the judges (Anne Buckley, Kim Harvey and Michael McManus) decided on:
1st Prize (5-8 yrs):Y1 St Andrew's: Do plants grow when we water them with our own drinks? 1st Prize (8-11 yrs):Y5 Poulton Lancelyn: Does your age affect how your fingers wrinkle in water? Teachers' Choice: Y2 Church Drive: What is the most suitable material to make a model of a Christopher Columbus boat? Well done to everyone who took part and thank you to Mrs Newman for organising the event. We ran a twilight CPD course this week for the BHSA Juniors staff looking at ways that they could use their school grounds to enhance teaching and learning in science. We looked at the different outside areas and how they could be developed, as well as trying out different investigations and activities particularly suited to the outdoors.
In March we spent a day at St Andrew's Primary school working with KS1 and KS2 children on a space theme. Here are some highlights from the KS1 workshop.
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