AUTUMN 1

Electricity - we started this during the Y6 transition week and will continue in September.

• Building on their work in year 4, the children will construct simple series circuits, using these to help them to answer questions about what happens when they try different components, for example, switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors.
• They will learn how to use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
• The children will associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit, reasoning how and why this happens.  The will compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches.
• The children will work scientifically by: hypothesising and systematically identifying the effect of changing one component at a time in a circuit, proving this through experimentation.
• During their 'electricity' sticky learning later in the year, the children will work scientifically to design a pressure switch burglar alarm system and using this as part of a useful circuit (link with DT - electrical components).

Light

• The children will build on the work on light in year 3, exploring the way that light behaves, including light sources, reflection and shadows. They will be able to discuss what happens and make predictions about what will happen, based on their scientific knowledge and reasoning.
• The children will recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines.
• They will use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye.
• The children will explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes.
• They will then use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.
• The children will work scientifically by studying how a periscope works, using the idea that light appears to travel in straight lines to explain how it works.
• They will extend their experience of light by looking a range of objects and how they react differently in water (bending, reversing, disappearing).
• During their 'light' sticky learning later in the year, they will investigate the relationship between light sources, objects and shadows by designing, making and using shadow puppets (link with art - materials).