The idea that everything is made of the four "elements", earth, air, fire and water, goes back to the ancient Greeks. In this article, the author talks about the origins of ideas about the elements. The author provides an account that attempts to summarise thousands of years of theoretical development of the elements in a thousand words or so.

The Ancient Greeks saw the world as earth, air, fire and water. This article presents some children's ideas about what makes up the Earth. Children were asked to share what they thought the Earth was made of, how old it is, how long it took to create, and what is inside it. The answers indicate that they often have emerging though vague ideas…

Weather consists of those meteorological events, such as rain, wind and sunshine, which can change day-by-day or even hour-by-hour. Climate is the average of all these events, taken over a period of time. The climate varies over different parts of the world. Climate is usually defined as the average of the weather over a 30-year period. It is when…

Climate change is having a major effect on water cycles. There is an increased intensity and frequency of severe storms resulting in flooding. Floods in other parts of the world cause death on a major scale. Meanwhile across the planet, one billion people (a sixth of the world's population) do not have access to safe drinking water, and two…

Most schools visit Magna Science Adventure Centre on the back of careful planning and preparation. Magna is a fairly unique environment. "Steelos", the local name for the former Templeborough steelworks in Rotherham, West Yorkshire, was a vast plant. It became home to Magna in 2001. The building is over half a kilometre long and 45 metres high.…

The Jurassic Coast is Britain's only natural World Heritage site, a tangible time-line that takes one through 185 million years of history in 95 miles of coast. It provides individuals with a world-famous educational resource and an unrivalled outdoor classroom that has played a key role in the study of earth sciences. The author is keen to ignite…

An area that teachers often find difficult to make interesting is the earth science component of the science curriculum. This may be for a variety of reasons, such as lack of knowledge, lack of ideas or lack of resources. This article outlines ideas and activities that have been developed by the Earth Science Teachers' Association (ESTA) primary…

"Primary Science Review's" original "Wobbly Bits" series of articles was born back in 1997, after a conversation about this problem at a meeting of the ASE Primary Committee. The conversation turned to primary science teachers' scientific learning journeys. Each one of them could recount a story where they had completely misunderstood an aspect of…

In this article, the authors explore the question, "Does the Moon spin?", and show how the question is investigated. They emphasise the importance of the process by which people work out what they know, by "learning from the inside out." They stress that those involved in science education have to challenge current conceptions and ideas, making…

The SPACE (Science Processes and Concept Exploration) project began 21 years ago, just ahead of the National Curriculum. It was a research project whose findings and processes were built into the Nuffield Primary Science classroom guides for teachers, making these the best example of research-informed curriculum materials at the primary level.…

In this article, the author shares some of his ideas and tips for using models and analogies. He explains why he uses analogies and models in science teaching and describes the advantages of using models and analogies. He also emphasizes the role of the teacher as the person to introduce the models. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)

It is becoming clear that human influences are a significant factor driving climate change. Education is one of the main weapons in influencing patterns of behaviour and teachers inevitably have a crucial role to play. Teachers need to be fully aware of issues surrounding climate change in order to be positive role models for children and to…

Kenya now has a 2-8-4-4 system, which means two years of preprimary (nursery, age 4-6), eight years in primary school, four in secondary, and four at university. However, at the end of the primary education course, pupils still sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), a very competitive examination that determines who will…

When "ITV News" ran an item that shocked the author, about rising sea levels that will have caused the entire evacuation of the islands by the end of this year, he began to wonder whether the Pacific Ocean is really rising as fast as this. The media reporting of such things can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it brought to the author's…

Newspapers often pick the most sensational, the most quirky, the most amusing science stories at the expense of other, perhaps more important, work. Despite offering a distorted window on science and technology, they can still be a useful launch pad for a classroom discussion or exercise. The key to using them is understanding what makes news and…