When faced with a multitude of tasks, any opportunity to "kill two birds with one stone" is welcome. Drama has always excited the author: as a child performing in plays, later as a student and now as a teacher directing performances and improvising within lessons. The author was lucky enough to have inspirational teachers during his primary and…

In this article, the authors report on the Top Marks project and some of the successful activities that made assessment "real." The aim of Top Marks project was to "invigorate the assessment of science with fun, relevance, real-life and engagement". The project involved collaboration between schools and primary science consultants from the Centre…

Is a "fair test" the only way to carry out science investigations? Many children (and primary teachers) following the National Curriculum in England and Wales would answer "yes" to this question. This is because fair test investigations have historically been promoted in national assessment, published curricula, schemes of work and assessment…

Following the recent publication of "Successful science" by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted, 2011), which is an evaluation of science education in England over a 3-year period, the author wondered at the some of the findings. There is an emphasis on scientific enquiry and why was this so? Obviously…

In this article, the authors describe St Peter's Primary School's and Honiton Primary School's experiences of keeping chickens. The authors also describe the benefits they bring and the reactions of the children. (Contains 5 figures.)

Primary science has been a major success story over the past 20 years in the UK. Children like science, and teachers, who may not have thought of themselves as "science-trained", have taken to the subject with gusto. Part of this enthusiasm is because of the practical nature of the subject. Science in UK schools makes good use of practical work to…

Popular myth has it that visiting a farm can be dangerous, but there are only a few occasions when children have become ill during a school visit to a farm. Simple, sensible precautions, including wearing appropriate clothing, such as trousers and wellington boots (if wet) or sensible shoes, and careful hand-washing, are all that is required. The…

In his introduction to the science shows feature in "Primary Science" 115, Ian B. Dunne asks the question "Why have science shows?" He lists a host of very sound reasons, starting with because "science is fun" so why not engage and entertain, inspire, grab attention and encourage them to learn? He goes onto to state that: "Even in today's…

The way in which the Internet and related technologies have exploded in the last few years is something that no one in education can ignore. Primary school pupils are already more technologically savvy than their parents and they expect their lessons to be exciting, interactive and driven by some aspect of technology. And so they should be. These…

The principle of mixed-age play was first encountered in "Golden Key" schools in Moscow, where the schools were originally set up and organised (and continue to be so) in accordance with the work of Vygotsky. Vygotsky said that children can learn through imitation, or "emulation" as it has come to be known. Children observe someone more competent…

It may be quite daunting to put together a proposal for an award, especially something as prestigious as the Rolls-Royce Science Prize! But this is exactly what the author did as soon as she was appointed head of juniors at La Sagesse School in Newcastle upon Tyne. After a consultation with staff, governors, the school council and the…

In this article, the author responds to the recent article by Lynne Bianchi commenting on the Donaldson report, "Teaching Scotland's future" (Donaldson, 2011). He agrees that the Donaldson report has indeed been a catalyst to drive change across the entire landscape of initial teacher education (ITE) in Scotland. In fact, not only ITE: the report…

How do teachers help children understand the difference between the structure of a flower and that of a root? Depending on the time of year this activity is quite easy. Get a bunch of flowers, germinate some chickpeas and raid the kitchen for carrots and beetroots--the children can experience the "real thing". But what if teachers want the…

Children enjoy making movies but can it help them to understand science? In this article, the authors discuss how creating stop-frame animations of salt dissolving can deepen children's understanding of this process. (Contains 1 figure.)

Dramatic Science is an approach to teaching science that purposely places the children in thought-provoking situations where they need to apply their scientific understanding to decide how to act. Teachers can then apply drama techniques to help children develop and communicate their ideas. In this article, the authors share how modelling through…