KS1 & KS2 science curriculum

This unit builds on pupils' prior learning from Uses of everyday materials, where they explored the properties and uses of various materials. In Rocks and soils, pupils will investigate different types of rocks and soils, understanding their properties and how they are formed. This prepares them for the future unit, Evolution and inheritance, where they will explore how living things have changed over time, including how fossils provide evidence of past environments and the organisms that once lived in them.

1. Introduction to rocks
2. The appearance of rocks
3. Physical properties of rocks: hardness
4. Mohs' scale of hardness (non-statutory)
5. Physical properties of rocks: permeability
6. Everyday uses of rocks
7. Weathering and erosion of rocks
8. How fossils are formed
9. More about fossil formation
10. Mary Anning (non-statutory)
11. What soils are made from
12. Different types of soils (non-statutory)
13. Healthy soil (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability)
14. Soil permeability: plan (non-statutory)
15. Soil permeability: do and review (non-statutory)
16. How geologists work

• Identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including rock
• Describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials
• Compare and group together different materials on the basis of their simple physical properties
• Compare the suitability of different materials, including rock, for particular uses