Marie Curie, the woman who lit up science
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe Marie Curie’s discoveries and how they changed medicine.
Key learning points
- Marie Curie studied rocks to uncover the invisible energy hidden inside them.
- She discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, through careful scientific work.
- What Marie learned about radium's powerful energy helped scientists create radiotherapy.
- She worked with her husband and other scientists.
- Her work changed medicine and still helps people today.
Keywords
Laboratory - a place for scientific experiments
Energy - power that makes things work
Scientist - a person who learns about science and carries out investigations
Element - a special kind of material found in nature, like gold or oxygen, that helps make up the world
Radiotherapy - a treatment that uses energy to help doctors fight the parts of the body that make people very sick
Common misconception
Pupils may think that Marie worked by herself.
Remind pupils that she worked closely with her husband.
Teacher tip
You could show safe “glow” demonstrations (e.g., glow sticks) to help pupils imagine invisible energy. Make clear that glow sticks work differently from radium, but both give off light.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which subjects did Ada Lovelace love when she was a little girl?
Q2.Starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order.
Q3.Charles Babbage’s Number Machine worked a bit like a giant to solve number problems.
Q4.What special gift helped Ada imagine more than just number problems?
Q5.Why was Ada’s thinking brave?
Q6.What challenge did Ada face as a woman who loved science?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Marie travelled from to study science in France.
Q2.Who did Marie Curie work with to discover the new elements?
Q3.Starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order:
Q4.Which word means a place for scientific experiments?
Q5.Marie and Pierre discovered two new elements, polonium and ...
Q6.Which statement is true about radiotherapy?
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Marie Curie, the woman who lit up science, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Marie Curie, the woman who lit up science, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Significant individuals: how did they change the world? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.