New
New
Lesson 4 of 6
  • Year 2

Marie Curie, the woman who lit up science

I can describe Marie Curie’s discoveries and how they changed medicine.

Lesson 4 of 6
New
New
  • Year 2

Marie Curie, the woman who lit up science

I can describe Marie Curie’s discoveries and how they changed medicine.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Marie Curie studied rocks to uncover the invisible energy hidden inside them.
  2. She discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, through careful scientific work.
  3. What Marie learned about radium's powerful energy helped scientists create radiotherapy.
  4. She worked with her husband and other scientists.
  5. 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.


To help you plan your year 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...

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.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Which subjects did Ada Lovelace love when she was a little girl?

drawing and painting
gardening and baking
Correct answer: maths and numbers

Q2.
Starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order.

1 - Charles Babbage invents the Number Machine.
2 - Ada meets Charles Babbage.
3 - Ada writes notes explaining the Number Machine.

Q3.
Charles Babbage’s Number Machine worked a bit like a giant to solve number problems.

Correct Answer: calculator

Q4.
What special gift helped Ada imagine more than just number problems?

her ability to build engines
Correct answer: her imagination
her skill at chimney sweeping

Q5.
Why was Ada’s thinking brave?

Correct answer: computers didn’t exist yet
everyone already owned a computer
she disliked numbers

Q6.
What challenge did Ada face as a woman who loved science?

Correct answer: few women studied science or maths then
girls were not allowed to read books then
women had to build engines themselves

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Marie travelled from to study science in France.

Correct Answer: Poland

Q2.
Who did Marie Curie work with to discover the new elements?

a group of school children
her sister from Poland
Correct answer: her husband Pierre Curie

Q3.
Starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order:

1 - Marie met Pierre Curie.
2 - Marie and Pierre studied special rocks that gave off mysterious energy.
3 - Marie and Pierre discovered two new elements.

Q4.
Which word means a place for scientific experiments?

energy
Correct answer: laboratory
scientist

Q5.
Marie and Pierre discovered two new elements, polonium and ...

Correct Answer: radium

Q6.
Which statement is true about radiotherapy?

It is a way to clean rocks.
Correct answer: It uses special energy to help sick people get better.
It was discovered before Marie Curie was born.