Astronaut and footballer

City Science Stars

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Animals, Climate Science, Energy, Evolution & Inheritance, Forces, Plants, Properties & Uses of Materials, Sound, Space

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Enrichment, Practical Science, Science Enquiry, Scientific Literacy

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9-12

Engaging practical science activities for upper KS2 (9-11 year old) primary school children, using links to football, other sports and space.

The Primary Science Teaching Trust has been collaborating with Leicester City in the Community (LCitC)Leicester City FC’s charitable trust and The National Space Centre. Our Premier League Primary Stars ‘City Science Stars’ project aimed to engage primary school children in Years 5 and 6 who have low science capital by linking lessons to football, other sports and to space. Teaching materials for this project, created by PSTT College Fellow Sarah Eames and LCitC STEM Coach Dr Alex Evans, are now freely accessible to all teachers.

The downloadable materials provided include:

  • Lesson plans
  • Lesson presentations (Power Points) for use in the classroom
  • Additional lesson support materials, including a ‘lab book’ for children to use

Read Alex’s blog about the project on our Wow Science website here.

Project overview

Working with the National Space Centre in Leicester and with additional financial backing from the Premier League Charitable Fund, LCitC and PSTT have embarked on an ambitious programme of support for primary science teaching in Leicester. PSTT College Fellow, Sarah Eames, initially developed a series of lesson plans linking football and space and trialled these materials in local schools, with the ultimate aim of creating a resource that can be shared with other teachers. PSTT further supported LCitC’s appointment of a science communicator and STEM coach, Dr Alex Evans, to disseminate and refine the programme within additional schools in Leicester and to develop additional resources. Working together on these materials, Sarah and Alex have created a collection of resources that are now available for use in primary schools with a target audience of upper key stage 2 (9-11 year olds). The resources were created to enable ‘non-teachers’ to support children in primary science; we would not expect experienced teachers to follow the detailed plans but to adapt the ideas to their own needs and circumstances.

The children involved have enjoyed the focus on their local Leicester City Football Club and National Space Centre (both were visited during the programme) and whilst these are not part of the lesson resources created, schools across the UK could utilise their local facilities to bring the sessions (called ‘fixtures’) further to life.

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Activities

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City Science Stars Cover

Climate Science, Energy, Properties & Uses of Materials

City Science Stars Lab Book

Enrichment, Scientific Literacy | 9-12

Football fans cheering

Sound

Roar of the crowd

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut floating in space

Forces, Properties & Uses of Materials

Feel the pressure

Learn about air pressure

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Two birds and plane silhouettes

Forces

On the wing

Learn about aerodynamic forces

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut and footballer

Forces

Kick off to lift off

Learn about the forces

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Footballer made of stars kicking a ball

Evolution & Inheritance

Survival of the fittest

Learn about adaptation in the context of evolution

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut slide tackling a footballer

Animals

Match fit

Collect data, analyse results and draw conclusions

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut walking

Animals, Properties & Uses of Materials

Be a sport

Group, sort and classify different sports, then create decision trees (classification keys).

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut boots

Forces

Get a grip

Investigate how friction is affected by different footwear and surfaces

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut kneeling

Animals, Space

Space Olympics

Learn about the importance of fitness and exercise.

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Astronaut in a grass field

Plants, Space

Pitch perfect

Learn about the optimal conditions for germination and plant growth.

Practical Science, Science Enquiry | 9-12

Safety Notice & Disclaimer

PSTT advises teachers to refer to either the CLEAPSS website or SSERC website for up to date health and safety information when planning practical activities for children.

PSTT is not liable for the actions or activities of any reader or anyone else who uses the information in these resource pages or the associated classroom materials. PSTT assumes no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information contained in these resources. The PSTT recommends that a full risk assessment is carried out before undertaking in the classroom any of the practical investigations contained in the resources.

All materials are ©Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) and are freely available to download and share for educational purposes. Whilst educators are free to adapt the resources to suit their own needs, acknowledgement of copyright on all original materials must be included. Rights to images included in the resource have been purchased for PSTT use only – as such, these images may only be used as part of this resource and may not copied into or used in other materials.