Play Observe & Ask

Teaching any subject to a mixed year group can be challenging and it is even more so when the ages of the children cross two completely different curriculums and when that subject involves practical activities.

Here’s one approach that you might like to consider:

Plan and deliver a short adult-led input with all of the children, probably no more than 10 minutes to introduce the science topic.

Plan to provide some science-related activities across the Early Years provision. For example, if the older children are learning about animals in their local environment, you might set up some of these: a sensory table with toy frogs, water, chia seeds; a construction area with twigs, leaves and moss for building a bird’s nest; a malleable area with modelling clay or foil or making model animals – all of these activities can be found on PSTT’s EYFS Science Provision Map Animals in my garden.

Let the younger children (ages 4-5 years) choose their activities. If you have a supporting adult in the classroom, you might want to ask them to manage/observe a particular activity and you could provide them with a list of open-ended questions to develop the children’s thinking and specific science vocabulary.

Whilst the younger children carry out self-initiated activities, you can work with the older children (perhaps ages 5-7 years) and teach a science topic from their curriculum. This could include a practical investigation to develop children’s science knowledge as well as their enquiry skills. You might find that some of the younger children want to join in, and why not if they are able to?!

Depending on whether you have any adult support, at some stage you may want to join the younger children for a period (so that you can ‘play, observe & ask’) and ask your teaching assistant to supervise the older children’s activity.

Make time for a short plenary at the end of the lesson so that each group can report to the class what they did and what they found out. It is always a useful way to assess whether the children have a good understanding of the science being taught and whether any misconceptions remain.

Recording learning orally

There are many ways for children in early years to record their learning. To begin with, look at opportunities where pupils can orally question, clarify, retell or recount their science learning using podcast audio apps or recording audio or video on tablets. These can be saved using QR codes to go on displays in the investigation area so the children can watch and learn from each other, or to share learning across the setting.

Mark making

Literacy and mark making in early years is important to permeate through all areas, similar to numeracy and mathematics, so having children document their learning and understanding through drawings, for example, with practitioner notation can help them to explain and clarify their thinking.

The example below shows how pupils were linking their science learning to the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. They were asked to create something to float to help the characters get back home. This was an opportunity for pupils to use trial and error to investigate what might float, and the children created boats using foil. By leaving mark making materials beside the investigation area, pupils drew what they had created. This allowed practitioners to have learning conversations with the pupils about what they had created and whether they had been successful in their investigating. It also helps to clarify the children’s thought processes.

Several organisations provide grants and funding for primary science projects. There is no reason why very young children could not take part in science projects in school. It might be worth talking to your science subject leader about applying for funding from the following organisations:

• Royal Society Partnership Grants help schools and colleges to purchase equipment to carry out and investigate STEM research projects.
• British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths that takes place in the spring term (usually in March). Activity Packs are free to download but you can also apply for Kick Start grants to run events and activities for students at your school.
• CREST is a a nationally recognised scheme for student-led project work in the STEM subjects. CREST grants are available to support and enable schools and organistaions to run CREST Awards with young people underrespresentedin STEM.
• The Ogden Trust provides funding for the teaching and learning of physics. Schools would need to become part of the Ogden Trust School Partnerships programme.
• The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Primary Science Teaching Empowerment Fund provides funds and support to organise a collaborative project or event.