KEY STAGE 3 SCIENCE CURRICULUM MAP

Autumn Term Spring Term Summer Term

B1 Cells: C2 Elements, atoms and compounds: P3 Light:
 Microscopes and calculating magnification  Elements and the periodic table  Light interactions
 Animal and plant cells  Atoms  Speed of light
 Specialised cells  Properties of compounds  Mirrors and images
 Diffusion and some real life examples  Chemical names and symbols  Refraction and lenses
 The human eye
C1 Particles and their behaviour B2 Structure and function of body systems  Diffraction through a prism
 The particle model and different properties of  Organisation in a multicellular organism  Mixing colours
materials  The structure of the human gas exchange system
 States of matter and substance properties  Inhaling and exhaling B3 Reproduction:
 Melting points  The human skeletal system  Changes that occur during puberty
 Boiling points  Joints in the movement of humans  The male and female reproductive system
 Muscles and antagonistic pairs  Fertilisation
P1 Forces:  Gestation
Knowledge

 Types of forces C3 Reactions  The menstrual cycle

 Deforming objects and Hooke’s law  Chemical reactions and why they are useful  Pollination
 Friction, drag and interaction pairs  Reactants and products  Seeds and fruits
 Weight and mass  Writing word equations to represent chemical reactions  Seed dispersal
 Balanced and unbalanced forces  Combustion reactions
Year 7

 Decomposition reactions C4 Acids and alkalis

P2 Waves:  Calculating masses of reactants and products  Acids and alkalis
 Waves and their features  The characteristics of exothermic and endothermic  Universal indicators
 Sound waves changes  Neutralisation reactions
 Pitch and amplitude  Describe what a salt is and how it is formed
 The human ear and detecting sound
 Ultrasound and its uses P4 The night sky
 Describe the objects found in the night sky
 Planets in the solar system
 Seasonal changes
 Phases of the moon
 Eclipses
Mathematical skills: Develop skills in drawing graphs and manipulating tabulated and graphical data. Using simple equations to calculate magnification. Balancing chemical
equations.
Skills

Practical skills: Pupils develop skills using microscopes, measuring diffusion rates, measuring lung volumes, plotting data on cooling curves, recording data in tables, interpreting
collected data and producing graphs. Evaluating and concluding collected data.
Students follow a two-year programme of study, encouraging an enquiry based approach to science which fully allows student to develop their skills in
Rationale

thinking and communicati ng scienti fi cally as well as using investi gati ve approaches and working criti cally with evidence.   Practi cal investi gati ons are a core
feature of the programme and make science exciti ng and relevant. Units in Years 7 are delivered in modules.   We use the 'Acti vate' scheme of work. All
students are provided with a login to Kerboodle  that provides them with access to some resources for the course as well as an online digital textbook.
 Autumn Term Spring Term Summer Term
C1 The periodic table: B2 Ecosystem processes: C3 Metals and acids:
 Metals and non-metals  Photosynthesis  Metals reacting with dilute acids and oxygen
 Groups and periods of the periodic table  The structure and properties of leaves  Reactivity series
 Group 1 ,7 and 0 elements  Minerals for healthy growth  Using the reactivity series to predict
 Chemosynthesis displacement reactions
P1 Electricity and magnetism:  Aerobic and anaerobic respiration  Extracting metals from their ores
 Charged objects  Food webs and food chains  Ceramics, polymers and composites properties
 Current  Organisms coexisting in an ecosystem
 Potential difference B3 Adaptation and inheritance:
 Series & parallel circuits C2 Separation techniques:  Competition and adaptation
 Resistance  Compounds, mixtures different and pure  Animals adapting to environmental change
 Magnets and magnetic fields substances  Environmental and inherited variation
 Electromagnets and their uses  Dissolving and solubility  Continuous and discontinuous variation
Knowledge

 Filtration  DNA and characteristics

B1 Health and lifestyle:  Evaporation and distillation  Natural selection, evolution and extinction
 Components of a healthy diet  Chromatography
 Food tests for starch, lipids, sugar and protein C4 The Earth:
 Health issues causes by poor diets P3 Motion and pressure:  The layers of the earth
 Digestion  Speed  Earth’s atmosphere
 Enzymes  Distance-time graphs  Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks
Year 8

 The effect of drugs and alcohol on health  Gas pressure  The rock cycle
 Liquid pressure  Using the carbon cycle to identify carbon stores
P2 Energy:  Calculating pressure  Global warming
 Energy values of food and fuels  Calculating moments
 Changes in energy
 Conduction, convection and radiation
 Generating electricity in power stations
 Energy and power

Mathematical skills: Using graphs and manipulated tabulated data, calculating percentages, developing an understanding of what graph is appropriate for what data, balance
chemical equations, using formulae to calculate resistance, current and potential difference, using formulae to calculate power, energy and time, using formulae to calculate
speed, distance and time, use and interpret speed-distance time graphs. Using formulae to calculate pressure. Use force and distance to calculate moments.
Skills

Practical skills: Students develop their skills in making hypotheses, using microscopes to observe samples, students will develop their prediction skills, students will develop skills of
concluding from data, students will improve on their interpretation of graphical data, students will learn about separation techniques, students will carry out reactivity
experiments, students will learn how to carry out fair tests, students will be able to identify scientific variables and apply them in experiments, students will develop their practical
planning skills, students will develop their skills in writing risk assessments

Students follow a two-year programme of study, encouraging an enquiry based approach to science which fully allows student to develop their skills in thinking
Rationale

and communicating scientifically as well as using investigative approaches and working critically with evidence.  Practical investigations are a core feature of the
programme and make science exciting and relevant. Units in Years 8 are delivered in modules.  We use the 'Activate' scheme of work. All students are provided
with a login to Kerboodle  that provides them with access to some resources for the course as well as an online digital textbook.
 Autumn Term Spring Term Summer Term
Topic 1 Biology (Cell Structure & Transport) Topic 2 Biology (Cell division and Respiration) Topic 3 Practical Skills (Theory)
 Eukaryotic cells  Cell division  Identifying independent, dependent and control
 Light microscopes and magnification  Bacteria binary fission variables
 Prokaryotic cells  Cancer  Types of graphs
 Cell differentiation in human cells  Stem cells  Continuous and categoric variables
 Cell development  Aerobic respiration  Understanding scientific investigation keywords
 Diffusion  Anaerobic respiration  Writing a method and justifying the use of your
 Osmosis apparatus
 Active transport Topic 2 Chemistry (The periodic table and separation  Errors
techniques)  Writing risk assessments
Topic 1 Chemistry (Atomic structure and the periodic  Difference between metals and non-metals  Plotting graphs and analysing results
table)  Trends of group 1 metals  Writing conclusions and evaluations
Knowledge

 Element symbols  Properties of the halogens

 Compound formulae  Balanced equations for metal halides Topic 3 Practical Skills (Practical)
 The atomic model and the structure of an atom  Properties of the noble gases  Chemistry: Chromatography
 Electronic configuration  Properties of the transition metals  Biology: Osmosis
 Patterns in the periodic table  Separating mixtures  Physics: Specific Heat Capacity
 Distillation and fractional distillation
Topic 1 Physics (Energy)  Chromatography and Rf values Topic 3 Mathematical Skills
 Energy changes  Converting units
Year 9

 Reducing unwanted energy transfer and Topic 2 Physics (Energy)  Understanding prefixes
dissipation  Specific heat capacity  Rearranging mathematical formulae
 Energy efficiency  Investigating the SHC of a metal  Uncertainties
 Gravitational potential energy and elastic  Energy resources  Calculating the mean
potential energy  Renewable and non-renewable resources  Anomalies
 Kinetic energy  Analysing global trends for energy resources  Using standard form
 Work done  Using appropriate significant figures
 Calculating power
Mathematical skills: Pupils will be able to further develop the mathematical skills gained in the GCSE topics and will be able to revisit and consolidate skills such as graphing,
rearranging formulae, conversions etc. They will also learn new skills such as using significant figures and standard form. Pupils develop skills in calculating magnification, students
will develop their skills in balancing chemical equations, students will be able to calculate relative atomic mass, pupils will use equations to calculate elastic potential, gravitational
potential energy, kinetic energy, efficiency, work done and power.
Practical skills: There is a whole unit dedicated to improving practical skills to support and consolidate scientific concepts. They will be able to revisit key terminology featured in
Skills

scientific investigations, graphing skills, analysis skills and they will be able to apply this knowledge while carrying out further practical investigations. Pupils will be introduced to
GCSE practical skills content such as the different types of errors, using appropriate significant figures, dealing with anomalies etc. They will also be able to apply this when
completing exam questions based on the required practicals. Pupils will use light microscopes to observe animal and plant cells, pupils will investigate the osmosis in plant tissues,
students will carry out a series of techniques to separate mixtures, students will investigate specific heat capacity of different materials, students will investigate ways of reducing
the unwanted energy transfers in a system.
In year 9, students will start developing their understanding of key concepts taught at GCSE. The SOL will prepare students well for year 10 by
Rationale

allowing students to learn about the fundamentals of biology, chemistry and physics. Practi cal investi gati ons feature heavily in this SOL, with a
key focus in getti ng students to be able to write scienti fi c investi gati ons, as well as analyse scienti fi c data. We will use the ‘Collins’ textbooks to
deliver content during this year as this will allow conti nuati on into year 10.