Proper Science curriculum resources

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Are you following a KS3 curriculum that's stuck in ‘surface learning’ mode, just covering the facts? Why not switch to Proper Science - a Year 7 and 8 curriculum designed for deepe r, more transferable learning: using key concepts to explain phenomena integrating working scientifically into each lesson cognitive strategies for GCSE AO2 apply and AO3 analyse tasks to develop 21st century learning skills engaging contexts and real-life problems What teachers say about Proper Science "We have been using the course since it was released. There is a real buzz in KS3 Science. The pupils love the story thread that runs through the lessons, student confidence in independent learning is growing phenomenally, and retention of information is greater due to contextualised scenarios and real time problem solving. We are confident that our students will be better equipped to meet the increasing demands of Science at GCSE." — Liz Nourshargh Proper Science consists of comprehensive resource materials: Year 7 Science - 22 topics Year 8 Science - 23 topics Topics Year 7 Contact forces unit Topics (Key concepts): Balanced/unbalanced forces, Friction, Density Download unit planner Substances & particles unit Topics (Key concepts): Particle model, Mixtures, Solutions Download unit planner Cells unit Topics: Cell structure, Specialised cells Download unit planner Reproduction unit Topics: Sexual/asexual, Menstrual cycle, Embryo development Download unit planner Interdependence unit Topics: Feeding relationships, Competition, Abiotic & biotic factors Download unit planner Changing substances unit Topics: Chemical & physical, Acids & alkalis Download unit planner Electric circuits unit Topics: Electric current, Resistance Download unit planner Energy transfers unit Topics : Energy, Wasted energy, Heat & temperature Download unit planner Year 8 Movement unit. Topics: Speed, Motion graphs Download unit planner Electrical energy unit Topics, Electric force, Voltage Download unit planner Light unit Topics: Reflection, Refraction Download unit planner Gravity unit Topics: Weight, Gravitational force, Solar system Download unit planner Pure substances unit Topics: Elements or compounds, Simple or giant Download unit planner Reactants & products unit Topics: Oxidation, Acid reactions Download unit planner Earth systems unit Topics: Earth processes, Potable water Download unit planner Tissues & organs unit Topics: Gas exchange, Cell organisation, Digestive system Download unit planner Respiration unit Topics: Aerobic respiration, Anaerobic respiration Download unit planner Life diversity unit Topics: Variation, Selective breeding, Adaptation Download unit planner What's included Each topic key concept is divided up into learning cycle stages, with teaching resources provided: Activate Pre-assessment tasks: short activities to check understanding of an essential prior concept, diagnose and reveal misconceptions Teachers guides, with answers and ideas for follow-up Acquire 40-50 fully-resourced acquire lessons: engaging phenomena, exploratory activities and crystal clear, in-depth explanations to help students gain full understanding Single or multiple lessons depending on the complexity of the concept PowerPoint presentation backbone with high-quality visuals Student activity sheets Teachers guides with slide-by-slide running the lesson notes Technicians guide, with practical details Apply (see Mastery Practice Book) 50 sets of problems set in new contexts for application of knowledge Detailed worked examples using Detect, Recall, Solve strategy Your turn practice questions, hints and answers In book form or in digital form Assess Diagnostic quizzes to test understanding and application Self-assessment feedback sheets Teachers guide with question specification Reassess quiz - for students to have a second chance, an opportunity to do rethinking on areas where they struggled Analyse Challenging tasks to develop higher-order thinking, where students have to interpret new information with conceptual understanding Scaffolds with and hints, and model answers Test Summative quizzes which can be combined to make end-of-unit or end-of-term tests Divided into understanding (AO1), application (AO2) and analysis (AO3) Teachers guide with mark scheme Plus Unit guides with a summary of all the components and advance planning information Proper Science is delivered electronically. Most files are pdf format. Acquire presentations are in editable PowerPoint format. FAQ How has the course changed since the original 'Complete Mastery'? The year 7 course has been thoroughly revised, after trialling to make the materials easier to use. They have much more explicit teaching, differentiation, plus new topical science contexts. Are all the acquire lessons like the sample, cell structure? No, they're all different. We want to engage students with a wide range of interests, and give them a wide range of experiences of doing science. Each lesson starts with a context - a reason to learn the concept. Some are mysterious phenomena, some explore contemporary issues, some have students taking scientific roles, and a few reconstruct the original discovery of the science idea. See some of the contexts from Y7 Acquire lessons. What is included or not included in Proper Science ? It includes teaching and assessment materials for all the 22 key concepts in year 7. For each one there is a pre-assessment (Activate), one or more fully resourced lessons (Acquire), diagnostic quiz, feedback and parallel quiz (Assess), challenging task (Analyse) and summative assessment (Test). The year 7 Practice Book is an optional extra not included in the pack. How is it a mastery course? First, the learning objectives go beyond knowledge recall. They are designed for students to succeed at all the 3 assessment objectives Acquire (AO1), Apply (AO2) and Analyse (AO3). Second, each teaching sequence offers strong support for building students' knowledge, understanding and skills. Third, there are two formative assessment stages built-in - Activate and Assess, so you can decide if students need more learning opportunities before moving on. Is there any planned timing for each unit/section/topic and each year of Blueprint? Yes, there is an estimated time for each stage of each Key Concept teaching and for each unit overall. The content in each year is designed to be approximately a year's worth. However, there is a big variation across schools in the number of lessons for science, and obviously a variation in the rate at which students learn. In the mastery model curriculum time is a variable, especially in year 7 and we have spread out the topics so that students have enough time to gain understanding. To allow enough time to finish all the topics in the 5 years of Blueprint, Year 11 is deliberately about half the size of Year 10. This should allow schools to go slower in earlier years if needed, and still finish the whole curriculum. Is there a textbook to accompany the course? Yes. It's called Understanding Science and it's designed from first principles to help all abilities grasp the difficult ideas. See more details about Understanding Science. What do you offer for Years 9-11? 1) Blueprint 5-year plan, which maps out all the key concepts, skills, progression, and which year/unit to teach each concept. For each, it provides an outline of the teaching sequence with detailed knowledge descriptors and the kinds of activities students need to do to acquire, apply and analyse. This covers Y7-11 and the basic version with 100 concept planners is free. Y7/8 was published last year and the new version being published this term. 2) Apply Practice Books, train students in applying knowledge. There is a Y7, Y8, and Y9 book and the Y10-11 book is in development. Each covers all the key concepts for that year. How much development or planning does the school need to do? Once you have Proper Science, you have plans and resources for the lesson and assessments. Any course needs some adaptation: sometimes you will want to add extra activities to give students extra support and sometimes more extended practicals. Because there are only approx 23 Key Concepts per year, there is space for this. You will also need to sometimes add more differentiation. We give suggestions and options but do not provide multiple versions of every activity. The other work is CPD - getting teachers to understand the approach, and because lessons might take an unfamiliar approach, the important habit of reading lesson guides to understand before teaching. We have taken feedback from schools and are working on adding more guidance for teachers, and options for differentiation - this will appear in future updates to the course. When will I get the materials? After we receive payment, we create a pack that is personalised to each school, with a license name. Then we send the nominated teacher a message with the access details. This process takes 1-2 days. How are the materials delivered? The materials are electronic downloads using Dropbox. Most of the materials are in pdf format. The Acquire presentations are in PowerPoint format as they contain some animation. You can see what is provided for teaching and assessing each concept, by clicking 'sample materials' Is Proper Science like OUP's Activate course (Kerboodle)? Not really. The main educational difference is that Proper Science is designed from scratch to meet the demands of the Blueprint, 5-year big ideas curriculum and the new GCSE. It is not a collection of resources, but a systematic approach based on learning stages, and a mastery model. Also, Proper Science is a one-off purchase and not a yearly subscription like OUP's course. Using a Purchase Order? Add a customer note with the PO number during checkout. Your confirmation email will include a link to the invoice to pay. Need our details? You can download the company details. This includes contact information and bank details. Contact us for further information. Show more