Science

Statement of intent for Science:

Science at Theydon Bois provides a foundation for children to explore, question and understand the world around them and the natural phenomena within it. Science encourages curiosity and wonder, fostering a desire to investigate how and why things happen. At the same time, Science teaching in our school equips children with the skills of enquiry, observation and reasoning, helping them to make sense of their experiences and to apply learning creatively. Through this, our children develop an appreciation of the impact of science on their lives, their futures, and the wider world.

Knowledge Organisers

Theydon Bois Primary has created its own Knowledge Organisers to support with memory skills, in order to retain key facts and support with learning. There is lots of educational research into memory, indicating that our working memory capacity is limited (cognitive load theory), so by storing more in our long-term memory, we can free up our working memory capacity (Paas et al, 2004), which will support our day to day learning.

We created these Knowledge Organisers to aid the retention of key knowledge, vocabulary and skills taught within topics; to encourage that pupils then actively use this knowledge, vocabulary and these skills wherever possible. Our goal is that these Knowledge Organisers will be introduced at the start of each topic within our half termly themes. They provide key information that we expect all children to be able to discuss and expand upon by the end of the topic.

They provide parents with an insight into what our pupils will be learning over the half term. The individual Knowledge Organisers will also be used regularly within lessons and recapped at the end of the topic or theme, highlighting to the pupils how much they have learnt.

The Knowledge Organisers also provide a starting point for parents who wish to challenge their children further. We actively encourage parents to investigate and research the topic in greater depth or to reinforce at home, what the pupils are doing in the classroom. Our Knowledge Organisers have been created for most topics we cover within a curriculum subject. They will be added to as we go through the year. They will be actively used in lessons and referred to regularly, reinforcing key vocabulary throughout the topic.