Year 1 Science Scheme of Work
Year 1 science gives pupils their first formal introduction to the three strands that run through the whole of the primary science curriculum: biology, chemistry (through materials), and physics (through seasonal changes). Pupils are natural observers and questioners, and the Year 1 programme of study builds on this by framing scientific enquiry in familiar, everyday contexts — the animals and plants in the school grounds, the materials in the classroom, the weather outside the window.
Practical, hands-on investigation is central to every unit. Pupils sort, group, observe closely, carry out simple tests, and begin to use scientific vocabulary with growing confidence. The five units across the year are carefully sequenced: an early grounding in seasonal change gives pupils a year-long framework for observation, while the units on materials, animals, plants, and the senses build both knowledge and the habits of scientific thinking that will serve pupils throughout KS1 and beyond.
Expected prior knowledge
- ✓Curiosity about the natural and made world from Early Years exploration and play.
- ✓Familiarity with common animals and plants encountered in everyday life.
- ✓Awareness that the weather changes and that the seasons have different characteristics.
- ✓Experience of using their senses to explore and describe the world around them.
Units across the year
Six half-term units covering all strands of the KS2 Science programme of study.
Seasonal Changes
- –Observe changes across the four seasons.
- –Observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies.
- –Create an ongoing seasonal diary with weekly weather and daylight observations throughout the year.
- –Sort photographs of the school grounds taken across all four seasons and describe differences.
- –Measure and compare rainfall, temperature, and cloud cover over a half-term using simple instruments.
- –Investigate how day length changes between autumn and winter by recording sunrise and sunset times.
- –Create a class display showing characteristic features of each season.
Everyday Materials
- –Distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made.
- –Identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock.
- –Describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials.
- –Compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of their simple physical properties.
- –Conduct a material hunt around the classroom, labelling objects and the materials they are made from.
- –Sort a collection of objects into groups by material type and explain the grouping rules.
- –Carry out simple tests for properties such as hardness, flexibility, transparency, and absorbency.
- –Use a properties table to record findings and identify patterns across material groups.
Animals Including Humans
- –Identify and name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
- –Identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores.
- –Describe and compare the structure of a variety of common animals.
- –Identify, name, draw, and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated with each sense.
- –Sort animal cards into vertebrate groups (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, mammal) and justify decisions.
- –Investigate diets by sorting animals into carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore using food clue cards.
- –Compare the external features of two very different animals using a Venn diagram.
- –Label a diagram of the human body with the main external parts and associated sense organs.
Plants
- –Identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees.
- –Identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees.
- –Go on a plant walk around the school grounds, identifying and sketching wild and garden plants.
- –Sort photographs of trees into deciduous and evergreen groups and explain the difference.
- –Label a diagram of a flowering plant with roots, stem, leaves, and flower.
- –Compare two contrasting plants (e.g. grass and an oak tree) and describe similarities and differences.
The Human Senses
- –Identify, name, draw, and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated with each sense.
- –Observe and describe the world around them using their senses.
- –Conduct a feely bag investigation, using only touch to identify hidden objects and record findings.
- –Carry out a sound-location activity: pupils close eyes and point toward the source of a sound.
- –Test the sense of taste using small samples of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter foods.
- –Map the five senses to their sense organs and create an illustrated senses book.
Progression into Year 2
In Year 2, pupils extend their knowledge of living things by studying habitats in greater depth, learn how materials can be changed, and explore life processes such as growth and reproduction in animals and plants.
Individual lesson plans
Full lesson frameworks — learning objectives, vocabulary, lesson structure, and common misconceptions — for each unit in this scheme.
View all Year 1 Science lesson plans →