Year 2 Science Scheme of Work
Year 2 science builds confidently on the knowledge and vocabulary established in Year 1. Pupils revisit the three broad strands — living things, materials, and the wider physical world — but with greater depth and complexity. Where Year 1 focused on naming and describing, Year 2 begins to ask questions of cause and effect: why do animals live where they do? What happens when materials are changed? How do plants grow?
Across the five units, pupils engage with the full range of enquiry types including pattern-seeking, fair testing, observing over time, and classifying. By the end of KS1, pupils should be able to make predictions, draw simple conclusions, and communicate their findings using scientific language. The year ends with a revisiting of everyday materials in the context of change, ensuring that pupils leave KS1 with a joined-up picture of the material world.
Expected prior knowledge
- ✓Knowledge of common animal groups (mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, fish) and their dietary types.
- ✓Ability to name and describe the basic external features and properties of a variety of everyday materials.
- ✓Familiarity with the basic structure of a flowering plant including roots, stem, leaves, and flower.
- ✓Awareness that the seasons bring changes to weather, day length, and the natural environment.
Units across the year
Six half-term units covering all strands of the KS2 Science programme of study.
Living Things and Habitats
- –Explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive.
- –Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants.
- –Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats.
- –Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.
- –Sort a set of objects into living, dead, and never alive, and discuss the criteria used.
- –Survey the school grounds to identify micro-habitats (e.g. under a log, in long grass) and record which animals are found in each.
- –Match animals to habitats using clue cards and explain how features of each animal suit its home.
- –Construct simple food chains using pictures of plants and animals from a named habitat.
Uses of Everyday Materials
- –Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper, and cardboard for particular uses.
- –Find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching.
- –Test materials for suitability for a given purpose (e.g. waterproof, rigid, or flexible) and record using a results table.
- –Compare why different materials are chosen for specific objects (e.g. glass for windows, rubber for tyres).
- –Investigate which materials can be squashed, bent, twisted, or stretched and return to their original shape.
- –Design a simple shelter from a selection of materials, choosing each for a specific property.
Animals Including Humans: Growth and Offspring
- –Notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults.
- –Find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food, and air).
- –Describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene.
- –Sequence photographs showing the life stages of a familiar animal (e.g. frog, butterfly, human) and label each stage.
- –Research the basic survival needs of a chosen animal and present findings as an annotated diagram.
- –Discuss what makes a healthy lifestyle using a 'healthy me' wheel covering food, exercise, sleep, and hygiene.
- –Design a balanced plate for a school lunch, identifying food groups and their importance.
Plants: Seeds and Growth
- –Observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants.
- –Find out and describe how plants need water, light, and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy.
- –Plant seeds and bulbs and maintain growth diaries with measurements and observations over several weeks.
- –Design a fair test to investigate what plants need — e.g. comparing plants with and without light.
- –Observe and sketch different seeds and bulbs and discuss how they might disperse in nature.
- –Compare healthy and unhealthy plants and identify what the unhealthy plant might be lacking.
Everyday Materials: Changing Shape
- –Find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching.
- –Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials for particular uses.
- –Investigate which materials are permanently changed by bending or squashing and which return to their shape.
- –Sort materials into elastic, plastic, and brittle using evidence from simple tests.
- –Explore how clay, dough, and foam respond differently to the same forces and discuss why.
- –Link material properties to real-world uses and evaluate whether a material is the best choice for a purpose.
Progression into Year 3
In Year 3, pupils move into Key Stage 2 and begin studying the science curriculum with greater depth, including more formal scientific enquiry. They build on their knowledge of plants, animals, and materials through dedicated units on nutrition, skeletons, rocks, light, and forces.
Individual lesson plans
Full lesson frameworks — learning objectives, vocabulary, lesson structure, and common misconceptions — for each unit in this scheme.
View all Year 2 Science lesson plans →