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Draft curriculum content
This page is based on the draft Year 6 content for Science, which is currently open for feedback. Schools are not required to implement changes until the consultation process is confirmed.
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In Year 6, your child will begin to evaluate simple data and use more precise science vocabulary. They will describe patterns and trends and explain their ideas using evidence from different sources and scientific language. They learn to question whether information is trustworthy and how to spot errors or gaps. Their explanations become more logical and grounded in scientific thinking and the scientific method.
Physical Science#
Matter, interactions and energy#
With your child, you could:
- use mirrors to see your reflection and observe how light bounces from a source to the mirror and then to your eyes
- in a dark room, shine a torch to see the beam of light and discuss how light travels in straight lines
- place a pencil in a glass of water and notice how it looks bent, showing how light changes direction (refracts) when it enters water
- look for rainbows after rain or near sprinklers and discuss how light bends and separates into colours
- ask your child how they think a light switch works and talk about, or research together, how electricity needs a complete circuit to make things work.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on how light travels to our eyes, either directly from a source or from a reflective surface. Your child will discover how light is bent when it moves from one medium to another. The teacher will also explain how simple electrical circuits work by linking an energy source (such as a battery) to an output device (like a light bulb or motor) in a closed loop using metal wires that can conduct electricity.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- explain that objects are visible when light reaches the eyes from a light source or is reflected off objects
- describe reflection as light bouncing off surfaces like mirrors and water
- understand refraction as light changing direction when passing between different materials
- know that light travels in a straight line until it meets a surface that reflects or refracts it
- use a diagram to show how light travels from the source to the object to our eyes
- predict how light will behave with mirrors, water and other reflective surfaces
- connect the components of a simple electrical circuit to ensure it functions correctly and show how it can be turned off.
Earth systems#
With your child, you could:
- dig a hole and see what different things you can find in the dirt, such as sand, organic matter, insects, worms, rocks
- break some large rocks apart and look at the size, shape and colours of the fragments, and maybe see some crystals
- collect and classify leaves, twigs, or small stones from your garden or a park to observe differences in shape, texture, and colour, and talk about how they might have formed, evolved or changed over time.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on developing your child's understanding of:
- soil as a mixture of rock particles, decaying matter and organisms
- rocks as combinations of minerals
- how fossils form over time.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- explain that soils contain rock particles, decaying organisms, living organisms like plants, fungi, and bacteria, as well as water and air
- describe rocks as made of minerals with observable crystals that have different shapes, sizes and colours
- classify soils by observable features such as texture, colour and what they contain
- compare different rocks based on their crystals, minerals and physical properties
- explain how fossils can last for so long buried in the ground and what they tell us about life from a long time ago
- understand that fossils form when organisms are buried in sediment and minerals replace the organic matter over time.
Earth and Space#
With your child, you could:
- learn the planet order using a song or rhyme, for example, My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming
- on clear nights, look at the Moon and stars together, and talk about them as celestial bodies, natural objects in space
- watch the Sun rise and set each day, notice the Moon in different positions on different nights, and talk about the predictable pattern of their movement
- talk about the Sun appearing bigger and brighter than other stars because it is much closer to Earth.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on the solar system and other space phenomena. They will examine how the various celestial objects (moons, rocks, comets and planets) all move in relation to each other. Students will learn how different civilisations have historically mapped the regular movements in the night sky and used that to plan annual cycles, like planting and harvesting, and for navigation purposes.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- identify various objects in the night sky, such as stars, the Moon, and planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
- explain that our Sun is a star and part of a large galaxy called the Milky Way
- describe the differences between planets, moons, and stars that we can see in the night sky, for example, stars make their own light, but planets and moons reflect light
- draw diagrams that explain how the Sun, Moon and stars appear to move from our position on Earth
- state that some of the objects we see in the night sky are actually galaxies (large clusters of stars), very far away
- talk about the significance of Matariki to Māori and other cultures globally.
Biological Science#
Organism diversity#
With your child, you could:
- compare ways that you are similar and different to your child
- sow radish seeds, count how many survive germination and reach maturity, and talk about why some of the seedlings didn’t survive, encouraging your child to think about how the environment influences survival.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on linking the traits of individuals to their survival in their habitats and how these traits are passed from one generation to the next. Students will learn that, over time, genetic differences between individuals within a population may remain small, but differences between populations become greater, leading to evolution.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- identify that sexually reproduced offspring show a variety of traits and are not identical to their parents
- explain how this variation increases survival chances for populations in changing environments
- draw a diagram of natural selection showing that better-adapted organisms survive, reproduce, and pass on traits
- explain that beneficial traits become more common over time, while disadvantageous traits decrease, for example, wingless flies are preyed upon
- discuss how long-term natural selection can lead to new species, for instance, Kea and Kākā evolved from a common ancestor.
Body systems#
With your child, you could:
- compare your heart (pulse) and breathing rates while at rest, during a walk, and five minutes after the walk
- watch a YouTube clip showing how oxygen and carbon dioxide are transported between the lungs of mammals and their body cells
- get a whole fish and examine the gills as organs of gas exchange
- make a model lung:
- tie a knot in a balloon
- cut off the far end
- stretch it tightly over the cut end of a 2 L plastic bottle (representing the ribs), with the knot forming a toggle in the middle (diaphragm)
- place a second balloon (lung) inside the bottle
- tape the openings of the balloon and bottle together to create a seal
- then pull on the toggle and watch the lung inflate.
What the teacher will focus on
The teacher will focus on explaining the structures involved in breathing, gas exchange, and circulation, and investigate how the respiratory and circulatory systems respond to the body’s needs, for example, by measuring, recording, and presenting data in the form of tables and graphs on heart and breathing rate changes in response to exercise.
For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:
- explain that breathing is the mechanical action of drawing air into the lungs
- draw and label a diagram of the respiratory system and explain how each structure plays a part in drawing air into the lungs
- explain that fish have gills designed to absorb oxygen out of the water
- explain that the circulatory system is needed to transport nutrients and oxygen to body cells and take carbon dioxide away (as a waste product)
- draw a labelled diagram of the circulatory system and explain the links between different structures and their functions, for example, the heart is made of muscle to pump blood around blood vessels
- discuss how the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems work together:
- the digestive system releases nutrients into the blood
- the respiratory system supplies oxygen to the blood for body cells to respire
- and the circulatory system moves both nutrients and oxygen to every part of the body.
