Blog - KS3 Science Course

In this post I just wanted to update you with changes I have made to the KS3 Schemes of Work and Resources (these are found in each of the ten topics). I’ve been working on the changes for quite a while, and here is a summary:

I have checked every BBC video link. The BBC really have been cutting back on their video provision, so I have deleted all links that no longer work. Hopefully what’s left will work, but I can’t guarantee that the BBC haven’t made further changes!

All page references have been updated to reflect the page changes in the latest CGP Study Guide. Please be aware that CGP have introduced ‘Higher’ and ‘Foundation’ versions of the book. The ‘Higher’ version is exactly the same as the one we’ve been using – it’s just been re-branded.

All Word worksheets are now available in PDF format.

All worksheets have been re-sourced, and I have also included a folder (Dir) for every topic (Year 7 and Year 8) containing the mark schemes.

In every topic and Year I have included at least one SATs exam paper and mark scheme – this will give you an idea of progress!

I hope that all of these changes work OK for you – do let me know if you have any questions about the KS3 video course and resources.

Graham

As a school teacher one of the most depressing comments I would occasionally hear from my students would be “we’ve done this before”, followed by a bored resignation to draw animal and plant cells for the umpteenth time. And on reflection they would be invariably right.
Despite various specification changes and the re-writing of schemes of work (again), there would inevitably be topics that had to be returned to, often because of the patchy delivery of science in the pre-secondary school age groups, where emphasis has been on the teaching of Maths and English.
Recently there has been renewed interest in the development of the spiral curriculum in Key Stages 3 and 4. The new AQA Key Stage 3 Science Syllabus has really been designed to encourage progression through the Key Stage and subsequent GCSE courses. I have used the planning processes involved in the AQA course as a framework for my Key Stage 3 series of videos.
The AQA Syllabus divides the Key Stage 3 content into ten ‘Big Ideas’. Each Big Idea topic is then sub-divided further into four smaller topics that build in complexity. For example, the ‘Reactions’ Big Idea introduces the more simple concrete topics of ‘Metals and non-metals’ and ‘Acids and Alkalis’ and then leads into the more abstract ones of ‘Chemical energy’ and ‘Types of reaction’. Through this approach repetition is avoided, and scientific skills are developed.
Throughout my video course I have maintained these content and skill developments, and have used the AQA approach of two ‘Year 7’ topics and two ‘Year 8’ topics within each Big Idea.
The Mastery Science group (http://www.masteryscience.com) has taken the AQA KS3 Science Syllabus to the next level, and are now developing materials for the 5-year curriculum plan – much material here for a future blog!

KS3 Schemes of Work and Resources Update

Progression in School Science 11-16