Calling all hedgehog fans, every year on the 2nd February we celebrate National Hedgehog Day! Celebrate these spikey critters by checking how hog-friendly your garden is. Hedgehog populations are sadly declining, therefore it’s critical that we do everything we can to protect them.
Here are some pointers on how to make your garden a hog’s paradise:
š¦ Shrubs or woody plants provide much-needed cover.
š¦ Native fruit trees, as well as hazel and hawthorn, will attract insects an important food source.
š¦ Wildflowers will also attract insects providing additional seasonal food.
š¦ Ditch the pesticides, unfortunately, toxic pesticides can kill hedgehogs, therefore organic gardening is the best option.
š¦ If you’re looking for a project, why not make a hedgehog house or a hedgehog highway (just a hole in your fence will do!).
It’s important that we protect the hedgehogs of Britain because not only are they adorable, but they help maintain the balance in the ecosystem. Conservationists refer to Hedgehogs as indicator species. This is because the numbers and behaviour of hedgehogs can tell us a lot about the health of their surrounding areas. Hedgehogs eat soil invertebrates, so a fall in hedgehog numbers can signify a decline in the quality of the surrounding environment. Their main source of food is insects which helps to keep insect population levels manageable, if hedgehog populations drop, insect numbers may rise posing unknown threats to the delicate balance of the ecosystem.
If your young ecologist is a subscriber to Whizz Pop Bang and would like to do more to help wildlife in your local area why not encourage them to complete our Wildlife Watcher badge.
Are you looking for planning resources for teaching the water cycle in year 4? Hereās how you can use our new downloadable teaching resources to easily create memorable lessons that produce the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking forā¦
Where to start?
Evaporation is part of the water cycle and itās important pupils understand what it is before they learn about the water cycle. We have a lesson pack called āEvaporation investigationā which allows pupils to observe what happens to water over a period. All our lesson packs come with a differentiated lesson plan linked to the curriculum and a PowerPoint to help run the lesson.
Our lesson plans often include boxes titled āprevious learningā and āfuture learningā; this is to help you understand where the lesson would fit in your medium-term plan. Sometimes we suggest another lesson pack and that is what we have done here. Once pupils understand evaporation, you are ready to teach the water cycle. In this lesson, pupils will make their mini water cycle using items which are easy to resource and inexpensive.
Why make a mini water cycle, rather than asking children to create a labelled diagram? All pupils learn differently, and to create sticky knowledge children need memorable experiences. The visual and kinaesthetic learners are more likely to remember making a mini water cycle than filling in a worksheet.
How to evidence the lesson
If your planning isnāt enough evidence, pupils could use the Keynote app on an iPad and record themselves describing their water cycle and each stage. If you need evidence for their books, you could print a photo of their mini water cycle and during morning work the next day, pupils could label and annotate it. This would mean that they go back over their learning from the day before, helping the knowledge to stick. Using knowledge organisers can be an additional tool that helps remind children of previous learning or to use as a scaffold ā not for answers!
How to make the water cycle cross curricular
There are also lots of ways to embed the pupilsā science learning in your school day. Using science texts in guided reading or whole class reading sessions is an easy way for children to delve further into the subject matter and acquire more knowledge. We have two reading comprehension packs for year 4 linking to weather:
Interview with a meteorologist
Sensational meteorologist Joanne Simpson
We also have a bank of spectacular science images that are perfect for promoting discussion. They feature a striking scientific image, along with a couple of questions. As you click through the PowerPoint presentation, the answers to the questions will be revealed. Pupils should try to answer the questions as you go. The presentation to use for the water cycle is called āHurricane Florenceā. It only takes ten minutes so it can slot into those awkward times in the school day; for example, straight after lunch while you are waiting for everyone to come in.
Satellite view. Hurricane Florence over the Atlantics close to the US coast .
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your schoolās science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as Ā£190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
We’ve also just launched a newĀ individual membershipĀ option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources forĀ just Ā£20 for the whole year.
Are you looking for planning resources to teach forces in Year 5? Hereās how you can use our new downloadable marble run resource to create a memorable lesson that produces the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking forā¦
Where to start?
Itās hard to teach about forces as children canāt easily see what is happening. Before they start investigating and experimenting, itās important they are armed with the knowledge and vocabulary they need through watching video clips or reading suitable materials, as stated by Ofsted. Once they have this scientific understanding, itās so important that pupils still have practical hands-on lessons so they can spot what is happening. Our knowledge organiser is a great aid to help them use the correct terminology in practical lessons.
How should they investigate forces?
Our marble run lesson pack gets children to experiment with slowing down marbles in a marble run by changing the angles and adding friction. Pupils will learn a lot by investigating and applying the knowledge they have already acquired about gravity, friction and air resistance. Pupils will be learning the most when they are altering their marble runs and experimenting with trial and error. During this time, stop groups and ask them questions, encouraging them to use scientific vocabulary in their answers. Verbalising what they are seeing and doing will help to produce sticky knowledge.
How should the lesson be recorded?
Should pupils record every step of a practical lesson? In my experience, no, as this kills the enjoyment and does not reflect what they have learned. However, there are benefits to revising learning to help the knowledge stick. Revisiting the lesson the next day is beneficial. If you need evidence in their books for a looming book scrutiny, then take a photo and ask them to annotate it with expanded captions, explaining what happens to the marble at each point of the run. Or if you donāt need written evidence, get them to video their run and then narrate what is happening over the top.
To help consolidate pupilsā learning, why not introduce some forces-themed reading into your English sessions? Download our fascinating reading comprehension on Sir Isaac Newton; his laws of motion and his theory of gravity changed how we see the universe.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your schoolās science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as Ā£190Ā per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, withĀ unlimited teacher logins.
Weāve also have anĀ individual membershipĀ option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources forĀ just Ā£20 for the whole year.Ā
Are you ready to explore Earth’s most extreme places through sight, sound, smell, touch and taste?
Don’t get too comfortable. This isn’t the type of book you can snuggle up with under the covers. Not even close!
You’re off on the expedition of a lifetime to experience the sights, sounds, smells, feelings and tastes of the world’s most extreme places.
Have you ever wondered what the buzz of the rainforest sounds like on a trek through the Amazon? Or how it would feel to experience the biting cold as you voyage across Antarctica? Or how about how chocolate would taste on Mount Everest?
From every heart-bursting sight to tummy-lurching bite, this is a truly immersive round-the-world adventure, where YOU are the explorer.
Weāve got 5 copies of How Does Chocolate Taste on Everest? to give away!
To be in for a chance of winning, just answer this question in the comments:
It’s your chance to win the galaxyās most wacky activity book. Grab your pencils, Earthlings. Let our mission commence!
3, 2, 1ā¦blast off! Are you ready to journey out of this world to discover what lies beyond? From space pirates and surfing aliens to galactic shark ships and mysterious planets, strap in, put on your alien mask and zoom through the stars for the ultimate cosmic activity adventure. We’ve got FIVE copies of The Cosmic Book of Space, Aliens and Beyond! to give away!
To win one of FIVE copies, just answer this question in the comments:
Are you looking for planning resources for teaching states of matter in year 4? Hereās how you can use our new downloadable teaching resources to easily create memorable lessons that produce the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking forā¦
Where to start?
It states clearly in the National Curriculum that this unit is about understanding the difference between solids, liquids and gases, how materials change state when they are heated and cooled, and at what temperature this happens. It also includes evaporation in the water cycle. Itās important to remember this unit does not include heating where a chemical change occurs, such as baking or burning.
We have several lesson packs which cover these objectives:
Gloopy slime
Your pupils will make oobleck and observe how it turns from a solid to a liquid.
Chocolate investigation
A comparative investigation where pupils will test and find out which type of chocolate melts the fastest.
Make a bottled jungle
An investigation into why it rains in rainforests and jungles. Pupils will make their own miniature jungle and watch how it looks after itself!
How to evidence your practical lessons
If your planning isnāt enough evidence, pupils could use the Keynote app on an iPad and record themselves describing their investigation or activity. If you need evidence in their books, you could print a photo form the lesson and during morning work the next day, pupils could label and annotate it. This would mean that they go back over their learning from the day before, helping the knowledge to stick. Do pupils need to write each step of an experiment? In my experience, asking pupils to write down everything they have done kills the learning. Choose one part from each investigation; that way they will do it well and it will enhance learning. Our knowledge organisers are really helpful with spellings and helping pupils to remember key concepts and vocabulary.
How to embed science across the curriculum
There are also lots of ways to embed the pupilās science learning in your school day. Using science texts in guided reading or whole-class reading sessions is an easy way for children to delve further into the subject matter and acquire more knowledge. We have several reading comprehension packs for year 4 linking to the topic states of matter:
Interview with a volcanologist, an explosions expert and a biography on Robert Boyle
We also have a bank of spectacular science images that are perfect for promoting discussion. They feature a striking scientific image, along with a couple of questions. As you click through the PowerPoint presentation, the answers to the questions will be revealed. Pupils should try to answer the questions as you go. The presentations to use for the unit states of matter are called ādry iceā, ādancing cornflourā and āstunning snowflakesā. It only takes ten minutes so it can slot into those awkward times in the school day; for example, straight after lunch while you are waiting for everyone to come in.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your schoolās science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as Ā£190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
Weāve also just launched a newĀ individual membershipĀ option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources forĀ just Ā£20 for the whole year.Ā
Uncover hours of fun with this Ultimate Gemstone Dig Kit from National Geographic!
The extra-large dig brick has 20 amazing gemstones hidden inside. Your kids will love discovering them all using the included dig tool and brush and then get a close-up view of each with the magnifying glass. A full-colour learning guide provides fascinating facts about each gemstone, and easy-to-follow instructions make excavating each gemstone a whole lot of fun! Gemstones include two types of agate, three types of quartz, tiger’s eye, snowflake obsidian, amethyst, aragonite, aventurine, hematite, desert rose, a geode piece, green fluorite, pyrite, red jasper, sodalite, turquenite, blue calcite, and labradorite.
Teaching the unit ālightā in year 3 builds the foundations for childrenās understanding of Earth and Space in year 5. Pupils are aware of their own shadows from an early age, but do they understand why shadows get bigger and smaller or change shape? Here at Whizz Pop Bang, our experienced primary teacher has written a lesson pack containing a shadow investigation. Pupils will work in small groups and observe, measure, and record the length and width of a shadow.
Shadow Investigation
āThe children had great fun taking part in the shadows lesson. They were immersed in the activity not only developing their scientific knowledge but using mathematical skills and working co-operatively in a groupā Natalie Walters ā Year 3 teacher
The lesson pack contains:
A lesson plan linked to the national curriculum
A PowerPoint presentation
Instructions
Differentiated results table
Great news! You donāt need any specialised equipment, apart from torches (these should be in your science cupboard already!)
Shadow Investigation lesson pack
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your schoolās science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as Ā£190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins
Weāve also just launched a newĀ individual membershipĀ option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources forĀ just Ā£20 for the whole year.Ā
Very few mammals can imitate speech, but scientists in the Netherlands have found that baby seals just a few weeks old can change the pitch of their voices to make themselves heard above other noises. This suggests that seals may be the best species to help us understand the mystery of speech.
Recently, researchers at St Andrewās University taught a seal to sing the Star Wars theme song!
Fill your child with science wonder with a subscription to Whizz Pop Bang, the award-winning magazine for 6 to 12-year-olds. Watch their face light up with glee when their very own magazine zooms through the letterbox! Packed full of hands-on science awesomeness, it’s the gift that keeps of delighting, month after month.
Are you looking for inspiring planning resources for teaching the Stone Age in lower key stage 2? Hereās how you can use our new downloadable Stone Age teaching resources to easily create a memorable lesson that produce the sticky knowledge that Ofsted will be looking forā¦
Where to start?
Before you use our lesson pack, pupils should already know when the Stone Age period was, what a fossil is and be familiar with the job of an archaeologist.
Pupils will get to do the job of an archaeologist during the lesson by excavating their own fake Stone Age poo! This is definitely a lesson your class will not forget! Before the lesson, follow our recipe to make enough fake poos for each child in your class.
Before they are ready to be an archaeologist, pupils will need to know what Stone Age people ate and how scientists know this information ā from excavating coprolites (fossilised poo!). The PowerPoint presentation included in the pack explains this in a child-friendly way.
Pupils wonāt forget the types of food they pulled out from their fake Stone Age poo! Itās a great way to create sticky knowledge for both History and Science.
We have a whole issue dedicated to the Stone Age, which is full of fun facts and information suitable for primary-aged children. Our teachers have created three reading comprehensions with questions linked to the National Curriculum and Curriculum for Excellence:
A non-chronological report on Smilodon
Explanation text about Stonehenge
Interview with an archaeologist
We also have a bank of spectacular science images that are perfect for promoting discussion. They feature a striking scientific image, along with a couple of questions. As you click through the PowerPoint presentation, the answers to the questions will be revealed. Pupils should try to answer the questions as you go. The presentation to use for Stone Age is called āHigh Fiveā. It only takes ten minutes so it can slot into those awkward times in the school day; for example, straight after lunch while you are waiting for everyone to come in.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your schoolās science teaching:
We provide downloadable science lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, hands-on investigations and science reading comprehensions written by primary school teachers.
Whizz Pop Bang teaching resources link to the National Curriculum, ensuring correct coverage.
All of our resources are year group specific, ensuring progression between the years.
We make cross-curricular links to other subjects, such as English, Maths, History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology and PSHE.
Prices from as little as Ā£190 per year for a copy of Whizz Pop Bang magazine through the post each month and whole-school access to our ever-growing library of downloadable teaching resources, with unlimited teacher logins.
Weāve also just launched a newĀ individual membershipĀ option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources forĀ just Ā£20 for the whole year.Ā
