This autumn (November 2023) we’ll be celebrating 100 issues of Whizz Pop Bang magazine! We’d love to showcase some of our biggest fans in the Issue 100 Wonder Club pages.
Send us a photo of you with your favourite edition of the magazine or tell us your favourite facts, experiment or joke from Whizz Pop Bang by September 20th 2023 to be in with a chance of appearing on our special superfans page!
Send your photos, facts, experiments and jokes to Y@whizzpopbang.com or Y, Whizz Pop Bang, Unit 7, Global Business Park, 14 Wilkinson Road, Cirencester, GL7 1YZ.
For a chance to appear in Whizz Pop Bang 100’s extra-special Wonder Club pages, we must receive your email or letter by 20th September 2023 – but we love hearing from our readers all year round, so please get in touch any time!
Don’t forget to include your name, age and address. We can’t return any post, sorry.
PVA glue is often used in crafts but it’s made from petrochemicals, the production of which is bad for the environment. Here’s a recipe for glue made from natural materials that works just as well!
You will need:
45 g plain flour 15 g sugar 5 ml (1 teaspoon) vinegar 100 ml warm water Bowls Spoon Jug Jar or tub with lid
What you do:
Put 50 ml of warm water into a jug and add the sugar. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Add the vinegar.
Put the flour into a bowl and slowly add the liquid, stirring all the time, until it is combined together. Keep stirring until there are no lumps.
Add the rest of the water and stir thoroughly.
Store the mixture in a jar or tub with the lid closed in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Are you teaching the topic coasts and want to include some science? We have a great lesson pack that explains coastal erosion and different types of defences which can be used to protect our coastline.
How is engineering used in sea defences?
Coasts is predominantly a geography-based topic, however it fits with STEAM teaching too. In this lesson pack, we look at different types of engineering used to help stop damage to our coastline. For example, sea defenses such as groynes, sea walls, breakwaters, etc. are built using hard engineering to reduce the damage done to beaches and cliffs by the force of the waves. Using our lesson pack called ‘Hold back the tide’, pupils will experiment by creating a pretend beach and their own waves, then trying to build a sea wall to see if it can stop the sand being washed away.
How will the Whizz Pop Bang lesson produce sticky knowledge?
In this lesson, pupils will create a 3D beach scene and will be working through trial and error when building their sea defence. This will encourage pupils to ask questions and adapt their own engineering until it works. By physically creating the model, this will make the lesson more memorable so the learning will be accessible for the next lesson, when pupils could be given a budget to plan sea defences for a stretch of coast.
How to evidence the lesson
If your planning isn’t enough evidence, pupils could use the Keynote app on an iPad and record themselves describing their sea defences, explaining how they work and suggesting other defences that could be used. If you need evidence in their books, you could print photos of the models; during morning work the next day, pupils could label and annotate them. This would mean that they go back over their learning from the day before, helping the knowledge to stick.
How to get more science into your reading sessions
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. Here are the reading comprehensions that link with this topic:
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant for enhancing your school’s 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 £197.99 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 also have individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
You’ve probably seen the incredible Dr Ronx on Operation Ouch! on CBBC – now they’ve written a book called Little Experts: Amazing Bodies. We asked them all about it, and about their exciting job as a doctor in a hospital’s Accident and Emergency department. Want to win a copy of their book? Keep scrolling to find out how!
Dr Ronx Ikharia Emergency medicine doctor, TV presenter and author
I first realised I wanted to be a doctor when I was 12
It’s a lighthearted but informative book introducing the human body to kids. I never ever thought I would write a book, but now that I have I want to write more! I sometimes found it difficult to focus and concentrate, but would take myself to a quiet place, and write little and often. I also enjoyed learning new facts about the human body, and remembering facts I learnt at medical school and had forgotten!
Winning a gold Blue Peter Badge was the most exciting moment of my career
I won it with Operation Ouch! on behalf of the NHS.
I like meeting different people every day
It’s part of the job of being a doctor – especially when you work in A&E: you don’t know what’s going to come through the door and what problems they’re going to have. I really enjoy talking to them and working out how to make them better.
There are lots of challenges in my job…
My personal challenges are timekeeping, and making sure I go home on time! I also have to make sure I’m looking after myself: eating well, sleeping properly, doing exercise… And at work, it’s very very busy! Sometimes there are more people than we have time to see, meaning that people get upset because they’re left waiting a very long time, and we have to manage their expectations.
If you want to be a doctor, you have to work hard at school
Make sure you’re good at biology, maths and sciences, but keep up your interests outside of science too: sport, music, and so on. Make sure people know you want to be a doctor so that parents, teachers and caregivers can help you and give you advice. Always be kind. Remember, medicine is great but hard, so it’s not a bad idea to have a back up. Stay curious, keep interested, and ask questions.
Emergency doctor and TV presenter Dr Ronx has written a book all about our amazing bodies, and we’ve got FOUR copies to give away to Whizz Pop Bang fans!
Amazing Bodies by Dr Ronx is part of the new Little Experts series, where experts share their knowledge with readers like you! Take a tour around the human body, discovering why we have skin, how our joints work and how long it takes for blood to pump around our bodies along the way. This gorgeously-illustrated book covers spongey brains, gooey guts and everything in between!
Helen Scales is a marine biologist, writer, broadcaster, teacher and scuba diver who stars as our Science Hero in Whizz Pop Bang 96: Coasts. Read more about her in this issue, now available in our shop. She tells us all about her exciting job, including some of the books she has written, and we’re so excited to have five sets of two of these books to give away to mini marine biologists!
Scientists in the Wild: Galápagos by Helen Scalesfollows a group of marine biologists as they set sail to study the amazing wildlife and habitats of the Galápagos. To get the job done they will climb volcanoes, get sneezed on by marine iguanas, watch dancing birds, launch a deep-diving submersible and explore the dazzling underwater wonders of Galápagos.
Great Barrier Reef by Helen Scales (released 6th July 2023) introduces this incredible, intricate Australian ecosystem to young readers. Discover the plant and animal inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef in this beautifully illustrated book, then find out what we can all do to ensure its survival.
To enter the competition, simply answer the following question in the comments:
Are you looking for planning resources for teaching forces in year 5? Here’s how you can use our new downloadable pulley investigation resource to easily create a memorable lesson that produces the sticky knowledge Ofsted will be looking for…
An investigation into pulleys
Our pulley investigation requires pupils to build a simple pulley and then add more to create a pulley system. They will compare the difference that adding more pulleys makes to the force used by measuring. A bucket is added to one end and pupils use a form of measurement, e.g. weights from the maths cupboard or a non-standard unit such as Unifix™ cubes, to record the results and help them come to a conclusion about why pulleys are useful.
How should the lesson be recorded?
Should pupils record every step of a practical lesson? From 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 to stick. Revisiting the lesson the next day is beneficial. In upper key stage two, pupils should be practising writing up part of their investigation in a passive voice.
To help consolidate pupils’ learning, why not introduce some forces-themed reading into your English sessions? Download our fascinating reading comprehensions linked to this lesson pack.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s 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 £197.99 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 have an individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
Do you know a budding engineer who’d love to win this awesome bundle of engineering gifts? This month we are joining forces with DK Books and Thames and Kosmos to bring you this brilliant bundle!
Here’s what you could win:
⭐ The Way Things Work book from DK Books: Embark on a captivating journey through the world of engineering with this acclaimed book. Discover the fascinating inner workings of machines and understand the principles behind everyday inventions. Packed with detailed illustrations and engaging explanations, The Way Things Work will broaden your understanding of the technological wonders that shape our lives.
⭐ Simple Machines set from Thames and Kosmos: Dive into hands-on experimentation with this captivating kit. Explore the fundamental principles of mechanical engineering through a variety of interactive projects. Build and operate models of levers, gears, pulleys, and more, gaining invaluable insights into the mechanics behind simple machines. Unleash your creativity as you tinker, test, and unlock the secrets of engineering.
⭐ Engineering Magazine Bundle and Snip-Out Science Activity Book from Whizz Pop Bang: Embark on a thrilling STEM adventure with a bundle of three Whizz Pop Bang engineering magazines and paper-craft activity book! This magazine bundle is packed full of activities to get children inventing, designing and building and the activity book is stuffed with 30 projects to cut, stick and fold, all with a science twist! Test fantastic flying machines, engineer brilliant bridges, make a moveable skeleton, craft some super sea creatures and much more!
✨ To enter this brilliant engineering competition, head over to Facebook or Instagram, where you’ll find all the details you need to enter for your chance to win this awesome engineering bundle. ✨
T&C’s: This giveaway closes at midnight on Friday 30th June 2023. One winner will be selected at random from all entries via Facebook and Instagram and will be contacted in the first week of June. This competition is open to UK residents only. Winner will be informed via your original comment by @whizzpopbangmag – please be wary of scams, do not give personal details or follow any links from other accounts. For full terms and conditions visit buff.ly/3ij98Q3 This competition is in no way affiliated, endorsed, sponsored or administered by Instagram or Facebook.
Are you planning a science birthday party for your budding mini scientist? Read on to discover how to plan the perfect science party. We’ve got a brilliant idea for plastic-free party bag favours, too!
If you want a zero waste party bag idea that won’t break and end up in the bin five minutes after the party ends, why not pick up a bundle of Whizz Pop Bang magazines? Choose from our large catalogue of back issues – why not choose your child’s favourite topic, a theme to fit the party, or something different for each guest?
Holding an experiment-filled science party? Select a variety of activity-packed Whizz Pop Bang magazines!
If you’re buying ten or more copies, just drop us a line at hello@whizzpopbang.com letting us know what you’d like to buy and if you want UK or international postage, and we’ll send you a price within two working days.
If you need ideas for DIY science parties check out our Spy Science issue that comes with a free stargazing party planner!
Free pullout star map:
More ideas for DIY science parties for kids:
Plastic test tube filled with colourful sweets with a note to say “Thanks for coming to my science party!”
Science party idea for kids: make your own slime
Science party ideas: making fake snow
Science party ideas for kids: Harry Potter potions
As part of the unit plants, you will need to teach your pupils how plants reproduce. A key part is the role insects play in pollination. They do not need to understand it in great detail, but should know the term and have a general understanding of how it happens. The lesson pack we have created alongside this month’s issue called ‘Buzzy Bees!’ is a great simple, hands-on activity in which pupils will pretend to pollinate flowers as if they are bees.
The lesson pack contains:
A lesson plan linked to the national curriculum
A PowerPoint presentation
Instructions
Printable resources
Instructions for a whole-class waggle dance!
Great news! You don’t need any specialised equipment, just a paintbrush and two different coloured powders – either powder paints or icing sugar and cocoa powder.
Do you want to sneak more science into your school day?
Our reading comprehensions are a great way of getting more science content into your school day. On the website, all the reading comprehensions can be searched for by topic and year group, allowing you to pick ones which relate to your current science teaching or ones which revisit a previous topic. Each lesson plan has a ‘cross curricular’ box which lists reading comprehensions that link to the learning for that lesson. This month, for year 3 we have an interview with a super scientist who has found a way for bees to help people in poverty.
Whizz Pop Bang magazine and teaching resources are brilliant ways to enhance your school’s 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 £197.99 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 got an individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
