Hooray! It’s time to celebrate a remarkable milestone as Whizz Pop Bang reaches its 100th edition. We are thrilled to share this exciting moment with all our teacher enthusiasts and young learners. To mark this special occasion, we have an incredible treat in store for our dedicated readers – the chance to win a class set of Edible Science booklets! We are giving away 100 in total! These delightful booklets make perfect Christmas presents for your class, and we can’t wait to share them with you. Will you be one of our lucky winners?
To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave the number of pupils you have in your class in the comments.
This competition closes at midnight on 30th November 2023 and is open to UK residents only. For full terms and conditions visit whizzpopbang.com/terms-and-conditions
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.
Are you looking for inspiring planning resources for teaching the Stone Age in lower key stage 2? Here’s 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 for…
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 – from excavating coprolites (fossilised poo!). The PowerPoint presentation included in the pack explains this in a child-friendly way.
Pupils won’t forget the types of food they pulled out from their fake Stone Age poo! It’s 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 ‘High Five’. 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 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 £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 new individual membership option so teachers and home educators can access all of our amazing downloadable resources for just £20 for the whole year.
Great news! Our latest resources to accompany the Explosive Science edition of Whizz Pop Bang are now available to download.
Not yet a subscriber to our downloadable teaching resources? Use the links below to subscribe for your school, or download some sample resources for FREE…
Year 5 and P6 Curriculum links: properties and changes of materials and properties and uses of substances. This lesson pack is a hands-on investigation where pupils will create their own safe chemical explosion. In small groups, pupils will plan their own fair test, changing one variable at a time to see if it alters the speed of the explosion. This downloadable pack includes:
A lesson plan complete with differentiation and links to the curriculum.
A PowerPoint presentation which explains different types of explosions and includes instructions for the investigation.
A printable worksheet with a table and squared paper to draw the results in a line graph.
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Vinegar
Bicarbonate of soda
Grip seal bags (like the ones grated cheese comes in)
Fireworks reading comprehension Year groups: Year 2 and P3 This explanation text, linking to the topics everyday materials and properties and uses of substances, explains how fireworks work. Each part of the firework is labelled with an expanded caption – hollow chamber, stick, fuse, time fuse, stars, burst charge and propellant. The downloadable reading pack includes:
Two differentiated A3 reading spreads for you to print.
Reading comprehension question and answer sheets, differentiated using our magnifying glasses key (on the bottom right). One magnifying glass indicates easier and two means harder.
Cows Year groups: Year 3 and P4 This non-chronological report text, linking to the topics animals including humans and biodiversity and interdependence, tells you everything you would like to know about cows. The text features: How they are explosive, why they affect climate change, what they eat, and explains what the term ‘chewing the cud’ means. This downloadable reading pack includes:
An A3 reading spread for you to print.
Reading comprehension question and answer sheets, differentiated using our magnifying glasses key (on the bottom right). One magnifying glass indicates easier and two means harder.
Interview with an explosions expert Year groups: Year 4 and P5 An interview with an explosives expert, linking to the topics states of matter and properties and uses of substances. Kate Biberdorf brings chemistry to life through her explosive demonstrations. In this interview, she discusses what her job is, how she became so interested in explosions and the best thing about her job. This downloadable reading pack includes:
An A3 reading spread for you to print.
Reading comprehension question and answer sheets, differentiated using our magnifying glasses key (on the bottom right). One magnifying glass indicates easier and two means harder.
We have one simple aim for Whizz Pop Bang, and that’s to help as many children as possible to enjoy the wonderful world of science.
A few months ago a man called Brian Mildenhall, who works for a charity in Nepal, phoned and asked if we could donate some magazines for the children he helps. Brian works for a charity called Freedom Kit Bags which was set up to help end period poverty in Nepal. As well as supplying sanitary wear for women and girls, the team behind Freedom Kit Bags deliver education too.
Brian took a box of Whizz Pop Bang magazines on his most recent trip out to Nepal, and just last week he sent us these heart-warming photos of the children reading them at school. We’re all so touched to see our magazines in the hands of Nepalese children and teachers, helping them to read English and enjoy science. Thank you Brian and team for doing what you do! ❤️👍🏾🧠
Students learning English with Whizz Pop Bang
Secondary students reading Whizz Pop Bang science magazine in Nepal
The whole class learning together
Boys enjoying their Brilliant Brains issue!
Staff at the school with their magazines
The Freedom Kit Bag signs to help communities understand how to help young women and girls
Women signing up for their kit bags
Girls looking at what’s inside the kit bags, all so happy to have what they need
Did you know Whizz Pop Bang whizzes around the world to kids in many different countries? Yep, we have readers in Australia, America, Germany, New Zealand, Holland and Dubai (please let us know if you read it in another country and we’ve missed you out!). Kids learning English as a second language love reading Whizz Pop Bang because it’s fun and easy to read. Expat kids love reading it because it’s not easy to get hold of English magazines in some countries.
Now what’s all this about crickets in pasta? Well here at Whizz Pop Bang we actively encourage kids to be open-minded and to try new things, and with the need to find more sustainable sources of protein to feed our growing population, we’ve been giving kids the opportunity to try eating insects. Check out these super mini scientists at a school in Dubai trying a food of the future – cricket pasta!
Thumbs up from this student and her teacher 🙂
Three thumbs up and one sideways, pretty good then boys!
“Let’s try it together, ready? One, two…” They tasted it and liked it, deciding it really wasn’t that different to normal pasta.
Cricket pasta taste testers, everyone loved the experience!
Years 5 and 6 cautiously trying the pasta, yet all proud of themselves for trying something new.
Heads down, serious business… verdict was a yes!
Teachers giving it a go!
Not sure at first, but then a big thumbs up from this student!
“Ummm, well it’s kind of weird eating insects…”
Proud cricket pasta taster with her Whizz Pop Bang sticker 🙂
All smiles for this student and her Mum
“Crickets? I’ve eaten them whole!”
Made by Bugsolutely in Thailand, cricket pasta is a genius way to include sustainable protein in a quick and easy meal. Cook it and serve with pesto, with a tomato sauce or a creamy sauce and you have a nutritious meal and one that doesn’t require any additional protein.
Were your kids involved in a Whizz Pop Bang cricket pasta tasting? Let us know what they thought in the comments box below, or email hello@whizzpopbang.com. If you’d like to subscribe to Whizz Pop Bang THE awesome science magazine for kids just click here.
