Students at Singleton Primary School attend lessons in a dedicated Science Discovery Room with a specialist teacher. The approach to teaching and learning is a combination of hands on and literacy-based activities within the 5 Phase Primary Connections inquiry-based learning model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate (Bybee, 1997).
Year 4 to 6 students engage in the biennial Singleton Science and STEM Fair where more than 250 displays of science inquiry process are on mass display. This event has been awarded great support from the Singleton community with families involved in the scientific process from selecting an investigable question, to conducting an investigation, creating displays, and attending the event. The most daring students are invited to perform science demonstrations to a live audience on the day. Our valued P&C support the event organising food and coffee providers, helping to create an atmosphere of belonging and celebration academic endeavour.
Science Curriculum
The Science Curriculum is organised into three strands:
Science Understanding
- Physical science
- Earth & space science
- Chemical science
- Biological science
Science Inquiry Skills
- Questioning and predicting
- Planning and conducting
- Processing and analysing data and information
- Evaluating
- Communicating
Science as a Human Endeavour
- Nature and development of science
- Use and influence of science
Pre-primary – Year 2
Curriculum focus: awareness of self and the local world
Young children have an intrinsic curiosity about their immediate world. Asking questions leads to speculation and the testing of ideas. Exploratory, purposeful play is a central feature of their investigations.
Years 3–6
Curriculum focus: recognising questions that can be investigated scientifically and investigating them
During these years students can develop ideas about science that relate to their lives, answer questions, and solve mysteries of particular interest to their age group. In this stage of schooling students tend to use a trial-and-error approach to their science investigations. As they progress, they begin to work in a more systematic way. The notion of a ‘fair test’ and the idea of variables are developed, as well as other forms of science inquiry. Understanding the importance of measurement in quantifying changes in systems is also fostered.
