5 fun science activities to smooth year 6 to 7 transition
Make the year 6 to year 7 transition smooth in your science lessons with our 5 activities and a FREE downloadable science transition booklet.
Photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash
The year 6 to year 7 transition into secondary school is pretty exciting, especially when it comes to science. They've heard rumours from their siblings that science is full of whiz bang experiments, Bunsen burners and chemicals. They're not wrong. But your year 7 science students need quite a bit of prep before they can be let loose in the science lab. We've put together the perfect year 6 to year 7 transition activities to facilitate an engaging and meaningful introduction to secondary science, as well as a FREE downloadable project homework - turn your science novices into lab legends!
5 year 6 to year 7 science transition activities to use today
Use our list to get to know your year 7s and make the transition smooth for everyone
1. “We are all scientists.”
Students coming from a primary setting might never have considered themselves a scientist, but coming into your lab, they need to. If students see themselves as a scientist, they are given the opportunity to think like one too. Rather than focusing on the ‘whiz, bang’ experiments in the first few weeks, try encouraging students to take the time to consider hypotheses, working out the best approach to experiments. Taking this approach will help students move away from being mere observers, to scientists with their own thoughts and ideas.
2. Inspire and engage with practicals
That’s not to say that practicals aren’t important during the transition period! But it does help to make sure experiments are considered, planned, and exciting. You could study ecosystems and food chains by creating terrariums to observe the interactions between plants, animals and decomposers. Or maybe create a cross-curriculum opportunity by investigating the chemistry of cooking in the year 7 food tech lessons. Whatever the experiment, take context into account…
3. Context is everything
Students in year 7 have the least amount of life experience of all the students you teach. It helps their knowledge and skills progress if they have context to what they’re doing. For those new to a school/teaching, get to know the demographic of the children in front of you. Use that knowledge to plan exciting lessons and experiments that they can relate to. If you’re a veteran teacher, it’s still good to keep on top of current scientific discoveries and events and use those as a basis for study.
4. Set laboratory expectations
Your year 7s are unlikely to have experienced a classroom lab setting. And they are probably used to having strict instruction on routines and expectations at primary. Use that to your advantage and lay out your expectations in the first lesson. They will need to get to grips with the health and safety precautions needed for your classroom, but set out your stall early when it comes to how you want them to be in your lessons too. Those expectations might change depending on what is planned for the lesson - make that clear too!
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5. Find and plug the gaps
It’s possible the year 7 cohort that comes to you in September have had varying exposure to the subject of science. The Primary science programmes of study states that, “schools therefore have the flexibility to introduce content earlier or later than set out in the programme of study.” Meaning approaches to science are varied school-to-school. So how can you prep your year 7s for the fun and wonder that secondary science has to offer? We’ve put together the perfect year 6 to year 7 transition booklet that helps you with exactly that.
LbQ’s Dr Menace’s Science Cave of Horrors: Lab Legends Project Homework
LbQ’s free project homework download is for all those science teachers out there looking to scrub up their years into being experiment pros! The project contains a series of 6 challenges for year 7s to complete. Students are presented with a brief and exciting description of the daring tasks ahead, and a link to a powerful resource that will equip them with the crucial knowledge many new secondary scientists lack.
The project homework thoroughly covers the following objectives:
I can identify common laboratory apparatus.
I can identify laboratory heating apparatus and understand why certain apparatus is used.
I can identify how to safely set up and use a Bunsen burner and heating equipment.
I can recognise risks and suggest how to work safely.
I can use a range of scientific equipment to take readings.
I can scientifically draw common lab apparatus and recognise apparatus from scientific drawings.
How to use LbQ's Lab Legends
We never like to tell teachers how to do something - you’re the expert! But we envisage this resource being used as a weekly homework for your year 7s for Autumn 1. Give them the whole booklet to work through, or provide them with each challenge week-by-week.
Send students a copy of the student booklet.
Students read the intro to the challenge.
Pupils scan or click the QR Code to complete the Question Set - they might want their exercise books to record some answers.
They complete the homework by answering the challenge question in the booklet.
Meaningful for the first half term - done!