The Art of the Sentence in Primary Science

There’s a truism in primary education: “before they can write it, they need to say it.” But that’s not quite true.

Claire Seely (who I once went to visit in her school off Brick Lane back in 2018 to talk primary science) has written a very persuasive article (here – page 14) explaining that the durable, revisable nature of writing lets us build ideas in a way that talk does not. By constructing and reconstructing a sentence, pupils are developing their understanding of the concept, fitting it into their schemas. In other words, writing it helps you think it.

Which made me think of Teach Like a Champion: The Art of the Sentence. By setting pupils the challenge of expressing an idea in a single sentence, the teacher ensures that the pupils are struggling with the idea, expressing it in their own words.

It’s an excellent opportunity to check for understanding. By constructing only one sentence, the teacher has time to look over every pupil’s shoulder and see what they are thinking. While checking in on every pupil, the teacher can identify several examples to share (with a visualiser if possible).

Finally, because it is only one sentence, pupils are not too reluctant to edit and improve it after a class discussion.

Here are some examples from the Key Stage 2 Science Programme of Study.

Year 3

Plants

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the function of roots in flowering plants.
• Example: “Roots help flowering plants by absorbing water and minerals from the soil and providing stability.”

Animals, including Humans

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain why humans and some animals have skeletons.
• Example: “Humans and some animals have skeletons to support their body structure and protect important organs.”

Rocks

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how fossils are formed in rocks.
• Example: “Fossils in rocks are formed when plants or animals get buried under sediment and slowly turn into rock over many years.”

Light

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain why we need light to see things.
• Example: “We need light to see things because it reflects off objects into our eyes, allowing us to see the shapes and colors of those objects.”

Forces and Magnets

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how magnets can attract or repel each other.
• Example: “Magnets can either pull towards each other or push away from each other, depending on the way their poles are lined up.”

Year 4

Living Things and Their Habitats

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how living things can be grouped.
• Example: “Living things can be grouped based on their physical characteristics, such as mammals having fur and birds having feathers.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the use of classification keys in identifying living things.
• Example: “Classification keys help to identify and name living things by sorting them based on a series of questions about their features.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how changes in environments can pose dangers to living things.
• Example: “Environmental changes, like pollution or habitat loss, can harm living things by destroying their homes or food sources.”

Animals, Including Humans

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the basic functions of the digestive system in humans.
• Example: “The digestive system in humans breaks down food into smaller parts, so it can be used for growth and repair.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain the different types of teeth in humans and their functions.
• Example: “In humans, incisors help to cut food, canines help to tear food, and molars and premolars help to grind food.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how to construct a food chain.
• Example: “A food chain shows how plants are eaten by animals, and these animals are then eaten by other animals, showing who eats whom.”

States of Matter

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, differentiate between solids, liquids, and gases.
• Example: “Solids have a definite shape, liquids take the shape of their container, and gases fill the entire space available to them.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how materials change state when heated or cooled.
• Example: “Materials change state when heated or cooled, like water turning into steam when heated and into ice when cooled.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the roles of evaporation and condensation in the water cycle.
• Example: “In the water cycle, water turns into vapor through evaporation and then forms clouds through condensation, before falling back to Earth.”

Sound

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how sounds are made.
• Example: “Sounds are made when objects vibrate, causing waves that travel to our ears.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how the pitch and volume of a sound are related to the vibrations that produced it.
• Example: “The pitch of a sound depends on how fast the object vibrates, and the volume depends on how much it vibrates.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain why sounds get fainter with distance.
• Example: “Sounds get fainter with distance because the sound waves spread out and become weaker.”

Electricity

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe a simple series electrical circuit.
• Example: “A simple series circuit is a loop that includes a battery, wires, and components like bulbs or buzzers.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain the function of a switch in an electrical circuit.
• Example: “A switch in a circuit can stop or allow the flow of electricity, turning components like lamps on or off.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, distinguish between conductors and insulators.
• Example: “Conductors, like metals, allow electricity to pass through them, while insulators, like plastic, do not allow electricity to pass.”

Year 5

Living Things and Their Habitats

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the differences in the life cycles of a mammal, an amphibian, an insect, and a bird.
• Example: “Mammals give birth to live young, amphibians lay eggs in water which hatch into tadpoles before turning into adults, insects undergo metamorphosis from egg to larva to pupa to adult, and birds lay eggs which hatch into chicks.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals.
• Example: “Some plants reproduce by seeds formed after pollination, while many animals reproduce by laying eggs or giving birth to live young.”

Animals, Including Humans

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the changes as humans develop to old age.
• Example: “As humans develop from infancy to old age, they go through stages of growth, starting as a baby, then a child, a teenager, an adult, and finally reaching old age, with changes in physical and cognitive abilities.”

Properties and Changes of Materials

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, compare and group everyday materials based on their properties.
• Example: “Materials can be grouped based on properties like hardness, with metals being hard, while others like rubber are soft, or solubility, where salt dissolves in water, but plastic does not.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how some materials dissolve in liquid to form a solution.
• Example: “When materials like sugar or salt are mixed with water, they dissolve and form a solution where the dissolved material cannot be seen.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how mixtures might be separated.
• Example: “Mixtures can be separated through methods like filtering, where solids are removed from liquids, or sieving, where larger particles are separated from smaller ones.”

Earth and Space

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the movement of the Earth and other planets relative to the Sun.
• Example: “The Earth and other planets in the solar system orbit around the Sun, with each planet taking a different amount of time to complete one orbit.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night.
• Example: “Day and night are caused by the Earth’s rotation, with the side facing the Sun experiencing day and the other side experiencing night.”

Forces

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain why unsupported objects fall towards the Earth.
• Example: “Unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because the Earth pulls them with a force that we call weight.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance, and friction between moving surfaces.
• Example: “When objects move, they face resistance, like air resistance slowing down a falling leaf, water resistance slowing down swimmers, and friction acting between surfaces, like a bicycle’s brakes stopping its wheels.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how mechanisms like levers, pulleys, and gears affect force.
• Example: “Mechanisms like levers, pulleys, and gears help us move or lift heavy objects more easily by changing the direction or size of the force applied.”

Year 6

Living Things and Their Habitats

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how living things are classified into broad groups.
• Example: “Living things are classified into groups like micro-organisms, plants, and animals based on common characteristics like the ability to make food, movement, and cell structure.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain why plants and animals are classified based on specific characteristics.
• Example: “Plants and animals are classified based on specific characteristics to help scientists understand how they are related and how they interact with their environment.”

Animals, Including Humans

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels, and blood in the human circulatory system.
• Example: “In the human circulatory system, the heart pumps blood, blood vessels transport blood throughout the body, and blood carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and removes waste products.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how diet, exercise, drugs, and lifestyle impact the human body.
• Example: “A balanced diet, regular exercise, and a healthy lifestyle enhance bodily functions, while drugs and unhealthy habits can harm the body.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how nutrients and water are transported within humans and other animals.
• Example: “Nutrients and water are transported within animals and humans through the bloodstream, which distributes them to all parts of the body.”

Evolution and Inheritance

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how living things have changed over time.
• Example: “Living things have evolved over millions of years, adapting to their environments, which we can see by fossils showing ancient life forms and their variations.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the variation in offspring compared to their parents.
• Example: “Offspring of living things usually show variation compared to their parents, which means they are similar but not identical, leading to diversity within a species.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain how adaptation may lead to evolution.
• Example: “Adaptation, where living things develop features to suit their environment, can lead to evolution as these advantageous traits are passed down to future generations.”

Light

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain why objects are seen.
• Example: “We see objects because they reflect light into our eyes, or they emit their own light, which then travels in straight lines to our eyes.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.
• Example: “Shadows have the same shape as the objects casting them because light travels in straight lines and is blocked by these objects, creating a silhouette.”

Electricity

• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe how the brightness of a lamp in a circuit can be affected.
• Example: “The brightness of a lamp in a circuit can be affected by the number and voltage of cells used, with more cells or higher voltage making the lamp brighter.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the role of a switch in an electrical circuit.
• Example: “A switch controls the flow of electricity in a circuit by either breaking or completing the circuit, turning devices like lamps on or off.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, explain the difference between series and parallel circuits.
• Example: “In a series circuit, components are connected one after another so the same current flows through each, while in a parallel circuit, each component is connected separately to the power source.”
• Task: In one clearly written sentence, describe the effect of increasing the number of bulbs in a series circuit.
• Example: “Adding more bulbs in a series circuit decreases the overall brightness of each bulb, as the voltage is shared among all bulbs in the circuit.”