Year 3 class teacher Clare James has devised a KS2 Science lesson on materials. The lesson was inspired by visits the children made to a working water mill. Clare brings the outside environment back into school by inviting mill education officer Elfyn Morris into the classroom with his model water wheel and grindstone. Clare also enlists the help of Jane Turner from the Science Learning Centre. Lesson activities include a water-play area using real materials, a clay table for the children to replicate the textures of materials they found at the mill, a scratch test table where they investigate the hardness of materials, and a Material Trail display of photographs and drawings showing what they've learned. In the plenary the children report back and demonstrate their findings to each other, and the programme concludes with Clare and Jane's analysis of how the lesson went with their opinions of what worked well and what could be improved for next time.

Video Series: KS2 Science
Release Date 2005