KS1 Science - Light

This programme looks at a science lesson in which the key concept is that light is necessary for sight (QCA Unit 1D). There is an emphasis on scientific enquiry and a response to national initiatives to continue play-based learning from Foundation Stage to KS1.

Helen Ackerman is a mature NQT who has worked as a nursery nurse for many years. In this programme, she teaches a Year 1 class at Codicote Primary School in Hertfordshire. She is not a science specialist. She has been working with Jane Turner, deputy director of the Science Learning Centre (east of England), who has helped her with planning and resources for this dynamic lesson.

Helen introduces the lesson with a class literacy focus about a bear who is afraid of the dark. She challenges her pupils' assumptions about light. She gets them to think about a dark place they have been, then introduces key scientific words. She sets up two investigations that link light with light sources and the story.

This programme explores:

• Encouraging students to think about why light is necessary for sight
• Introducing scientific terms relating to light