Collaboration between GSSfS 2024 and the British Science Association through CREST Awards!
The Association for Science Education’s (ASE) award-winning Mary Anning – A fossil hunter’s story resource offers an inspiring context for question asking-investigating and sharing.
The Mary Anning Project provides a set of resources for primary school pupils and their teachers
This cross-curricular resource includes a short award-winning film, SEA DRAGON, which sets the scene for the whole project, introduces Mary, and reflects the themes and main ideas being addressed through the learning activities.
Credit: Jo Montgomery
“I feel that I have gained so much as a teacher through my reflection on my own learning alongside the children.”
This interactive resource features a series of core and enrichment activities presented as four topics:
> Fossil hunter Mary
> Strange creatures
> The end of the line
> Evidence, beliefs and ideas.
Collectively, these activities give insights into Mary’s life, explore the science of fossils and reflect on the influence of historical, cultural and religious thinking in changing ideas.
Inspire your pupils
The story of fossil hunter Mary Anning and her amazing discoveries provides the context for the project’s learning resources for 9-11 year olds. A compelling 15-minute film about the young Mary sets the scene for the enquiry-based, cross-curricular activities through which children explore the lives, ideas and events in the early 19th century that were significant in the development of scientific ideas and thinking. The story of a child of their own age who was driven by curiosity about the natural world and the origins of life is engaging and inspiring for today’s pupils and aligns with The Great Science Share for Schools 2024 theme of ‘Sustainable Science’.
Tackling tricky topics
Through these resources and professional learning strategies, teachers can better support pupils’ understanding of evolution, the nature of scientific enquiry and the strengths and limitations of scientific knowledge. Not just for upper primary learning about evolution and inheritance, or fossil formation and rocks and soils; these resources also support the disciplinary knowledge and skills, or process of ‘doing science’.
Support for students
The activities support the use of dialogic teaching, in which children express and share their ideas in group or whole class discussion and teachers encourage children to explain their thinking. The enquiry-based approach emphasises the role in learning of the identification of questions, and the collection and use of evidence in seeking answers – just as The Great Science Share for Schools promotes.
Flexibility
The activities are designed to be used flexibly, mainly in science lessons but in some cases are equally appropriate in history, religious education and English. Each activity includes key questions, curriculum links and vocabulary, what children do and learn, classroom resources plus background information for teachers.
Professional Development for Teachers
Used as CPD, teachers can better engage different disciplinary teaching approaches and philosophical perspectives, to raise science capital and support every child including those regarded as low prior attainment and/or with typically low levels of interest in science.
This resource can inspire many questions to be asked
What now?
- Watch and use the resources with your pupils.
- Integrate the use of the GSSfS Question Makers to inspire pupils to ask questions freely
- Use the GSSfS Skills Starters to move the pupils towards an enquiry question they’re interested in
Then what?
Share, share, share! Try out the GSSfS Share Spinners this year!
Want to know more about how great this resource could be for your pupils? See the ASE’s Mary Anning impact story here.
The Association for Science Education (ASE) is an active membership body that has been supporting all those involved in science education from pre-school to higher education for over 100 years. Members include teachers, technicians, tutors and advisers.
We value the partnership between ASE and the #GSSfS2024.
Remember you can meet the GSSfS team at the ASE 2024 Annual Conference, 04 January 2024 - 06 January 2024, 08:00 - 16:30
The ASE's 2024 flagship Annual Conference takes place at the University of Northampton's Waterside Campus in January, from the 4th to the 6th inclusive.
For more information click here ASE 2024 Annual Conference | www.ase.org.uk
Read all about the Fife STEM Futures Festival and how it makes the most of Great Science Share for Schools!
GSSfS beyond the school gates. Read about the Great Science Share for Schools events taking place in cultural organisations and discover how you can get other spaces involved.
GSSfS meets Make it Open - Learn more about an open-schooling approach that’s inspire pupils to ask-investigate and share their science learning together.
“Here at Explorify, we know that The Great Science Share for Schools is a great way for pupils to engage in science, share their ideas, and work co-operatively with others. The theme for this year, Science Around Us, enables pupils to understand how science works in their everyday life.”
Will you be watching the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest? Originally held on May 24, 1956, it saw seven nations compete - this year there will be 37! A fabulous occasion which relies on so much science, technology and engineering to make it happen.
For the first time, GSSfS launches a Eurovision-inspired blog - another perfect opportunity to continue to inspire your pupils to ask, investigate and share their scientific questions with new audiences.
Ask-Investigate-Share
5-7 year olds
What are the sounds we can hear like? How can we sort them?
Encourage children to notice the difference between sounds through sensory play. Are they loud or quiet? High or low?
What’s the sound? Where is it coming from?
Go on a sound hunt to encourage children to close their ideas to listen to different sounds. Encourage them to sort sounds by describing and identifying them. Explore a wide range of sounds and grouping and sorting them e.g. bird song, door bells, traffic, typing on a keyboard, bubbles through a straw.
How is the traditional music of European countries the same or different? Research secondary sources to investigate the cultural influences of each country.
What shape or material makes the best ear trumpet? Enquire using a fair test to gather and interpret evidence.
Which is the best material for muffling sound? Imagine people aren’t enjoying what they hear… use fair testing to investigate if there are ways to muffle the sound?
What factors affect the pitch and the volume of sound?
For more inspiration, visit the Royal Society’s videos and investigation hosted on STEM Learning HERE
How does the volume of water in a bottle affect the pitch of the sound created?
Encourage pupils to use their skills of fair testing to gather evidence and draw conclusions. For additional support, see the ‘Creating a glass musical instrument’ on page 18 of the Primary Science Teaching Trust’s Bringing Back Glass resource HERE
Is there a link between the type of music we sing and the volume we sing it at? Look for patterns during singing assemblies or lessons. Use data loggers or apps to accurately calculate the volume.
11-14 year olds
How does the medium affect the volume of sound we hear? Investigate and measure sound waves by exploring the affect of no air, air, water and solids on the volume of sound produced. Extend this by developing understanding about the speed of sound and how it is proportional to the density of the medium. Update pupil’s knowledge using the Sound Waves BBC Bitesize resources HERE
Access GSSfS Skills Starters to support pupils in their enquiries
Videos and resources direct-to-the-classroom
5-7 Conclusion Creator
7-11 Conclusion Creator
Linked resources from the GSSfS Community
Use the Ogden Trust’s Research cards on Sound to support research by secondary sources, or the Phizzi focus: sound that includes links to ideas, resources, and cross-curricular connections, to bring the topic of sound into the primary classroom
Ourselves is a provision map showing activities to promote learning about what the human body can do. Part of the Primary Science Teaching Trust’s Play Observe & Ask Early Years resource.
Sounds like Science is part of the British Science Association’s National Science & Engineering Week activity pack series. Explore the links between science and music with endless opportunities to explore themes ranging from the physics of sound to acoustics and the psychological effects of music in medicine, as well as the association between maths and music.
BBC Bitesize resources on Sound. Exploring pitch, volume and how sounds are made.
Share your enquiries and experiences with the @GreatSciShare Twitter community #GSSfS2023
“The Great Science Share is an integral part of our school curriculum.” Find out how the Great Glider Share took flight at Christ the King RC School in Salford.
“This really is about the taking part. We have seen over so many years that whichever stage a child or teacher is at, the taking part alone is an opportunity to improve.”
“If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you!” Find out how the Great Science Share for Schools has grown and how Great Guided Enquiries can inspire your pupils this year, from Campaign Director, Dr Lynne Bianchi.
Colchester Zoo hosts primary pupils in a Great Science Share!
“We are keen to focus people’s interest in the modern technological uses of glass…Nobody will ever convince me that education is a bad thing and that’s why partnering with GSSfS is such an exciting opportunity.” Discover the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers and the Guided Enquiry coming soon to GSSfS!
We’ve created a timeline that shows the direct connection between British Science Week and GSSfS! On top of that your pupils can also be double-certificated!
“GSSfS can start something that isn’t just for today, it can be the leap pad for starting a sustainability or climate change theme journey throughout a school year”.
Derby High Schools enter the BBC Bitesize Hall of Fame due to impactful GSSfS ChangeMaker project!
It’s certainly time to celebrate… the Great Science Share for Schools has been shortlisted for a prestigious THE Award in the category of Widening Participation Initiative of the year.
STEM experts join schools in North Yorkshire for ground-breaking debate on what really is the most important animal of all?
Imagine it is 2050, 29 years from now.
We have reduced carbon emissions and stopped the worst effects of climate change.
What is life like and how do we achieve this?
At CLEAPSS our goal is to deliver advice that supports you and your children to carry out safe exciting practical work. We make safety guidance easy to access, understand and implement.
Dr Helen Mason OBE introduces the SunSpaceArt project
“As teachers we saw some of our pupils shine and express themselves in a way that was very different.” (teacher feedback).
‘Today I loved this lesson because the science and art inspired me”. (child feedback)