Exploring STEM careers with Oak Academy resources

 We are proud to share a selection of ‘science careers’ lessons created by CIEC as part of the new primary science curriculum recently launched by Oak National Academy. 

The lessons are linked to the National Curriculum for primary science and encourage more children to feel that ‘science is for me.’ 

Children as young as Year 1 (5 and 6-year-olds) will learn about how some people use science every day as part of their job, and how science can be a job for everybody.

An extract from the Y1 unit on developing new materials

The lessons include opportunities for teachers to uncover and discuss any misconceptions children may have about who might work in a science related career. 

The Oak materials encourage children to discuss preconceptions about STEM careers.

They also encourage young children to consider a range of careers in science- related industries, as they begin to think about future aspirations with information such as... 

“If you like asking questions and finding out about the world around you, then you might like to have a career in science.”

For more information about these lessons, please get in touch with CIEC or visit The Oak National Academy primary science page to access the free primary units.

Making Toothpaste

This week's activity can be found in the CIEC resource 'Healthy drinks and tasty toothpaste' which can be downloaded from http://www.ciec.org.uk/resources/healthy-drinks-tasty-toothpaste.html

This is a series of two lessons taken from ‘Healthy Drinks and Tasty Toothpaste’.  In the first children are supported to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of some commercial toothpastes.  In the second, children use a recipe to make their own toothpaste.  
The activities primarily link to content knowledge in the Y4 curriculum for Animal including humans, but can also be linked to Y2 Animals including humans.  There are also plenty of opportunities for working scientifically (more details of curriculum links at the bottom of this post).

The Activity: 'Making toothpaste': 

•  Children evaluate some commercial toothpastes, for example by comparing how well they stick to a toothbrush in a 'shake test', how long they take to clean some permanent marker from a tile and also taking into account aesthetic considerations such as smell, taste and appearance.

Testing homemade toothpaste to see how effective it is at cleaning permanent marker from a tile (photograph courtesy of Julie Wiskow  https://thinklikeanengineerproject.com )

• Next, children are given a recipe so that they can make their own toothpaste which they then evaluate in exactly the same way.

Recipes for making toothpaste (the full instructions can be found in the resource).

• For a detailed description of how the ideas in this resource have been used and adapted we thoroughly recommend that you take a look at this blog post. Written by Julie Wiskow of https://thinkilikeanengineerproject.com.

This activity has lots of opportunities for cross-curricular links.  Julie’s class designed toothpaste cartons and advertising slogans for the toothpaste that they made. (photograph courtesy of Julie Wiskow  https://thinklikeanengineerproject.com )

Suggested equipment:
As well as the equipment and ingredients listed in the illustration above you will need the instructions for making toothpaste from pages 35 and 37 of the resource, at least one plain white tile per group, a permanent marker pen,  three different types/brands of commercial toothpaste (try and find ones that are distinctive from each other such as paste or gel, different colours and different functions such as whitening, for sensitive teeth etc.), and two toothbrushes per group of children. 

Health and Safety

• Children should wear goggles during some of these activities to prevent toothpaste getting in the eyes.
• Be aware that recipe B, which includes gelatine, would not be suitable for vegetarian children.  You will also need to be aware of the source of the gelatine as, depending upon the religious beliefs of families in your class, you may need to avoid any that has been produced from pigs or cows.

Links to the National Curriculum:

   Y4 and Y2: Animals including humans

• (Y4) identify the different types of teeth in humans and their simple functions 
• (Y4) find out what damages teeth and how to look after them
• (Y2) describe the importance for humans of .... hygiene
• (Y2) ask questions about what humans need to stay healthy

Working Scientifically 

• use results to draw simple conclusions
• use scientific evidence to answer questions
• report on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations

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Generating Electricity: Sensors

Children can feel inspired, motivated and spend more time engaged on task when the problems posed involve them searching for a purposeful outcome, particularly when some-one is asking for their advice! The sensor activity on page 16 of our publication ‘Generating Electricity’ (which can be found at http://www.ciec.org.uk/resources/generating-electricity.html)  provides this kind of context and would be a useful challenge to give children during ‘Tomorrow’s Engineers Week’ (6^th -10^th November) while covering KS2 objectives for electricity.

After receiving a letter from ‘Electricaid’ children work collaboratively to design and build a mini working model of a well which includes some kind of sensor to warn when the water has reached a desired level. Each group is given a large beaker (1000ml) to represent their well, one 1.5V cell and the rest is up to them!

The most innovative designs are achieved when children are provided with a selection of basic circuit equipment as well as lots of everyday conducting and insulating materials to choose from - paper clips, drawing pins, split pins, coins, corks, cotton reels, tin foil, bottle tops, glue, blu-tac, sellotape, card, plastic tubes and plastic sheets (A4 overhead projector transparencies are ideal) plus anything else that the children think they will need.

Working collaboratively

Children are encouraged to discuss and swap ideas not just at the planning stage but throughout this activity, jotting and amending notes and annotated drawings on whiteboards and listing the types of equipment they may need to start with and then to modify and improve their designs. Giving children space to make mistakes as they design and evaluate their designs through a process of trial and error helps children to develop a deep understanding of what they are doing as well as fostering real pride in their achievements.

 It can be valuable not to show children the diagram of a successful design which is provided in the resource until after they have made their own sensors.  When they do this teachers are amazed at the variety of ideas and at the ingenuity of children.  Most models have some kind of floating conductor (say a ‘raft’ of corks covered in tin foil) placed in the bottom of the well. When water is added and the level rises, this floats up to touch a carefully positioned contact point near the top of the well which is then connected to a simple circuit built safely away from the water.  

Close up of a working sensor

We would love to see your children’s designs; you can tweet them to @ciecyork for a chance to win a hard copy of some of our resources!

Generating Electricity