Year 1 Science Resources and Lesson Plans
Explore ready-to-teach Year 1 Science resources, lesson plans and schemes of work designed to support the Year 1 Science curriculum. Covering key National Curriculum Science topics including plants, animals including humans, everyday materials and seasonal changes, our Year 1 Science lessons include practical activities, simple experiments, worksheets and opportunities to develop children's Working Scientifically skills.
Popular Year 1 Science Schemes of Work:
What should children learn in Year 1 Science?
Year 1 Science introduces children to the natural and everyday world through observation, comparison and simple practical investigation. Alongside building scientific knowledge, children begin to develop the Working Scientifically skills they will use throughout primary Science.
Explore plants
Identify and name common wild and garden plants, recognise deciduous and evergreen trees, and describe the basic structure of flowering plants and trees.
Learn about animals and humans
Identify and compare common animals, explore animal groups and diets, name basic parts of the human body and investigate how the five senses help us understand the world.
Investigate everyday materials
Identify common materials such as wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock, describe their properties and compare and group objects according to the materials they are made from.
Observe seasonal changes
Observe how weather, daylight and the natural world change across the four seasons, while asking simple questions, making observations and recording what they notice.
Everything you need to teach Year 1 Science
Planning the whole year? Our Year 1 Science Curriculum Bundle brings together ready-to-teach schemes of work covering the key Year 1 Science curriculum topics, including plants, animals including humans, everyday materials and seasonal changes.
Explore the Year 1 Science Bundle →Ready for the whole year
Explore our Year 1 Science Resources
Browse our complete collection of Year 1 Science resources, lesson plans and schemes of work. Discover engaging Year 1 Science topics including plants, animals including humans, everyday materials and seasonal changes, with practical activities and ready-to-teach lessons designed to support the Year 1 Science curriculum and develop Working Scientifically skills.
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Planning Year 1 Science
When planning Science in Year 1, give children plenty of opportunities to explore the world around them through observation, discussion and practical activities. Year 1 Science topics should cover plants, animals including humans, everyday materials and seasonal changes, helping children build their scientific knowledge through familiar, hands-on experiences.
Develop Working Scientifically skills alongside each topic by encouraging children to ask simple questions, observe closely, identify and classify, compare objects and living things, and gather and record simple data. Practical Year 1 Science experiments and investigations can be kept straightforward, with the emphasis on children noticing patterns, talking about what they discover and using scientific vocabulary to describe their observations.
Planning Science for your whole school? Explore our Science Curriculum Packs →Frequently Asked Questions about Year 1 Science
What Science topics are taught in Year 1?
The Year 1 Science curriculum covers four main areas: plants, animals including humans, everyday materials and seasonal changes. Children also develop their Working Scientifically skills throughout these topics by observing, comparing, identifying, classifying and asking simple scientific questions.
What do children learn about plants in Year 1 Science?
In Year 1, children learn to identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees. They also identify and describe the basic structure of flowering plants and trees, including roots, stems, leaves, flowers and trunks.
What do children learn about animals including humans in Year 1?
Children identify and name common animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. They explore whether animals are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores and compare their structures. Children also learn to name basic parts of the human body and identify which parts are associated with the five senses.
What materials are taught in Year 1 Science?
Year 1 children learn to distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made. They identify and name everyday materials including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock, describe simple physical properties and compare and group materials according to those properties.
What do children learn about seasonal changes in Year 1?
Children observe changes across the four seasons and investigate how weather and the length of the day vary throughout the year. Regular observations outdoors can help children notice patterns and understand how their environment changes with the seasons.
What are the Working Scientifically skills in Year 1?
Working Scientifically is taught alongside the Year 1 Science topics rather than as a separate unit. Children learn to ask simple questions, observe closely, perform simple tests, identify and classify, use observations to suggest answers and gather and record simple data. These experiences provide the foundations for more complex scientific enquiry later in primary school.
What Science experiments can you do in Year 1?
Year 1 Science experiments should be simple, practical and accessible. Children might investigate which materials are waterproof, compare the properties of different objects, observe how plants grow, explore their senses or collect and compare weather data. The emphasis should be on observing, asking questions, comparing results and talking about what they discover.
How can I make Year 1 Science engaging?
Give children plenty of opportunities to explore Science through hands-on activities and real-world observations. Growing plants, going on seasonal walks, sorting materials, observing animals and carrying out simple investigations can make scientific concepts meaningful while encouraging children to ask questions about the world around them.
Are PlanBee Year 1 Science resources aligned with the National Curriculum?
Yes. PlanBee's Year 1 Science lesson plans and schemes of work are designed to support the National Curriculum for Science in Year 1, including plants, animals including humans, everyday materials, seasonal changes and opportunities to develop Working Scientifically skills.
What is included in PlanBee Year 1 Science lesson plans?
PlanBee Year 1 Science resources provide ready-to-teach lessons with detailed lesson plans, teaching slides, differentiated activities and worksheets, helping teachers cover Year 1 Science topics while reducing planning and preparation time.
How is Year 1 Science different from Year 2 Science?
Year 1 introduces children to foundational scientific knowledge and observation skills through familiar plants, animals, materials and seasonal changes. In Year 2, children build on this knowledge through topics including living things and their habitats, plants, animals including humans, and uses of everyday materials, while continuing to develop their scientific enquiry skills.
