Year 5 Science Resources and Lesson Plans
Explore ready-to-teach Year 5 Science resources, lesson plans and schemes of work designed to support the Year 5 Science curriculum. Covering key National Curriculum Science topics including living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, and forces, our Year 5 Science lessons include practical investigations, activities, worksheets and opportunities to develop children's Working Scientifically skills.
Popular Year 5 Science Schemes of Work:
What should children learn in Year 5 Science?
Year 5 Science deepens children's understanding of living things, the human body, materials, Earth and space, and forces. Across these topics, children develop more independent Working Scientifically skills by planning enquiries, controlling variables, taking measurements, recording results and using evidence to explain their conclusions.
Explore life cycles and reproduction
Compare the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds, describe the life process of reproduction in some plants and animals, and explore how living things grow and change over time.
Learn about human development
Explore the changes that take place as humans develop from birth to old age, helping children understand the stages of growth and development across the human life cycle.
Investigate materials and their properties
Compare and group everyday materials according to their properties, investigate dissolving, filtering and evaporation, and explore reversible and irreversible changes.
Explore Earth and space
Learn about the movement of the Earth and other planets relative to the Sun, the movement of the Moon around the Earth, and how the Earth's rotation causes day and night.
Investigate forces
Explore gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction, and investigate how mechanisms such as levers, pulleys and gears can allow a smaller force to have a greater effect.
Develop scientific enquiry skills
Plan different types of scientific enquiry, identify and control variables, take increasingly accurate measurements, record data, identify patterns and use evidence to support conclusions and explanations.
Everything you need to teach Year 5 Science
Planning the whole year? Our Year 5 Science Bundle brings together ready-to-teach schemes of work covering the key Year 5 Science curriculum topics, including living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, and forces.
Explore the Year 5 Science Bundle →Ready for the whole year
Explore our Year 5 Science Resources
Browse our complete collection of Year 5 Science resources, lesson plans and schemes of work. Discover engaging Year 5 Science topics including living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, and forces, with practical activities, investigations and ready-to-teach lessons designed to support the Year 5 Science curriculum and develop Working Scientifically skills.
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Planning Year 5 Science
When planning Science in Year 5, give children opportunities to investigate increasingly complex scientific ideas through practical enquiries, observation and discussion. Year 5 Science topics should cover living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, and forces, helping children deepen their scientific knowledge and make connections between different areas of the Year 5 Science curriculum.
Continue to develop Working Scientifically skills across each topic by encouraging children to plan different types of scientific enquiries, control variables where appropriate, take increasingly accurate measurements and record data using tables, graphs and diagrams. Year 5 Science experiments and investigations should also give children opportunities to identify patterns and relationships, use evidence to support conclusions, make predictions and explain their findings using appropriate scientific vocabulary.
Planning Science for your whole school? Explore our Science Curriculum Packs →Frequently Asked Questions about Year 5 Science
What Science topics are taught in Year 5?
The Year 5 Science National Curriculum covers living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, and forces. Children should also develop their Working Scientifically skills throughout these topics by carrying out practical investigations, making observations and measurements, recording data and using evidence to draw conclusions.
What do children learn about living things and their habitats in Year 5?
In Year 5, children learn about the life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds. They explore differences between these life cycles and learn about reproduction in some plants and animals.
What do Year 5 children learn about animals including humans?
The Year 5 Animals including Humans curriculum focuses on human growth and development. Children learn about the changes humans experience as they develop from birth to old age and can explore how characteristics such as height and other physical features change over time.
What do children learn about materials in Year 5 Science?
Year 5 children investigate the properties and changes of materials. They compare and group materials according to properties such as hardness, solubility, transparency and conductivity, investigate dissolving and separating mixtures, and explore reversible and irreversible changes.
What is taught in Year 5 Earth and Space?
The Year 5 Earth and Space topic introduces children to the Sun, Earth and Moon. Children learn about the movement of the Earth and other planets relative to the Sun, the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth, the approximate spherical shape of these bodies and how the Earth's rotation causes day and night.
What forces are taught in Year 5 Science?
Children learn about gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction. They also explore how mechanisms such as levers, pulleys and gears can allow a smaller force to have a greater effect. Practical investigations are particularly useful for helping children understand how different forces affect movement.
What Working Scientifically skills should Year 5 children develop?
Year 5 children should become increasingly independent in planning and carrying out scientific enquiries. They should learn to recognise and control variables where appropriate, take accurate measurements, record and present data, identify patterns, draw conclusions, make predictions and use scientific evidence to support or challenge ideas.
What are some good Year 5 Science experiments and activities?
Useful Year 5 Science activities include investigating friction and air resistance, testing the properties of materials, separating mixtures, observing reversible and irreversible changes, modelling the movement of the Earth and Moon, and investigating plant reproduction. Activities should give children opportunities to make predictions, collect evidence and explain what their results show.
Where can I find Year 5 Science lesson plans and resources?
PlanBee's Year 5 Science resources include ready-to-teach schemes of work covering the key Year 5 Science curriculum topics. Lessons include detailed planning, teaching slides, differentiated activities and worksheets, as well as practical investigations designed to develop children's scientific knowledge and Working Scientifically skills.
