Autumn 1: The Human Body

Each year, children will study a unit on human biology: The Human Body. These units build over time, revisiting prior knowledge and using this knowledge as a foundation to progress from. It is important to read, where appropriate, the unit children have studied in the previous year, as well as the unit they will follow in the following year to gain a clear understanding of what the children have been taught before and what they will go on to learn next.

This Year 1 unit builds on the EYFS units ‘All about Me’ in Reception and Nursery. In the EYFS units, children looked closely at their bodies, named different parts of the body and thought about what our bodies can do. This unit reconnects to that prior learning by looking at the parts of the human body and their functions. Children then move on to study the eye in more detail, learning that scientists look closely at things to find out how they work. This is important disciplinary understanding that will grow as children progress through the curriculum. They will understand that light travels into our eyes which helps us to see. Children then progress to find out more about our ears, how we hear and the importance of hearing. Touch, taste and smell are studied, and children will begin to understand that our senses help us to process what is happening around us, helping us to be aware of the world we live in. Children will consider the role of our senses in protecting us from danger. Children will work scientifically in this unit, exploring senses and experiencing how we use them.

Autumn 2: Animals and their Needs

n this unit, pupils will be encouraged to be curious and ask questions on what they notice about animals. They will be looking closely at animals in the natural world around them and will learn that animals are living organisms that move around and breathe. They will learn that, unlike plants, animals do not make their own food; they must eat other plants and animals in order to survive. Children will be introduced to the idea of grouping animals - a scientific concept that will be built upon in subsequent units, such as ‘Living Things and their Environment’ in Year 2, ‘Classification of Animals’ in Year 4 and ‘Classification’ in year 6.

Children will learn scientific terminology, such as carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. Understanding that scientists group things will help children to develop disciplinary knowledge in science, understand how science works and understand how scientists have formed the knowledge that makes up our current understanding. Explaining to children that scientists don’t know everything there is to know about animals, because there are many that haven’t been studied yet, will help children to understand that science is a changing discipline and that they might play a role in it in the future.