Nuffield Primary Science: Teachers’ Guides (Ages 7-12)

The Nuffield Primary Science Teachers' Guides are a resource that developed from the findings of the SPACE research programme. They were designed to help teachers put the SPACE approach to teaching and learning into action in their classrooms. The guides were not intended as a programme to be followed step by step. An important feature of the guides is that they include many examples drawn from students' work to illustrate common misconceptions and the development of understanding.

Titles
The project produced 11 guides for the 7-12 age range (Key Stage 2). There was one guide to cover the main themes of the National Curriculum for England and Wales. Each guide highlighted scientific investigation as an integral part of learning in science.
*The Earth in space
*Electricity and magnetism
*Forces and movement
*Light
*Living processes
*Living things in their environment
*Materials
*Rocks, soil and weather
*Sound and music
*Using energy
*The variety of Life

Contents
Each Teachers' Guide for students aged 7-12 followed the same pattern with the following contents:

*Chapter 1: Introduction - covering useful strategies, the SPACE approach and links to the National Curriculum

*Chapter 2: Planning - using the resources to plan topics with students' ideas in mind, the use of ICT and the development of cross-curricula topics.

*Chapter 3: Exploring the themes of the guide - areas of investigation and key ideas, starter activities, students' ideas and how to develop them

*Chapter 4: Assessment - examples with ways of matching evidence of students' achievements with the targets of the National Curriculum

*Chapter 5: Background science - explaining the scientific view of the content of the theme.

Two editions
The Nuffield Primary Science Teachers' Guides were revised to match the version of the National Curriculum introduced in 1995. The revised Guides include more guidance for teachers on planning the implementation the SPACE approach in the school curriculum.