Resources to Support Teaching in Year Nine

The Science Focus course provides a rich variety of different types of learning activities, which are described in sufficient detail to be taken and adapted into any Key Stage Three scheme of work. Thus, particular lesson activities or even complete modules can be adapted for use at any level of Key Stage Three, to enrich an overall scheme of work.

The Year Nine resources for Science Focus: the Salters’ Approach, provide a suggested scheme of work for each of nine units of study.

Units covered in Year Nine:
Green Machine: Photosynthesis and food chains
Safe as Houses: Forces and structures
Drinks: Pure water, fizzy drinks and fermentation
Seeing Stars: Earth, the planets and stars
Food: An introduction to nutrients and digestion
Safe Journey: Ideas about speed, time and distance
Growing Up: Growing and maturing from babies to adults
Metals: Properties, uses and protection of some metals
Current Thinking: More about circuits
World Watch: Science and the environment

These materials are delivered through Teachers’ Guide 3 and two books for students.

Working with Science 3:
Provides work sheets and instructions which help students develop their knowledge and understanding through a variety of interactive learning activities.

Looking into Science 3:
A full colour book which can be used to introduce new topics or ideas and stimulate curiosity.

Teachers’ Guide 3:
Provides an overview for each of the nine units which identifies the content and learning activities provided by the unit. This is followed by a series of lesson plans, with suggestions for managing the activities and worksheets for students.
The content includes:
•lesson by lesson planning summaries,
•notes for the teacher which illustrate a variety of types of teaching and learning activities
•notes on the responses which should be expected from pupils
•background knowledge of the topic covered
•a pre-planner to identify materials which may be less commonly available or things which need advance preparation before the lesson where they will be used.
•notes for technicians.

Some student sheets are also included in a format suitable for copying and distribution to students. These provide alternative or extension activities. Where students are likely to cut up worksheets or write on them, the worksheets are included in the teachers’ guide.