The materials in this resource are from the Secondary National Strategy ‘Progressing to Level 6 and beyond in science’ project. They were intended for science teachers who are focusing on helping their students in developing general skills in scientific writing. For a more specific focus on explanations, arguments...

This set of information sheets from the Strategic Board for Scientific Apprenticeships are designed for teachers and careers advisers to help them introduce science apprenticeships to students. They highlight the types of apprenticeships available, what the roles involve, how to look and apply for apprenticeships,...

A ten-lesson sequence progressing from the basics of Scratch through to creating simple games. It includes:

• drawing shapes and using repeats
• accepting keyboard input to control the movement of sprites
• planning algorithms using flow diagrams and executing them in Scratch
• ...

This unit of six lessons does not assume any prior programming knowledge and covers the following guidelines in the National Curriculum:

• Design - write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into...

This Barefoot Computing resource for upper-primary computing lessons uses the creation of a Scratch maths quiz as a basis for learning about algorithms using selection.

Children are asked to create an algorithm that...

This Barefoot Computing resource builds on the ‘Maths quiz with selection’ learning activities which should be undertaken first.

It involves improving an existing Scratch maths quiz and adding score-keeping using...

A learning activity guide, from Barefoot Computing, for teachers in primary schools. It provides structure for an introductory programming session using Scratch. The activity involves tinkering within the Scratch environment - initially using existing Scratch projects then moving on to the creation of new projects...

ScratchJr is an introductory programming language that enables young students to create their own interactive stories and games. Students snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. Students can modify characters in the paint editor, add their own voices and sounds,...

This Barefoot activity for young programmers exploits the sequencing and timing of joke-telling to help students learn good programming techniques. After planning an animation using a storyboard technique they then code it using the Scratch Jr app, and debug it. Tips for supporting the less able, as well as...

A Barefoot Computing introductory programming activity for lower-primary children learning computing. Using the iPad app Scratch Jr, children are given the opportunity to develop skills by tinkering with existing programs as well as creating their own. Children might be offered the chance to tinker with other basic...

This resource explores the potential benefits and risks of a national screening programme for cystic fibrosis (CF) carriers. Students are presented with the proposal that all 14 year olds should be encouraged to have a screening test to identify whether they are a...

In this activity, students consider how engineers build the hull of lifeboats so that they are light and strong. Students are challenged to construct a beam using cheese crackers, wafers, paperclips, bridge supports. They can consider building beams using a wider range of materials such as aluminium or wood beam...

This resource, aimed at Key Stage Two, looks at the how the properties of a material lead to it being used for a particular purpose. The lesson plan provides links to the topics of everyday materials and their uses, forces and design and technology. Children are asked to make observations of lifeboats thinking...

These activities, from the Centre for Science Education's Science Assessment Tasks for More Able Students, were developed as part of '2005 - Year of the Sea'. The student activities consist of three assessment tasks. These are backed up by a set of exemplar materials for teachers to support their judgements.