Three fully planned and resourced lessons on the theme Curiosity for British Science week 2026 The theme is all about space Year 7 – Escape from a Black Hole Lesson Objectives Describe what a black hole is. Explain how gravity changes near extremely massive objects. Identify key vocabulary (gravity, star, collapse, event horizon, galaxy). Apply scientific knowledge to a creative scenario. Year 8 – Design a New Planet Lesson Objectives Identify different types of planets. Explain factors that affect habitability. Apply knowledge of atmosphere, gravity and temperature. Justify scientific decisions in a creative design. Year 9 – The Ethics of Colonising Space Lesson Objectives Explain reasons for and against space colonisation. Evaluate environmental, economic and ethical impacts. Construct a balanced argument. Use evidence to support their opinion.

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: Explain what the reactivity series is showing Write the correct order of the reactivity series Describe what the reactivity series is showing Describe the term displacement

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To investigate which fruits have a higher weight than up-thrust 1.To explain when upthrust is exerted To plan an investigation to see which fruits have a greater weight than up-thrust when submerged in water 3.To write a conclusion from our results

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To be able to give the pH value based on observations Describe what the pH scale tells us. Recall the colours and pH values of different substances and what an indicator is. Explain what makes something an acid and state which atoms are in different laboratory acids.

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: Explain the process of neutralisation through use of equations State what happens during a neutralisation reaction Carry out the experiment safely and neutralise an acid with a base. Construct word and symbol equations for neutralisation reactions

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: Explain how antacids work and investigate their effectiveness Describe examples of everyday neutralisation reactions Explain two examples of everyday neutralisation reactions Design a suitable method for investigating the effectiveness on indigestion tablets

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. Follow a method safely to make an indicator using cabbage! Test your indicator and explain what the results show. Evaluate the effectiveness of your indicator

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To compare ceramics and composites To give the properties of ceramics To give the uses of ceramics Compare ceramics to composites

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: Investigate displacement reactions Describe what a displacement reaction is Predict which metal will be displaced Write an equation for a displacement reaction

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To describe the term oxidation using equations Describe what oxidation is Write a word equations for reactions with oxygen Write a symbolic equation for oxidation and balance it

Fully planned and resourced lessons with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. Lesson 1- LO: To be able to plan an investigation to see how mass affects the extension of a spring To identify the variables To Write a hypothesis To write a method Lesson 2- LO: To be able to follow your method to investigate how mass affects extension of a spring Design a table to collect results Carry out the experiment Evaluate your method Lesson 3- LO: To be able to draw a graph and write a conclusion of your results. Explain when a bar chart and line graph should be used Decide and draw the correct graph for your results Write a conclusion for your results

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To be able to name and identify the different forces acting on an object 1.Identify the difference between contact and non-contact forces. . Label force diagrams and draw the arrows. Explain how an object moves based on the force diagram.

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To investigate what factors affect friction Explain what friction is and when it is caused. Design an investigation to see how surface type affects friction Plot a bar graph of results

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO:To be able to explain what stopping distance is 1.To explain what stopping distance is 2.Give the factors that affect thinking distance 3.Give the factors that affect braking distance

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To investigate how surface area affects air resistance To explain when air-resistance is exerted To plan an investigation into surface area and air resistance To investigate how the surface area of a paper plane affects air resistance. .

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To give examples of when normal contact force is exerted 1.To explain when this force is exerted To give examples of scenarios where this force is exerted. 3.To relate this force to Newtons 3rd Law

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To be able to calculate resultant forces To be able to identify the different forces acting on an object To be able to define resultant force To be able to calculate the resultant force from diagrams

Two fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. The first lesson is the theory and lesson 2 is the experiment. Lesson 1 LO: Compare endothermic and exothermic reactions Describe the difference between exothermic and endothermic reactions. To be able to provide examples of exothermic and endothermic reactions. To plan a method to investigate if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic Lesson 2 LO: To analyse the results from the investigation To recall the steps required to investigate if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic To carry out the investigation To interpret results and draw a graph

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: Explain how catalyst speed up a reaction State what a catalyst is using examples Explain how catalysts are used with real life examples. Investigate the rate of reaction with and without a catalyst.

Fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. LO: To compare physical and chemical changes To state the differences between physical and chemical reactions To identify if a reaction is physical or chemical 3.To carry out chemical reactions and make observations

Five fully planned and resourced lesson with self assessment, AFL, scaffolding and challenge tasks. Most of these lessons also include a practical activity. Lesson 1- Acids and alkalis Lesson 2- pH scale Lesson 3- Red cabbage indicator Lesson 4- Neutralisation Lesson 5- Antacids