Scaffolding learning in science

Workbooks, activities and revision mats to help less-able science pupils to consolidate their understanding of key scientific concepts

Tes Resources Team

Student jumping into learning with Scaffolding Learning In Science resources for secondary biology chemistry and physics

Supporting materials to help struggling students make sense of topics in biology, chemistry and physics

The subject of science plays host to a multitude of theories and laws that explain why and how natural events or processes occur. While some learners thrive on getting to grips with these notions, they can be enough to put others off.

For those that struggle to get their heads around some of these ideas, we’ve picked out a selection of resources to support and extend learning in different topic areas.

Biology

KS3 Science homework
amcooke

KS3 Science homework

£5.00
3 Resources
35 homework tasks for KS3. Each presentation has 3 slides. Slide 1 is the pupil sheet, slide 2 contains the mark scheme and slide 3 has suitable comments to use give a target on how to improve scientific knowledge. Taken by an OFSTED inspector to give to a school as an example of good practice ...
Reflex Arc Foldable - two versions/differentiated
mwyre

Reflex Arc Foldable - two versions/differentiated

£3.00
(0)
Just one sheet of A4 to print out. Pupils cut along all the dotted lines and fold down the middle. They then stick the key words onto the outside to give the pathway of the reflex arc. It includes stimulus/receptor/sensory neurone/synapse/relay neurone/synapse/motor neurone/ effector/response. ...
Natural selection lower ability
itegallagher

Natural selection lower ability

FREE
(11)
Worksheet I have made using giraffes to help pupils understand natural selection better. To be used in conjunction with textbooks. Credit to Longman's worksheet where I adapted it from.
B1 Revision Placemat - Support
olivia_b2

B1 Revision Placemat - Support

£1.00
(0)
A simple revision placemat for lower ability sets covering basic animal and plant cells, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, specialised cells, stem cells and mitosis. Suitable for AQA Combined Science or similar.

Chemistry

The History of the Atomic Model support sheet
jlmorgan100

The History of the Atomic Model support sheet

FREE
(8)
Support worksheets covering the history of the atomic model and Rutherford's alpha scattering experiment. The worksheets are designed to be visual to promote an in depth understanding of the changing ideas about the atom. They have allowed some of my lower prior attainment students to gain a better ...
Ionic Bonding Support Sheet
Sarah Smith

Ionic Bonding Support Sheet

FREE
(2)
Support sheet for lower ability sudents. Print out to A3 to allow more room to draw electrons. It helps if they have colours to draw the electrons on different atoms. This worked really well with my bottom 9's.
Support Notes for Electrolysis
talk2cazza

Support Notes for Electrolysis

FREE
(0)
From introducing ions to some basic electrolysis examples. This small book is made to help cover the basics and can be used as a reference when teaching. Useful for WJEC GCSE C1. It does not contain aqueous examples.

Physics

Matter calculations support sheets
AndrewJCN

Matter calculations support sheets

FREE
(3)
5 printable worksheets to support students with calculations on specific heat capacity, latent heat and density calculations. The first three sheets are designed to get students using the equations and following a logical set of steps towards getting an answer, with lots of scaffolding that is ...
GCSE Physics Revision Quiz
jdlangford1

GCSE Physics Revision Quiz

£2.00
(1)
50 Question multiple choice revision quiz for GCSE Physics. Ideal class activity testing knowledge and understanding of content from across the specification. Suitable for students who have completed or nearly completed the course as part of a revision lesson and helps with developing memory recall ...