Science // Area
Matter & Materials
Age coverage
Ages 5 to 14
Starts at age 5 // 5 topics
Starting at age 5
Your child is exploring the materials around them — identifying different substances like wood, plastic, and metal, and discovering their properties such as whether they're hard or soft, rough or smooth.
- States of Matter Vocabulary
Name and distinguish the three states of matter — solid, liquid, and gas — using properties vocabulary: hard, rigid, runny, flows, keeps its shape, fills its…
Ages 5 to 7Language - Describing Material Properties
Describe simple physical properties of everyday materials such as hard/soft, stretchy/stiff, shiny/dull, rough/smooth, waterproof/absorbent, transparent/opaque
Ages 5 to 6Concept - Objects vs Materials
Distinguish between an object and the material from which it is made, understanding that objects can be made from different materials
Ages 5 to 6Concept - Naming Everyday Materials
Identify and name a variety of everyday materials including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock
Ages 5 to 6Concept - Grouping Materials
Compare and group everyday materials based on their simple physical properties
Ages 5 to 6Method
Starts at age 6 // 2 topics
Starting at age 6
Your child is exploring how materials behave — investigating how solid objects can be changed by bending, twisting, or stretching, and learning why different materials are chosen for different jobs.
- Changing Shapes of Solids
Investigate how the shapes of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching
Ages 6 to 7Method - Choosing the Right Material
Identify and compare the suitability of everyday materials for particular uses, explaining why specific materials are chosen for specific purposes
Ages 6 to 8Concept
Starts at age 7 // 6 topics
Starting at age 7
Your child is investigating how materials behave — classifying substances by their properties, understanding why different materials are used for specific purposes, and exploring how heating and cooling can change materials.
- Heating & Cooling Changes
Observe and describe that some materials change state when heated or cooled, and measure the temperature at which changes occur in degrees Celsius
Ages 7 to 9Concept - Drawing Particle Diagrams
Draw and interpret particle diagrams — dot representations showing the arrangement, spacing, and movement of particles in solids (close, regular, vibrating in…
Ages 7 to 11Representation - Testing Materials for Uses
Give reasons, based on evidence from comparative and fair tests, for the particular uses of everyday materials including metals, wood, and plastic
Ages 7 to 10Method - Changes & Separation Vocabulary
Use process vocabulary for changes of state and material separation — dissolve, solution, soluble, insoluble, evaporate, condense, melt, freeze, filter, sieve…
Ages 7 to 9Language - Classifying Materials
Plan and conduct an investigation to classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties
Ages 7 to 8Method - Taking Apart & Rebuilding
Observe that an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object, understanding that the pieces still exist
Ages 7 to 8Concept
Starts at age 8 // 2 topics
Starting at age 8
Your child is exploring states of matter — learning to identify solids, liquids, and gases, and discovering how water changes form through evaporation and condensation.
- Solids, Liquids & Gases
Compare and group materials as solids, liquids, or gases based on their observable properties and behaviour
Ages 8 to 9Concept - Evaporation & the Water Cycle
Identify the role of evaporation and condensation in the water cycle, and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature
Ages 8 to 9Concept
Starts at age 9 // 6 topics
Starting at age 9
Your child is exploring how materials behave and change — investigating which substances dissolve in water, learning to separate mixtures, and distinguishing between changes that can be reversed and those that create entirely new materials.
- Dissolving & Solutions
Understand that some materials dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution by evaporation
Ages 9 to 10Concept - Irreversible Changes
Explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials and are not usually reversible, such as burning, rusting, and reactions with acid
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Reversible Changes
Demonstrate that dissolving, mixing, and changes of state are reversible changes where no new materials are formed
Ages 9 to 10Concept - Separating Mixtures
Use knowledge of solids, liquids, and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated through filtering, sieving, and evaporating
Ages 9 to 10Method - Advanced Material Properties
Compare and group everyday materials based on advanced properties: hardness, solubility, transparency, electrical and thermal conductivity, and response to…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Material Properties Vocabulary
Use technical vocabulary to describe and compare material properties — conductor, insulator, thermal, electrical, transparent, opaque, translucent, soluble…
Ages 9 to 11Language
Starts at age 10 // 2 topics
Starting at age 10
Your child is exploring the fundamental nature of matter — learning that everything is made of tiny particles they can't see, and discovering that matter is conserved even when it changes form through heating, cooling, or mixing.
- Conservation of Mass
Measure and provide evidence that the total weight of matter is conserved regardless of the type of change (heating, cooling, or mixing)
Ages 10 to 11Concept - Matter Is Made of Particles
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and that this explains properties of solids, liquids, and gases
Ages 10 to 11Concept
Starts at age 11 // 8 topics
Starting at age 11
- Physical vs Chemical Changes
Distinguish between physical changes (reversible, no new substances formed) and chemical changes (new substances formed, often irreversible), using conservation…
Ages 11 to 13Concept - Separating Mixtures
Select and carry out appropriate separation techniques for different types of mixtures: filtration (insoluble solids), distillation (liquids by boiling point)…
Ages 11 to 13Method - Pure Substances & Mixtures
Distinguish between pure substances and mixtures, identify formulations as useful mixtures with precise compositions, and use melting and boiling points to test…
Ages 11 to 13Concept - The Particle Model
Use the particle model to explain the properties of solids, liquids, and gases — including differences in arrangement, movement, and spacing — and apply the…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Atoms, Elements & Compounds
Explain the differences between atoms, elements, and compounds; describe the simple Bohr model of the atom (nucleus with protons and neutrons, electrons in…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Metals vs Non-Metals
Compare the physical and chemical properties of metals and non-metals, explaining metallic properties (malleability, lustre, conductivity) and how position in…
Ages 11 to 13Concept - The Periodic Table
Describe the organisation of the periodic table into periods and groups, explain the contribution of Mendeleev, and use the table to identify metals…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - How Materials Change State
Explain melting, freezing, boiling, condensing, and sublimation using the particle model, interpreting heating and cooling curves to identify melting and…
Ages 11 to 12Concept
Starts at age 12 // 8 topics
Starting at age 12
- Finite Resources & Recycling
Explain that many raw materials (metals, fossil fuels, minerals) are finite resources, describe the environmental costs of extraction, and evaluate the benefits…
Ages 12 to 14Concept - Earth's Atmosphere & CO2
Describe the composition of Earth's atmosphere (mainly nitrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of CO₂ and other gases), explain how human activity increases…
Ages 12 to 14Concept - Acid Reactions & Salts
Describe and write word equations for the reactions of acids with metals, alkalis (neutralisation), and metal oxides/hydroxides, identifying the salt produced…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Acids, Alkalis & pH
Define acids and alkalis in terms of hydrogen ion concentration, describe the pH scale (0–14), and explain how indicators are used to identify and measure…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Reactions That Release or Absorb Heat
Distinguish between exothermic reactions (release energy, temperature rises) and endothermic reactions (absorb energy, temperature falls), with everyday and…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - The Rock Cycle
Explain the rock cycle: how igneous rocks form from magma, sedimentary rocks from compressed sediment, and metamorphic rocks from heat and pressure, and how all…
Ages 12 to 14Concept - Types of Chemical Reaction
Identify and describe four types of chemical reaction: combustion (burning in oxygen), oxidation (gain of oxygen), thermal decomposition (breaking down by…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - The Reactivity Series
Order common metals in the reactivity series and explain how a more reactive metal displaces a less reactive one; describe how carbon is used to extract metals…
Ages 12 to 14Concept
Starts at age 13 // 1 topic
Starting at age 13
- Ceramics, Polymers & Composites
Describe the properties and uses of ceramics (hard, brittle, heat-resistant), polymers (flexible, lightweight, variable), and composites (combine properties of…
Ages 13 to 14Concept