Session 1 - Set up ground rules for this Strand. Revise knowledge of life cycles of butterflies and frogs which both involve metamorphosis and flowering plants. Discuss reasons for reproduction and consider animals facing extinction. Start reading Flour Babies. Session 2 - Using the riddle of the Sphinx as a starting point, look in detail at the human life cycle and compare the stages with those of other animals. Look at the range of different gestation periods and life spans; draw graphs and look for patterns. Begin research. Suitable for Y6 pupils.

Session 1 - Changes at puberty prepare our bodies to have children of our own. Look in more detail at human fertilisation and pregnancy and learn how important it is for mother-to-be to look after her health. Look at baby growth in utero and explain function of umbilical cord. Session 2 - Watch a video of a birth and discuss other forms of delivery such as Caesarean or forceps deliveries. Discuss how the parents’ lives will now change and relate this to children’s Flour Babies experience. Research birth rites of passage in different cultures. Suitable for Y6 pupils.

Session 1 - Look at the physical changes that take place during puberty. Some are seen easily, e.g. growing taller and broader, hair around genitals and under arms, etc. Also discuss menstruation and wet dreams and rites of passage in different cultures on reaching puberty. Session 2 - Look at the emotional changes in puberty. Use drama to act out typical scenarios involving parents and teenagers; look at the different viewpoints and discuss how compromise can ease situations. Look at the meaning of friendships and where help can be found. Suitable for Y6 pupils.

The first two sessions are an introduction to the Strand. Session 1 - Help children appreciate that there are many physical differences between plants and animals (including humans) that are not necessarily good or bad nor important to function or ability. Session 2 - Look in more detail at differences between people living in Britain. Discuss our multi-cultural society. Share poems in We are Britain by Benjamin Zephaniah to inspire children to write poems about themselves. Can children recognise their own Wanted poster? Suitable for Y6 pupils.

Look at an irreversible change. Children set up an investigation to answer questions about nails rusting. Will they compare nails made from different materials or find out whether or not both water and air are needed for rusting to occur? Suitable for Y6 pupils.

Session 1 - Have discussion about contraceptives as a way of preventing an unwanted pregnancy, but also explain that they can help protect against sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Use drama to practise saying no to peer pressure for smoking, alcohol or drugs. Children design warning labels. Session 2 - Discuss one sexually transmitted disease / infection in more detail – HIV / Aids. Ensure children understand difference between having the virus and the syndrome. Watch a video by children living with an HIV mother and discuss stigma involved with HIV / Aids. Look at statistics and discuss Memory Books and World Aids Day. Suitable for Y6 pupils.

Finish the investigation started in Session B. Use the results to try and answer the questions about what plants need. Match vocabulary to meanings to make a glossary. Assess what has been learnt. Suitable for Y2 pupils.

Explore what is under our feet. Draw and label a cross section of the Earth. Discover the three main rock types. Test the permeability of different kinds of rocks. Find out information from websites. Suitable for Y3 pupils.

Some seeds rattle, some roll, others are just bursting out all over the place! Children discover that plants disperse many seeds in different ways, what clues do their sizes, shapes, weights and textures give us about how they spread? Suitable for Y5 pupils.

Using Madagascan Chameleons as a model, show children how they can focus upon particularly interesting aspects of their chosen creature. They will need to write an explanation of this feature. Model this using the chameleon’s camouflage. Suitable for years 5 and 6.

The rainforest ecosystem is one of the oldest on the planet. Animals living there have adapted to suit their habitat. Children find out more about animals who use camouflage, sharp claws, long beaks or tails to survive in the jungle. Suitable for years 3 and 4.

Black Africans were very eager to vote in the 1994 South African election. Discuss the significance of Mandela’s election as the first black president in South Africa. Use historic film footage to show queues of voters and reactions to the election. Suitable for years 5 and 6.

Children continue work on health and hygiene in relation to clean water and the diseases caused/transmitted by dirty water. Using the Save the Children website, children discover the ways in which this issue is being tackled in different parts of the world. Suitable for years 3 and 4.

Discuss how sound enters the ears and the information is passed to the brain. Investigate the sounds animals make and why; relate to animal treatment. Activity to help children discriminate sounds in a group. Draw animal pictures and label with the sounds they make. Suitable for Year 1 pupils.

Children find out how plants and animals are classified into groups. They then try to identify the minibeasts found during the field trip and create a key using a branching database to enable other children to identify them. Suitable for Year 4 pupils.

We all have at least one thing in common – we live in Britain! Chn meet lots of different chn from all over the UK courtesy of We are Britain by B. Zephaniah. They see people move around the UK & other countries é they think about their own histories. Suitable for Years 1 é 2.

Introduce simple definition of ‘friction’. Look carefully at a bicycle or tricycle to identify the forces in action. Discuss forces in other vehicles. A range of activities about forces mainly to do with vehicles. Suitable for Year 1 pupils.

Learn some key vocabulary about rocks. Take part in a workshop offering a range of activities including testing hardness of rocks, sorting rocks, finding information, drawing rocks and thinking about how pebbles and sand are formed. Suitable for Y3 pupils.

The English language contains words from many different languages. Children investigate old Saxon and Celtic words used in British place names, Greek prefixes and word roots that are used in English words and words that have been introduced from other languages.

Children will plan and carry out an investigation about paper in small groups or pairs, testing questions they have thought of themselves. They will select the equipment and have a go at explaining results and drawing conclusions. Suitable for Y3 pupils.