Science

Science Term 2 2026

Welcome back to Term 2! It was wonderful to see the students so eager and enthusiastic to continue their discovery of learning and exploration, and we look forward to another fun-filled, jam packed and exciting term in Science.

Below is a brief summary of the units being taught this term.

Foundation - Movement

Years 1 & 2 - Night and Day

Years 3 & 4 - Construction

Years 5 & 6 - Light and Colour

Foundation - Movement

In Term 1, Foundation students had the opportunity to become ‘scientists’, exploring and observing the world around them. They learnt that we regularly use more than one sense when making our observations, and were able to explain them and how they made them.

This Term, students will focus on movement, and learn how movement can be voluntary and involuntary. Through hands-on experiments, they will explore the different forces that affect movement, such as push and pull, and how some objects can be subject to both forces. Students will also discover that friction is a force that makes objects stop. They will experiment with different surfaces and materials to see how this works.

Years 1 & 2 - Night and Day

Last Term, students learnt what a meteorologist is and what they do. They learnt about the different elements affecting weather and conducted a number of hands-on experiments to apply their knowledge. Students experimented with different designs of kites, as well as making adaptations to existing designs, to work out how they reacted to wind. 

In Term 2, students will analyse the cause of day and night in relation to the movement of the Earth and the moon in relation to the sun and each other. They will explore 2D and 3D models to observe and explain how these movements impact this. Through the use of models, students will also observe how solar and lunar eclipses are created by the positioning of the sun, Earth and moon.

Years 3 & 4  - Construction

In Term 1, students learnt about weathering, erosion and deposition, and how they related to each other. They were exposed to different forms of weathering such as wind, water, chemical and physical, and understood how this is a slow and ongoing process. They simulated these through a range of small scale experiments to see how these factors affected their environment.

This Term, students will discover how different designs and shapes affect the durability and strength of different structures. They will experiment with different techniques, and then partake in various group challenges to achieve the set design brief. Teamwork skills in collaboration, communication and compromise will be developed, as well as the ability to justify and explain their choices and results.

Years 5 & 6 - Light and Colour

Last Term, students delved into how and why earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur, by understanding the composition and  movement of the Earth’s layers. They experimented with the different movements of tectonic plates, and how the shape and height of the volcano affects the lava flow. Students experimented by testing different rates of flow, representing the viscosity of lava.

In Term 2, students will explore the composition of light, and will learn how colours are absorbed or reflected to create a particular colour or shade. Through various experiments, they will discover the spectrum of light (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) when white light is split. They will experiment with mirrors, prisms and spinners to observe this. Students will look at how the brain receives light and images, by viewing optical illusions and creating thaumatropes. They will also develop an understanding of the terms transparent, translucent and opaque.