KS3 Science · Year 7 · ages 11–12
Six half-term units, two each for biology, chemistry and physics, in the order we teach them: cells and organisation, particles and states of matter, forces, reproduction and growth, elements, compounds and mixtures, and energy stores and transfers. Below is the question each unit asks, what pupils produce, the representation it carries forward and the scientific skill it builds, taken from our Year 7 Science scheme of work.
Six half-termly units, two per discipline. Each discipline starts where it actually starts: biology at the cell, chemistry at the particle model, physics at forces. Nothing else in key stage 3 works if these three are shaky.
Year 7 means ages 11–12, or S1 in Scotland.
Unit 1a · Biology · Autumn 1 · approx. 7 weeks · September – October
If you are made of cells, why do you not look like one?
Unit 1b · Chemistry · Autumn 2 · approx. 7 weeks · November – December
If nothing is added, why does a puddle disappear?
Unit 2a · Physics · Spring 1 · approx. 7 weeks · January – February
If nothing is pushing it, why does a rolling ball stop?
Unit 2b · Biology · Spring 2 · approx. 7 weeks · March – April
Why does a seed need a flower, and why do humans not?
Unit 3a · Chemistry · Summer 1 · approx. 7 weeks · April – May
Salt is made of a metal that explodes in water and a poisonous gas. Why can you eat it?
Unit 3b · Physics · Summer 2 · approx. 7 weeks · June – July
If energy cannot be destroyed, why does your phone go flat?
The scheme maps each requirement of the statutory programme of study for key stage 3 (Department for Education, 2013) to the unit that teaches it. Pupils should be taught to…
This year deliberately does not cover chemical reactions, electricity, waves, photosynthesis, respiration or space. Each has a prerequisite that Year 7 is building: reactions need elements and compounds, electricity needs energy, photosynthesis needs both cells and reactions. All appear in Years 8 and 9, and the sequence is the reason they are not here. Earth and atmosphere is the one genuine gap in Year 7 and it is covered in Year 9 Unit 2b; if your department teaches it earlier, take it from Year 9 rather than adding it to an already full year.
Two PDFs sit behind this page, and they are meant to be used together: the scheme of work to plan the year, the knowledge organisers to put in front of pupils.
Science · Key Stage 3£4.99
Full description on the Year 7 Science scheme of work page.
The statutory programme of study for key stage 3 science (DfE, 2013)·41 pages, 13 sections·For heads of science, subject leaders, technicians and every teacher who has to deliver it
KS3 Science · Year 7 · six A4 sheets£3.99
Full description on the Year 7 Science knowledge organisers page.
Written to Empower Educators Year 7 Science scheme of work·6 pages, 6 sections·For science teachers, technicians and heads of department. Printed one per pupil
Six half-term units, in the order they are taught: Cells and Organisation, Particles and States of Matter, Forces and their Effects, Reproduction and Growth, Elements, Compounds and Mixtures and Energy Stores and Transfers.
An annotated microscope drawing from the student's own slide, with a written account of how the cell's structures relate to its job; A written explanation of three everyday changes of state in terms of particle arrangement, spacing and energy, with a cooling curve drawn from the class's own data; An investigation report on one factor affecting friction, with a results table, a graph, and a conclusion that states what the evidence does not show; A comparison of human and flowering-plant reproduction, structured around the same four stages, with the adaptations of each explained rather than listed; A separation of a supplied mixture into its components, with each technique chosen and justified from the properties of what is being separated; An energy transfer diagram for three everyday devices, each accounting for where the energy started, where it went, and why none of it was lost.
Yes, across the three years of key stage 3. It maps each requirement of the statutory programme of study for key stage 3 (Department for Education, 2013) to the unit that teaches it, and on this year the scheme is plain: “This year deliberately does not cover chemical reactions, electricity, waves, photosynthesis, respiration or space.”
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