KS3 Science · Year 9 · ages 13–14
Six half-term units, in the order we teach them: atomic structure and the periodic table, inheritance, variation and evolution, motion, speed and pressure, Earth, atmosphere and climate, space physics and energy resources, and health, disease and the immune system. 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 9 Science scheme of work.
Six half-termly units, two per discipline. Unit 1a explains the reactivity series that Year 8 built from evidence, and that order is deliberate — a pattern observed and then explained is science; a pattern explained and then observed is a lesson. Unit 2a is placed after the mathematics department teaches rearranging equations.
Year 9 means ages 13–14, or S2–S3 in Scotland.
Unit 1a · Chemistry · Autumn 1 · approx. 7 weeks · September – October
Why does the reactivity series look the way it does?
Unit 1b · Biology · Autumn 2 · approx. 7 weeks · November – December
Why are you like your parents but not identical to them?
Unit 2a · Physics · Spring 1 · approx. 7 weeks · January – February
Two cars pass the same sign at the same speed. Is anything about them the same?
Unit 2b · Chemistry and Earth science · Spring 2 · approx. 7 weeks · March – April
The atmosphere is 0.04% carbon dioxide. How can that possibly matter?
Unit 3a · Physics · Summer 1 · approx. 7 weeks · April – May
Coal, wind and hydroelectricity are all stored sunlight. Which resources are not, and why?
Unit 3b · Biology · Summer 2 · approx. 7 weeks · June – July
You meet thousands of pathogens a day and are almost never ill. Why not?
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…
The key stage 3 programme of study is complete across the three years by the end of this book. What this year does not do is start GCSE content, and that is a deliberate choice rather than an omission — several schools begin GCSE in Year 9, and a department doing that should treat these six units as the last chance to secure key stage 3 rather than as time to be reclaimed. The units that most repay being taught in full are 1a, which explains reactivity, and 2a, which installs the calculation habits the whole of GCSE physics assumes. National curriculum coverage Page 4 of 42
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 9 Science scheme of work page.
The statutory programme of study for key stage 3 science (DfE, 2013)·42 pages, 13 sections·For heads of science, subject leaders, technicians and every teacher who has to deliver it
KS3 Science · Year 9 · six A4 sheets£3.99
Full description on the Year 9 Science knowledge organisers page.
Written to Empower Educators Year 9 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: Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table, Inheritance, Variation and Evolution, Motion, Speed and Pressure, Earth, Atmosphere and Climate, Space Physics and Energy Resources and Health, Disease and the Immune System.
A prediction of the properties and reactions of an element the class has never met, justified entirely from its position in the periodic table; An explanation of one real example of evolution by natural selection, in which every step is stated in terms of variation, selection and inheritance rather than intent; A distance–time graph produced from the class's own measurements, interpreted in writing, with speeds calculated and quoted to a justified precision; An evidence-based account of how the atmosphere has changed, distinguishing what is measured, what is inferred, and what is projected; A comparison of three energy resources against stated criteria, with a recommendation that names its own trade-offs rather than concealing them; An explanation of how one named disease is caught, fought and prevented, using the same three-stage structure for each part.
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: “The key stage 3 programme of study is complete across the three years by the end of this book.”
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