WHIZZ POP BANG is a monthly magazine brimming with top-quality science for children aged six to twelve.
Our NEW downloadable resources link hands-on science experiments with key curriculum topics for years 2 to 6. The resources include lesson plans, hands-on investigations, PowerPoint presentations, games, science texts and guided reading comprehensions – all aimed at making science fun and engaging for children and teachers alike!
WHIZZ POP BANG is a monthly magazine brimming with top-quality science for children aged six to twelve.
Our NEW downloadable resources link hands-on science experiments with key curriculum topics for years 2 to 6. The resources include lesson plans, hands-on investigations, PowerPoint presentations, games, science texts and guided reading comprehensions – all aimed at making science fun and engaging for children and teachers alike!
This is an exciting investigation for years 3 and 4 that your pupils will never forget! The Egyptians were fascinated by the human body and were well known for preserving the bodies of important people by turning them into mummies. Anything that used to be alive can be mummified. Pupils will mummify a tomato by creating the conditions used in ancient Egypt and observe what happens over several weeks.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation explaining how the Egyptians mummified a body
Printable instructions
A printable results table
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Tomatoes
Antiseptic liquid or handwash
Paper towels
Salt
Bicarbonate of soda
Small jars slightly bigger than your tomatoes
A practical activity for year 3 and P4, linking to the topic Forces and magnets. Just how did the Egyptians move the heavy limestone blocks used to build the pyramids? A team of physicists in the Netherlands spotted a clue in an ancient wall painting, which shows an Egyptian worker pouring water on the sand. Pupils will test this theory out to see if adding water to sand will reduce friction and allow the weight to move more easily.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan which includes a scientific explanation of how a potato moves across wet sand
A PowerPoint presentation explaining pyramid physics
Printable instructions
Simple to resource! The items you will need include:
Play sand
School trays
A bag of potatoes
String
Drawing pins
Water
This lesson pack for year 3 , linking to the topics Rocks, explains how fossils are formed. Have you ever dreamed of discovering a dinosaur? Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte explains how you do it, as well as how to evacuate them safely.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation explaining how fossils are formed
Instructions for a fossils experiment
Instructions for an extra activity to make and excavate your own fossils
Simple to resource! the items you will need:
Bread
Gummy animal sweets
Paper towels or kitchen roll
Heavy books
Linking to the topicliving things and habitats year 5 pupils will learn about an amphibian’s and an insect’s life cycles on the topic of ponds. Pupils will make their own 3D model of a life cycle and compare it with mammals and birds to find out the similarities and differences.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation explaining amphibian and insect life cycles
Printable instructions
A Fishing Fun game
Images of different animals to use a a visual reference when making their models
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Modelling clay
Thick cardboard
Glue gun
In this lesson pack for year 5, linking to the topic forces, pupils will carry out a fair test. They will learn what independent variables, control variables and dependent variables are. Pupils will make their own seesaw and find out how levers work. They will then test what happens if the rod isn’t attached to the fulcrum at its middle point. Where would they need to place the second weight for the lever to be balanced?
This lesson pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan with cross-curricular links
A PowerPoint presentation explaining the different variables and how to carry out a fair test
Results table and squared paper for a line graph.
Instructions to make a simple seesaw
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Ruler
Pin
Kitchen roll tube
Sticky tape
Cocktail sticks
Paper straws
100 g weights or Plasticine (rolled into balls weighing around 100 g each)
An investigation for year 2, linking to the topics everyday materials. Pupils will follow a simple recipe to make their own glue and then test it against some other sticky ingredients.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘Sticky situation’
Printable instructions to make the glue
Differentiated printable results tables
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Flour
Sugar
Vinegar
Washing-up liquid
Honey
Measuring jug
Spoon
Bowl
In this lesson pack for year 3, year 4, P4 and P5, pupils will learn why the Romans built aqueducts and how they work. They will be challenged to engineer their own version of a Roman aqueduct. To make it less messy, they will have to transport a small ball instead of water. This is a great challenge to get your class thinking creatively, linking with both history and design and technology topics.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation containing information about aqueducts and instructions for the challenge
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Lots of card and/or cardboard
Sticky tape
Scissors
Chairs, boxes and books
A ping pong ball or other small ball
A small bowl
In this lesson pack for Year 3, year 4, P4 and P5, pupils will learn how the Romans improved arches and used them to build different structures. They will follow instructions to make three different bridges and then test their strength. They will then be challenged to design and make their own bridge. This lesson links with both history and design and technology topics.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation containing information about bridges and instructions for the challenge
Printable instructions
Printable templates to cut out.
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Glue
Scissors
Paper templates
A weight, for example coins of the same value
This lesson pack for year 2 , linking to the topic living things, focuses on how to identify insects from other minibeasts. Pupils will learn the features of an insect and then create their own sock insect (no sewing required!). Pupils will choose which insect they would like to make from a selection of images which show their features clearly.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘Incredible insects’
Printable instruction sheet for a sock butterfly.
A4 insect images and smaller images
Instructions to make a pooter
A ‘spot the odd one out’ activity
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Old socks
Pipe cleaners
Buttons
Glue
Scraps of fabric or felt
Stuffing (from an old pillow, cotton wool, or old fabric strips)
In this lesson pack for Year 3 and year 4, pupils will learn about climate change. They will learn in simple terms what the greenhouse effect is and how it is contributing to the climate crisis. Included in the pack is an experiment to do as a whole class, demonstrating the greenhouse effect.
This pack includes:
A PowerPoint presentation explaining climate change
A lesson plan
A flow chart to help pupils find a way to help solve the climate crisis
A printable climate pledge
In this lesson pack for Year 5, year 6, pupils will learn about climate change. They will learn in simple terms what the greenhouse effect is and how it is contributing to the climate crisis. Included in the pack is a letter explaining that the school could be chosen for a renewable energy source, which will spark a debate in your classroom.
This pack includes:
A PowerPoint presentation explaining climate change and renewable energy sources
A lesson plan
A flow chart to help pupils find a way to help solve the climate crisis
An explanation text on solar panels and wind turbines
A fabricated letter from a council’s sustainability department to set up the debate
In this lesson pack for year 4, linking to the topics Animals including humans pupils will learn about food chains and what the role of the producer, prey and predator is. They will make their own food chain using cardboard tubes.
This lesson pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan with cross-curricular links
A PowerPoint presentation explaining food chains
Instructions to make food chain animals tubes
Whole class food chain game
Pictures to support lower ability learners
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Cardboard tubes from kitchen rolls
Scissors
Sticky tape
Glue
Paper and pens
This lesson pack for year 3 , Linking to the topic light sets up an investigation for your class. Pupils will make a shadow and see how it changes when they move it away from the light source.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation with instructions
Printable results table
Printable Stone Age shadow puppets
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
A2 paper
Rulers
Card
Torches
In this lesson pack for year 3, year 4, pupils will find out how archaeologists find out what Stone Age people ate. They will excavate food from a fake Stone Age poo and record their findings.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation containing information about what was eaten in the Stone Age
Differentiated results tables
Instructions to make the poo
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Ingredients to make the Stone Age poo
Rulers
Lollypop sticks or cocktails sticks
Linking to the topics forces and magnets and forces, this is a fun investigation for year 5 and P6 about gravity and friction. Pupils will build a simple marble run using carboard and masking tape. Their challenge will be to see who can make their run last the longest by experimenting with friction.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan.
A PowerPoint presentation explaining gravity, friction and air resistance
An investigation for year 2 , linking to the topics everyday materials . Pupils will sort stretchy, flexible and inflexible materials by testing if they can bend or be twisted, stretched, pulled or squashed. Then it’s time to get creative and competitive in a game which involves moulding dough into an animal shape.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation containing instructions for the game
Printable game
One guided reading spread entitled ‘plastic fantastic’
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
plasticine, Play-doh or modelling clay
Sign up at whizzpopbang.com/schools to access all of the teaching resources.
An investigation for year 3 linking with the topic plants . We already know that plants need water to grow, but what happens if they have too much, and how does soil type help them to get the right amount? In this lesson, pupils will do an experiment to discover the best combination of soil and sand for drainage, and the reasons that this is important to plants.
This pack contains:
A differentiated lesson plan
A PowerPoint presentation which includes instructions for the activity
A printable set of instructions
Two guided reading spreads: The secret life of seeds and an interview with a young scientist
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Plastic cups
Potting soil
Sand
Mixing bowl
Newspaper
Sign up at whizzpopbang.com/schools to access all of the teaching resources.
An investigation for year 5, linking to the topic Forces. Pupils will have fun creating simple straw planes and then devising their own investigations.
This pack includes:
A differentiated lesson plan.
A PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘Up, up and away’, which explains how planes fly.
A group planning sheet.
Three guided reading spreads: The Wright brothers, how drones work and ‘Would you fly in a plane without a pilot?’
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Paper straws
Sign up at whizzpopbang.com/schools to access all of the teaching resources.
In this lesson pack for year 4 and P5, linking to the topic sound, pupils will make their own pin strummer. They will create their own investigations, choosing one variable to change.
The pack includes:
A PowerPoint presentation entitled 'A mash-up of musical science’ including instructions for how to make an instrument using hair pins.
A lesson plan.
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Hair pins
Clean, empty containers made from different materials
Sign up at whizzpopbang.com/schools to access all of the teaching resources.
This resource includes a differentiated lesson plan linked to the national curriculum, a PowerPoint presentation that explains how the urinary system and kidneys work, a printable wee chart, instructions to make a urinary system and a Wee-ly true quiz.
Linking to the topics animals including humans and body system and cells, this lesson pack for year 6 and P7 teaches how our urinary system works. Think about everything you’ve eaten since yesterday. Right now, your body is breaking it down to release the energy and nutrients you need to grow. This also produces chemicals you don’t need. Your body gets rid of them by making wee! Your body has a whole wee-producing department called the urinary system, including your kidneys, bladder and the tubes that connect them and carry the wee out of your body.
This pack includes:
A lesson plan, complete with an explanation of how our kidneys work.
Differentiated printable instructions to make a urinary system.
A PowerPoint presentation that explains how the urinary system and kidneys work.
A printable wee colour chart.
A Wee-ly true quiz.
Simple to resource! The items you will need:
Empty shoe box
Empty plastic cartons
Coffee filters
A heavy weight, like a tin of food
Paper straws
Balloons
Yellow food colouring