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PRODUCT REVIEW

pupil book pages, lesson plans and more.Generally speaking, the production values aretip-top throughout, with high-quality images,videos and content. What’s great is that theinteractive resources are all iPad-friendly sothey can be allocated to children for homeworkand revision. There are practical investigationsgalore too, and outdoor learning ideas to getchildren doing rather than just sitting.

The pupil book samples I reviewed werepitched just right, with plenty of interesting andquirky science facts, and great ideas forresearch and independent study. They containexcellent diagrams and photos and somepurposeful, fun, hands-on activities, as well aschallenging science skills questions. They areideal for group discussions.

Simply click on a year group to see thenational curriculum objectives covered,choose a unit and you’re into a whole world ofscience.

Delving further into the first lesson it wasobvious that pretty much everything had beendone for me. The plans are excellent: not toodetailed, and fully editable. They containlearning activities, differentiation pointers, whatto look out for, information links andsupporting resources.

The resources, which can be allocated atthe touch of a button (or printed out ifdesired), have clearly been written by anexpert team that knows and understandsactive assessment; they are thoughtprovoking, discussion based, and they feednext steps in learning. A healthy range of tasksare included, from true-false statements tocompare-and-contrast activities – all of whichare intellectually challenging and intrinsicallyinteresting. There is plenty here to sparkcuriosity to get children asking their ownquestions, especially in the Quest activities;active learning is at the heart of Science Bug.

Using Pearson’s ActiveLearn Primaryplatform you can search for resourcesaccording to year group, national curriculumtopic and type. You’ll find materials for theinteractive whiteboard, photocopiable sheets,

Reviewed by: John Dabell

Science Bug

Verdict: Science Bug is a treat There is guidance and support on key science concepts to help you get to grips with the new curriculum. What more could you ask for? You’ll buy this child-friendly and vibrant resource with your heart, your frontal lobe and a rather lot of your soul too. In the right hands, Science Bug could be a triumph.

Science has had a rough time over the last fewyears. A 2013 Ofsted report was highly criticalof how the subject was being taught in schools,finding that many pupils were denied theopportunity to carry out practical experiments.More recently, astronomer royal Sir MartinRees said that children were being failed bypassionless science teachers.

Science Bug has been written specifically forthe new primary curriculum, with an admirablephilosophy that addresses all of the criticismsscience teaching has faced. It believes that toinstil scientific confidence in children, and to beable to inspire future generations of youngscientists, we need to spark their imaginationand fuel their curiosity with hands-on,experiential science. We also need enterprisingteachers at the helm to bring it all to life.

Science Bug is packed with inspiring plans,activities and tools which are all online atactivelearnprimary.co.uk – a rather special time-saving digital learning space for you and yourpupils. Here you can search, plan, allocate andassess all in one place, and it’s also wherechildren go to engage with the work you setthem.

So what’s in Science Bug? Loads. The firsttime I used it I felt like a pirate inspecting atreasure chest. It has been organised into sixunits per year group, each lasting half a term.

Review 1 Pearson_Teach Primary 18/02/2015 16:05 Page 2