CURRICULUM LINKS FOR ACTIVITY PACK –
ENGLAND AND WALES
Astronomy is an exciting area to explore with students and can be used as an inspiration
for many areas of the curriculum. Astronomy can act as a stimulus for art, music and
creative writing and poetry. So much geography on Earth is found from satellite imaging.
Here, the focus is on the science curriculum and the links covered by the activities within
the Pack.
Astronomy provides opportunities to teach students about forces, momentum, the Solar
System, the beginning of the Universe, light, the electromagnetic spectrum and scientific
enquiry including the history of Science. Chemical signatures from different planets allow
us to consider the possibilities of life on other planets and how we could define and
recognise life if we were to find it elsewhere!
MINI-PLANETARIUM
Key Stage 1: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) follow simple instructions to control the risks to themselves and to others.
2h) make simple comparisons and identify simple patterns or associations
Key Stage 2: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) use simple equipment and materials appropriately and take action to control risks.
2h) use a wide range of methods, including diagrams, drawings, tables, bar charts, line graphs and ICT,
to communicate data in an appropriate and systematic manner
Key Stage 3: Science
Sc4 Physical processes
4. The Earth and Beyond
4a) how the movement of the Earth causes the apparent daily and annual movement of the Sun and other
stars
bbc.co.uk/stargazing
CURRICULUM LINKS FOR ACTIVITY PACK –
ENGLAND AND WALES
SOLAR ECLIPSE VIEWER
Key Stage 1: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) follow simple instructions to control the risks to themselves and to others.
Sc4 Physical processes
3. Light and dark
3a) to identify different light sources, including the Sun
3b) that darkness is the absence of light
Key Stage 2: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) use simple equipment and materials appropriately and take action to control risks.
Sc4 Physical processes
3. Light and Sound
3a) that light travels from a source
3d) that we see things only when light from them enters our eyes
Key Stage 3: Science
Sc4 Physical processes
3. Light and sound
3a) that light travels in a straight line at a finite speed in a uniform medium
3b) that non-luminous objects are seen because light scattered from them enters the eye
bbc.co.uk/stargazing
CURRICULUM LINKS FOR ACTIVITY PACK –
ENGLAND AND WALES
MAKE AN ORRERY
Key Stage 1: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) follow simple instructions to control the risks to themselves and to others.
Sc4 Physical processes
3. Light and dark
3a) to identify different light sources, including the Sun
3b) that darkness is the absence of light
Key Stage 2: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) use simple equipment and materials appropriately and take action to control risks.
2h) use a wide range of methods, including diagrams, drawings, tables, bar charts, line graphs and ICT,
to communicate data in an appropriate and systematic manner
Sc4 Physical processes
4. The Earth and beyond
4a) that the Sun, Earth and Moon are approximately spherical
4b) how the position of the Sun appears to change during the day, and how shadows change as this
happens
4c) how day and night are related to the spin of the Earth on its own axis
4d) that the Earth orbits the Sun once each year, and that the Moon takes approximately 28 days to orbit
the Earth.
Key Stage 3: Science
Sc4 Physical processes
4. The Earth and Beyond
4a) how the movement of the Earth causes the apparent daily and annual movement of the Sun and
other stars
4d) that the Sun and other stars are light sources and that the planets and other bodies are seen by
reflected light
bbc.co.uk/stargazing
CURRICULUM LINKS FOR ACTIVITY PACK –
ENGLAND AND WALES
ROCKET JUICE
Key Stage 1: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) follow simple instructions to control the risks to themselves and to others.
Sc4 Physical processes
2. Forces and motion
2a) to find out about, and describe the movement of, familiar things [for example, cars going faster,
slowing down, changing direction]
2b) that both pushes and pulls are examples of forces
2c) to recognise that when things speed up, slow down or change direction, there is a cause [for
example, a push or a pull].
Key Stage 2: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) use simple equipment and materials appropriately and take action to control risks.
Sc4 Physical processes
2. Forces and motion
2b) that objects are pulled downwards because of the gravitational attraction between them and the
Earth
2c) about friction, including air resistance, as a force that slows moving objects and may prevent objects
from starting to move
2d) that when objects [for example, a spring, a table] are pushed or pulled, an opposing pull or push can
be felt
Key Stage 3: Science
Sc4 Physical processes
2. Forces and motion
2c) that unbalanced forces change the speed or direction of movement of objects and that balanced
forces produce no change in the movement of an object
2d) ways in which frictional forces, including air resistance, affect motion [for example, streamlining cars,
friction between tyre and road]
bbc.co.uk/stargazing
CURRICULUM LINKS FOR ACTIVITY PACK –
ENGLAND AND WALES
‘CAN’STELLATIONS
Key Stage 1: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) follow simple instructions to control the risks to themselves and to others.
2h) make simple comparisons and identify simple patterns or associations
Sc4 Physical processes
3. Light and dark
3a) to identify different light sources, including the Sun
3b) that darkness is the absence of light
Key Stage 2: Science
Sc1 Scientific enquiry
2. Investigative skills
2e) use simple equipment and materials appropriately and take action to control risks.
Sc4 Physical processes
3 Light and Sound
3a) that light travels from a source
3b) that light cannot pass through some materials, and how this leads to the formation of shadows
3d) that we see things only when light from them enters our eyes
Key Stage 3: Science
Sc4 Physical processes
3. Light and sound
3a) that light travels in a straight line at a finite speed in a uniform medium
3b) that non-luminous objects are seen because light scattered from them enters the eye
bbc.co.uk/stargazing