Research School Network: Teaching Scientific Vocabulary in Primary Science In this blog Rebecca England from Settrington Primary School reflects on the vocabulary she uses with her primary school class

The EEF’s new guidance report ​‘Improving Primary Science’ begins with an introduction to primary science:

​‘Science in primary school isn’t solely about achieving strong attainment outcomes. Many teachers will understand the joy of sparking pupils’ curiosity and motivating them to explore a subject more deeply.’

Nurturing that spark of curiosity, and developing pupils’ interest in science is a joy, but can be a challenge for many teachers. A concern teachers have is using subject specific vocabulary when teaching. But if pupils have a robust scientific vocabulary, they understand complex concepts more effectively. If they understand the meaning of scientific vocabulary, they can connect ideas, building a deeper understanding of scientific principles.

I love teaching science, and my favourite topic is Rocks, to the amusement of my work family! One of the greatest challenges is the amount of scientific vocabulary involved, but I think the vocabulary should be seen as a superpower, unlocking a very special world. Empowering my children to use words that they initially find tricky, is fantastic! For a child to be able to use a word like ​‘sedimentary’ in a sentence, and most importantly be able to understand what it means, makes the children feel like they have learned something really special. I love seeing their faces when they realise they can use and understand such tricky scientific vocabulary, giving them a real sense of pride and belief in themselves as scientists!

Section 1 of the guidance report is aimed at developing pupils’ scientific vocabulary suggesting that words should be grouped into different priority areas. Research has shown that explicitly teaching children specific scientific language can help with their learning:

Ensuring pupils understand vocabulary used before teaching them a subject, empowers them to use the scientific language in different scenarios, building on prior knowledge and understanding. The language should be taught in a way which makes it meaningful for the child, and related to concepts that they can understand, for example:

Pupil (holding a piece of limestone): When I look at this rock it has different coloured stripes.

Teacher: Yes, those stripes are because your rock is limestone, which is a sedimentary rock. These rocks form under the sea. Rocks are broken into small pieces by wind and water, we call it erosion. They settle as mud, sand, minerals and even remains of living things. Over time layers build up and the pressure turns this sediment into rock.

The example above from topic of Rocks contains lots of new scientific vocabulary, providing the opportunity to explore and engage in discussions enabling access the subject without bars. Pupils should not only be learning the vocabulary, but should be able to accurately understand the concept well enough to apply it in different contexts. Teaching of science vocabulary impacts all children, but it has been particularly shown to help those with EAL or SEND needs. Explicit teaching of vocabulary has been shown to be useful in closing the attainment gap between pupils, ensuring that science is accessible to children from all backgrounds. In 2017 EEF produced a guidance report titled ​‘Good Literacy Skills Crucial to Closing Attainment Gap in Science’. This reported researchers found the strongest factor affecting pupils’ science scores was how well they understood written texts. The new guidance report builds upon these previous findings.

By exposing pupils to a rich and varied range of scientific terms, both written and verbal, from an early age they are able to use the words accurately. Holding a piece of rock, being able to describe it using the correct scientific vocabulary, enables children to access a world of science and spark an interest, where everyone is involved. Through this enrichment and empowerment, we are kindling and igniting that spark of curiosity, inspiring the budding scientists of the future.