Thinking Together in Primary Science

An Oracy-Based Approach to Teaching About the Nature of Science and Scientific Thinking
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-12173-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 160 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Thinking Together in Primary Science offers eight fully resourced lesson plans aimed at ages 9–11 to get teachers and primary-aged children talking together about science and how scientists think and learn as a community. The lessons will help children to form a stronger relationship with science and to understand how scientific thinking can help them in everyday life.

By secondary school, many young people have already decided that science is not for them. One implication of this is people are less likely to adopt a ‘scientific mindset’ when evaluating the information they encounter online. Understanding the nature of science – what it is and the ways of thinking associated with it – helps young people to identify with the subject, and can protect them from everyday misinformation. The book introduces children to key ideas, such as the tentative nature of scientific knowledge, the importance of scepticism, and the role of evidence. It highlights how science can be trusted because of the collaborative way the scientific community generates, tests, and refines knowledge over time.

The book empowers teachers to teach science with greater depth and meaning while embedding oracy into the curriculum. Building on the evidence-based Thinking Together approach, it uses stories to spark dialogue that deepens children’s understanding of science, fosters a closer connection to the subject, and helps protect them from the misinformation so prevalent in today’s world.

Zielgruppe

Academic, General, and Professional Practice & Development

Autoren/Hrsg.

Phillipson, Neil

Wegerif, Rupert

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1. The Games we Play 2. Thinking Together: The Rules of the Game 3. Bertie’s Kite 4. Mrs Chestnut’s Duck 5. Tala’s Sunflower 6. The Swan 7. Wonky Sheep 8. Dinosaurs 9. Looking Back, Looking Forward Appendix 1: Supporting Effective Group Work Appendix 2: Tips for Including Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) by Wendy Lee of Lingo

Über Autor(innen)

Neil Phillipson is an Associate of Oracy Cambridge and a freelance provider of training and support to schools with a focus on dialogic education. He was a local authority and National Strategies science consultant, and is a long-serving hub-leader with the Primary Science Quality Mark.

Rupert Wegerif is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, UK. He helped to develop the Thinking Together approach to oracy education that underpins this book, and has spent thirty years researching and writing on the theory and practice of dialogic education.