Primary Science: Knowledge and Understanding

All the subject knowledge you need to teach primary science.

If you are training to be a primary school teacher, you need to understand what you need to know about primary science before you can teach it.

To help you build your subject knowledge, this comprehensive text includes subject knowledge from each part of the primary science curriculum and comes with a wide range of resources so you can test you knowledge as you progress through the course. 

• an online science subject knowledge audit with the ability to share results
• end of chapter self-assessment questions 
• Interactive tasks
• a science subject knowledge checklist
• useful weblinks for primary science teaching
• Recommended further reading

This new edition comes with a new chapter on science in curriculum.

Graham Peacock is Principal Lecturer in Education at Sheffield Hallam University. He has taught children across the primary and secondary age ranges.

John Sharp is Professor of Higher Education and Head of the Lincoln Higher Education Research Institute (LHERI) at the University of Lincoln.


Rob Johnsey, formerly a primary school teacher, lectured in primary science in the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick for several years.

Debbie Wright is the BEd (Primary) Programme Director at Rolle School of Education, University of Plymouth. She has extensive experience of primary teaching, and of lecturing in primary science education.

Keira Sewell is an independent educational consultant at Visionary Education (www.visionary-education.co.uk). She has over 25 years’ experience of supporting the professional development of both trainee and experienced teachers and specialises in science education.