How a Question Wall Can Make Science Fun and Easy in Primary Schools

Every teacher wants to make their lessons fun and stimulating. When students are engaged in the learning process, they are more likely to retain the information they are taught.

So how can you make primary school science lessons lively and entertaining? One way to help is by setting up a question wall.

Question walls give students a space to write down any queries they have. Science teachers can begin the lesson by introducing a topic and then ask each student to pin a related question to the board. Read on to find out why and how to incorporate a question wall into your science lessons.

The classroom environment has a significant impact on how your students learn. It can begin with something as small as standing at the door and greeting your students as they file into the classroom - just one of the behaviour management strategies for primary teachers . It also means planning the lesson so that the learning is relevant.

Question walls are instrumental in creating a positive classroom environment, but to have a real impact, you need to explain the purpose of the wall. It is not uncommon for students to question whether what they learn in science lessons will be relevant beyond education. Communicate to your primary students why the question wall is there and how it will help them in the classroom.

A question wall can inspire curiosity and help primary pupils with learning and attention difficulties. They also encourage students to be critical thinkers - an invaluable skill no matter what career path they take. This is particularly useful for students with a passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

While it is true that many students enjoy science, often they do not see it as a career. The growing science skills gap has prompted the Department for Education to encourage more students to take up STEM subjects, particularly girls, who are notoriously underrepresented in science. 2019 was the first year where female students outnumbered males in A-level entries.

Think about how you can use a question wall to illustrate why science matters and encourage your students to become lifelong learners.

Discovery learning is an enquiry-based learning approach where students are encouraged to ask questions and look for solutions. This approach to teaching is more important now than ever before.

Students around the world have experienced an academic year like no other. Before the pandemic, schoolchildren were typically taught exclusively in the classroom, surrounded by their peers and teachers. But the coronavirus outbreak saw the classroom swapped for online learning, and school leaders believe that as many as 37% of students were not engaged during their time learning remotely. Using a question wall can remind your students of the joys of being back in the classroom.

Give your students a say in what goes up on the wall and encourage them to contribute. Edgar Dale’s cone of learning proposes that we remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear and 30% of what we see. It is no surprise that the average person is more likely to retain information when they can digest it visually. But how can you boost your students' memory recall?

There are several other layers to the pyramid, and the final one suggests that we retain 90% of what we say and do. While memory recall will vary for each student, involving your students when creating the question wall will help them remember and show them how easy science can be.

If you are ready to put a question wall into action in a new teaching job, you have come to the right place. Teaching Personnel provides staff to over 5,000 schools around the UK, meaning that we know how to find our candidates teaching jobs that are right for them.

Take a look at our current science teacher jobs or begin your search by browsing our primary teacher roles. We are confident we have the perfect role for you, so if you can not find what you are looking for, contact us and we will be in touch.