1- The goals of the schemes of work
The Qatar scheme of work for Grades 1 to 12 is a long-term plan to help schools to achieve the aims for science, stated in the Introduction to the standards. It interprets the new Curriculum Standards and translates them into coherent, manageable teaching units, typically 6 to 12 hours of work.

The scheme shows how the units can be distributed within each grade and across grades in a sequence that promotes continuity and progression in children’s learning. The units then act as a guide to teachers when they create their lesson plans.

2- The content of the scheme of work
The Qatar scheme of work for science:

• draws the standards together into coherent, manageable teaching units;
• indicates the approximate number of teaching hours for each unit;
• orders the units across two semesters of the school year so that they build on preceding work, link with other units and prepare children for the next grade;
• develops sufficient detail in each unit about what to teach and how to teach it for teachers to be able to create a series of lesson plans from it.

The flow of the units reflects continuity and progression in children’s learning throughout the school year. The sequence provides one or more opportunities to revisit particular standards or groups of standards throughout the course of the year. This gives children the chance to consolidate their learning in a range of contexts and to make connections between different aspects of the subject.

Number of units and teaching time
From Grades 1 to 9 the scheme of work is split into the three main sciences, which are referred to as the different strands; Life Science, Materials and Physical Processes. In Grade 4, the Earth and Space strand is introduced, which continues up to Grade 9. The length of the units within the strands vary depending on topic and grade.
The foundation scheme of work for each of Grades 10 to 12 is organized into three strands: biology, chemistry and physics. The number of units and the length of units vary depending on the grade, strand and the topic. There are 20 units in Grade 10 (7 biology, 7 chemistry and 6 physics), 17 units in Grade 11 (6 biology, 6 chemistry and 5 physics) and 15 units in Grade 12 (6 biology, 5 chemistry and 4 physics). Units for each grade range from 5 to 15 hours, providing a total of about 180 hours of teaching per year (about 60 per subject strand). Within each strand the units are numbered. The numbers reflect a suggested teaching order. For each strand there is a preliminary unit (numbered 0).
These should be taught before the other units in the first semester. The preliminary units are assumed to be revision of work covered in a previous grade. It is anticipated that students will follow teaching programmes in biology, chemistry and physics concurrently.
The preliminary units are not provided in this scheme of work since what is selected for revision will depend on the school, the students and the teachers, but time is allowed in the overall teaching time for teaching the preliminary units.

Creating lesson plans based on the scheme of work
The scheme of work is there to give practical ideas in how to teach certain topics. However the teacher should use the scheme of work along with the resources in the school and relying on his/her experience – in order to produce their lesson plans.

The teaching and learning activities described in each unit should help teachers to create their lesson plans for a block of lessons or individual lessons. Lesson plans should also take account of the formative assessments that teachers have been making as they have been teaching previous units.

The teaching and learning activities described in each unit should help teachers to create their lesson plans for a block of lessons or individual lessons. The lesson plans should also take account of the formative assessments that teachers have been making as they have been teaching previous units. (For this reason, lesson plans cannot be finalised far in advance of the lessons.)

Each unit of work will require several lessons, some of which may focus on a particular topic: for example, a 15-hour unit on waves may involve 3 hours on reflection and refraction, 7 hours on diffraction and superposition, 1 hour on the Doppler effect, 1 hour on polarisation and 3 hours on the electromagnetic spectrum. The objectives for each individual lesson based on the unit are likely to address some but not all of the objectives for the units. The objectives may be repeated in more than one lesson, and may appear again in a subsequent unit. As with the scheme of work, there is no right or wrong way to set out a lesson plan. The main criterion is that it helps a teacher to teach the lesson.

Typically, lesson plans will indicate:

• the objectives for the lesson or block of lessons;
• relevant vocabulary and technical terms;
• the resources needed, such as apparatus, materials, textbooks and ICT applications;
• any safety concerns;
• how the lesson will start;
• how work will be developed through teaching input and student activities,
with suggestions for differentiation where appropriate;
• how lessons will be summarised and rounded off;
• homework, where relevant.

The last lesson of each unit will require a more extended review or summary of the unit as a whole. This review can be based on the expectations described on the unit’s first page. This is the time to draw out the key learning points and what students need to remember. The review should highlight the ways in which the unit has built on previous learning, the progress that students have made and what they will go on to learn next. Where relevant, links can be made to work in other units and to real world applications.

3- How they can be used?
By Modifying the scheme of work & Adding further material
There is no right or wrong way to present a scheme of work: it can be set out in any way that is useful to teachers.
Schools that choose to use the scheme of work may decide to add further details to it, such as:

• Extra notes to help teachers to interpret the scheme of work: for example, teaching points, references to ICT, common misunderstandings and suggestions for extension activities;
• More ideas for differentiated activities to cater for children who are very able or who need extra support;
• Further assessment activities to help teachers to judge children’s progress;
• Suggestions for links that can be made across subjects such as Arabic and English, or science and mathematics;
• Out-of-school activities that can enhance learning in school.

Changing parts of the scheme of work
Some schools may decide to modify the whole scheme of work, the units for one or more grades, or particular units. Some possible modifications are to:

• Emphasise or expand particular parts of the scheme;
• Vary contexts, resources or activities to take account of the different interests of boys and girls;to one or more units some objectives based on standards for a higher grade in order to give children opportunities to progress more rapidly;
• Identify the essential supporting standards that need to be taught before the grade-specific standards;
• Give children more time for particular aspects of the scheme, or opportunities to revisit knowledge and skills in different contexts;
• Adapt activities to provide greater support for children with difficulties in language or literacy, or for children who are being taught in English.
• The support provided for children with difficulties in language and literacy or who are being taught in English could include:
  
• reducing the amount of written work and reading;
• giving children the opportunity to clarify their ideas through discussion, the use of diagrams and other visual aids, and the use of scientific apparatus, rather than relying on written materials.

Reviewing an existing scheme of work
Some schools may already have a scheme of work that they have developed. These schools may want to review their scheme of work and supplement it with parts of the scheme of work in this document.
Some questions to ask when reviewing an existing scheme of work are as follows.

• How firmly is the scheme linked to the standards?
• Does it build up concepts in an organized, systematic and rigorous way?
• Does it identify what children are expected to learn, and how children’s learning may be assessed?
• Does it describe appropriate teaching and learning activities? Are the activities linked to the learning that they are intended to promote?
• Does the scheme provide opportunities to develop ICT skills and, where appropriate, links with other subjects, such as mathematics?
• Are the resources needed to teach the scheme identified? Are these resources appropriate for the age and ability of the children?
• Does the scheme indicate the time needed to teach each unit, consistent with your school’s timetable for science?
• Is there enough detail in the scheme to help teachers when they plan lessons?
• Does the scheme allow for some flexibility when it is used?

4- Links to resources and other areas of the curriculum
The Internet can be used as a source of relevant information for teachers and students. There are websites that give teachers more background to the science they are teaching, websites offering suggestions for use in class and websites that provide activities for students. The Internet also allows students to exchange scientific data and ideas with others around the world.

Teachers are encouraged to do cross curriculum teaching, by becoming aware of the relevant parts in the other subjects, in order to teach in a more with a more integrative approach.

Read more about the Structure of the SChemes of Work

Click here to access the Schemes of Work
All English Schemes of Work
All Science Schemes of Work
All Maths Schemes of Work