If you’ve read the National Curriculum Review panel’s report Building a world class curriculum for all, you’ll have spotted a clear message: oracy needs to be strengthened across the curriculum. The report argues that every young person should develop spoken language skills that will support them “at every stage of their lives.”
This isn’t a surprise. The review drew on evidence showing that many schools want — and need — more support and guidance on how to develop oracy meaningfully and systematically.
What the research is telling us
Our understanding of this challenge in primary science was sharpened by the recent Review of scientific literacy and oracy in primary school education, commissioned by the Royal Society and carried out by Professor Sarah Earle and colleagues at Bath Spa University.
Its headline finding is both powerful and worrying: Oracy is a core element of scientific literacy — supporting reasoning, understanding and communication — but it is rarely made explicit in the UK curriculum.
In other words: children can’t develop secure scientific understanding unless they have opportunities to talk about science — and too often, these opportunities are patchy or unplanned.
How Snap Science builds oracy in from the start
When we developed the second edition of Snap Science, we were very aware of this gap. We wanted children not only to do science, but also to talk, argue, question, explain, listen and reflect — because that is how scientific understanding grows.
That’s why every Snap Science lesson includes key elements of dialogic teaching, making purposeful talk a central feature of learning. These include:
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Collective participation – creating an inclusive space where all children feel able to contribute their ideas and viewpoints.
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Exploratory talk – encouraging pupils to test ideas, challenge assumptions and develop their understanding.
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Scaffolded dialogue – using prompts, open questions and guided discussion to deepen understanding while giving pupils the confidence to construct ideas for themselves.
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Cumulative talk – helping children build on each other’s ideas, ask questions and co-construct explanations.
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Dialogic assessment – listening carefully to pupil talk as a rich source of evidence about their understanding and progress.
These principles are entirely in line with the EEF’s Primary Science Guidance, which urges teachers to “capitalise on the power of dialogue.” In Snap Science, this is not an add-on but a deliberate, structured part of every lesson.
Looking ahead
As we await the revised National Curriculum, we fully expect to make the necessary adjustments to ensure Snap Science meets — and enhances — the new expectations around oracy.
We will do so from a strong foundation: oracy is already woven through every Snap Science module, supporting children to articulate, strengthen and extend their scientific thinking. There is a lot of talk in Snap Science lessons, purposeful, thoughtful, scientific talk. Exactly the kind the new curriculum is calling for.
Jane Turner Series Editor Snap Science