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Year 5 - Science

Changes in adulthood

Human development

Unit Summary

This unit describes the changes humans undergo from birth to old age. It involves planning scientific enquiries, measuring accurately, recording complex data, and presenting findings. Emphasis is on identifying evidence to support or refute ideas, drawing conclusions, and explaining results.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe changes in humans as they develop through adulthood.

Key Notes

  • Adulthood, the period in a human's life whereby full physical and intellectual maturity have been attained
  • Adulthood is commonly thought of as beginning at around 20 years
  • Physical changes in early adulthood include reaching full height and gaining muscle
  • Middle age, a stage of adulthood, begins at around 40 years of age
  • The stages of human development in adulthood can be recorded in a variety of ways

Vocabulary To Learn

  • human: People are a type of animal called humans.
  • develop: To develop is to grow or change gradually.
  • adult: An adult is a mature form of a plant or animal.
  • adulthood: Adulthood is the time that a human spends as an adult.
  • chronological order: Chronological order is the order that things happen.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may think that height is dependent on age, so taller adults must be older than shorter ones.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.

Adulthood, the period in a human's life whereby full physical and intellectual maturity have been attained. Adulthood is commonly thought of as beginning at around 20 years.

2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'human'

People are a type of animal called humans. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.

3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may think that height is dependent on age, so taller adults must be older than shorter ones. Correction: Explain that by the time humans reach adulthood they have stopped growing. At this point, their height is not related to their age. Use examples of familiar adults such as staff members to make this clear.

More Lessons In This Unit

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