Online science tutoring: concepts first, for primary and junior secondary
Science is the subject children most often memorise without understanding. Our one-to-one classes teach the idea behind each topic on a shared whiteboard, then practise the kind of question a school test or exam actually asks — explain, predict, interpret the data.
What we teach
The Australian Curriculum describes science in three strands: science understanding (the content), science as a human endeavour (how science is used) and science inquiry (questions, investigations, data and conclusions). The NSW syllabus covers the same ground. We teach content and inquiry skills together, because exam questions combine them: "Here is a table of results — what does it show, and why?" Families in the USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand and India receive the same one-to-one format, matched to their own curriculum.
Biological sciences
Living and non-living things, life cycles and habitats in primary; cells, body systems, classification, ecosystems and food webs, reproduction and heredity in Years 7–10.
Chemical sciences
Materials and their properties, solids, liquids and gases, mixtures and separation in primary; particle theory, elements, compounds, the periodic table, chemical reactions, acids and bases in Years 7–10.
Physical sciences
Forces, light, sound, heat and simple circuits in primary; energy forms and transfer, motion, electricity, waves and the basics of forces and motion with calculations in Years 7–10.
Earth and space sciences
Day and night, weather, the water cycle, the solar system and rocks and soils in primary; plate tectonics, the rock cycle, the atmosphere and Earth's resources, and the universe in Years 7–10.
Inquiry and data skills
Fair tests, variables, drawing and reading tables and graphs, spotting a trend, calculating an average, writing a conclusion that uses the evidence, and noticing what an experiment did not control.
Exam-style questions
Short answer, extended response and data questions in the style of school topic tests and yearly exams, with the teacher marking against what a marker looks for: the key term, the mechanism, the link to the evidence.
Science by year level
| Years | What the classes focus on |
|---|---|
| Years 3–4 | Observing and describing, sorting living things, materials and their uses, heat and light, Earth's movement. Mostly conversation and drawing on the whiteboard; we build the vocabulary of science. |
| Years 5–6 | Adaptations, states of matter and reversible changes, light and electricity, the solar system. First proper investigations: variables, a results table, a conclusion. Children who sit the Selective test in Year 6 benefit from the reasoning and data-reading practice. |
| Years 7–8 | The jump to high-school science: cells and microscopes, classification, particle theory and separation techniques, forces and simple machines, the Earth-Sun-Moon system, rocks and renewable resources. Learning to write a method and a scientific conclusion. |
| Years 9–10 | Body systems and homeostasis, DNA and genetics, evolution, atomic structure and the periodic table, reaction types and equations, energy, motion and electricity with calculations, plate tectonics, the universe and climate systems. Extended responses and data analysis, preparing for senior science choices. |
How a one-to-one science lesson runs
- Start from what your child thinks. The teacher asks a simple question — "Why does a metal spoon feel colder than a wooden one?" — and listens. Misconceptions appear at once, and they are the real starting point.
- Build the model. On the shared whiteboard the teacher draws the idea — particles, a circuit, a food web, a force arrow — and your child adds to the drawing. Diagrams are made together, not copied.
- Test the model. "If that is true, what should happen if…?" Your child predicts, then the teacher shows the result or the data. A wrong prediction is explored, not corrected and moved past.
- Answer like a scientist. One or two exam-style questions, with the teacher showing how a marker reads an answer — name the process, explain the mechanism, point to the evidence — then one written unaided.
- Homework in the portal with a due date — a short set of questions, often including a data table or graph — and a WhatsApp note to you after the class.
We do not run physical experiments in a browser. What we do is teach the ideas, walk through the standard school investigations step by step, and make sure your child can describe, interpret and explain them — which is what the test asks.
How progress is tracked
- Marked homework in the parent portal with written comments, so you can see whether the problem is the content, the vocabulary or the way answers are written.
- Topic tests at the end of each unit, in the same style as a school test, timed where appropriate.
- WhatsApp update after each class and a reminder before each class, in your own time zone.
- A running list of key terms your child can define and use, revisited so they stay secure.
What to expect in the first month
The demo class is a conversation around one or two topics from your child's current school unit, with a short written question at the end. The teacher's note afterwards says whether the gaps are in understanding, vocabulary or writing answers, and suggests a plan. In the first weeks the teacher follows the school's current topic while fixing any older misconception that keeps resurfacing (that heavier things always fall faster, or that "atoms" and "cells" are the same kind of thing). By the end of the month your child should be answering "explain why" questions with a mechanism rather than restating the question.
Common science difficulties and how a one-to-one teacher handles them
- "I learnt all the definitions and still did badly." The test asked for application. The teacher practises taking a definition and using it on a new situation, every lesson.
- Graphs and tables are skipped in exams. The teacher teaches a fixed routine: read the title and axes, describe the trend in one sentence, then answer the question with a number from the data.
- Answers are a single word. Short answers are rebuilt into claim-mechanism-evidence on the whiteboard until the structure becomes automatic.
- Maths inside science is the barrier. Units, rearranging a formula, calculating speed or density: the teacher stops and teaches the maths properly, and can draw on our maths tutoring where a deeper gap appears.
- Topics feel disconnected. The teacher links new work to the model already built — particles explain states of matter, dissolving, diffusion and later reactions — so there is less to memorise.
Science and the exams your child sits
NAPLAN, sat in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, does not include a science test; the science that matters is the school's own topic tests and yearly exams, and later the choice of senior science subjects. The reasoning and data-interpretation skills in these classes also support the Thinking Skills and Mathematical Reasoning papers of the NSW OC test (Year 4) and Selective test (Year 6), and the mathematics and reasoning sections of independent-school scholarship tests.
Science can be taken alongside maths or English; siblings and multiple subjects share one parent portal — see how online classes work.
Also taught one-to-one: maths, English and coding. For year-by-year pages, countries and exams see the online tutoring index.
Questions parents ask
Which years do you teach science for?
Primary and junior secondary — usually Years 3 to 10. The teacher follows the Australian Curriculum or NSW syllabus topics for your child's year, or your own curriculum if you are outside Australia.
Can you do experiments online?
No physical experiments run in the browser. We teach the ideas, walk through the standard school investigations step by step on the whiteboard, and practise describing, interpreting and explaining them, which is what school tests ask.
Do you follow my child's school topic?
Yes. Tell us the current unit and the teacher plans around it, while fixing any older misconception that keeps getting in the way.
How are exam-style questions handled?
The teacher shows how a marker reads an answer — the key term, the mechanism, the evidence — then your child writes answers unaided. Homework and topic tests in the parent portal come back marked with written comments.
Is science part of NAPLAN?
No. NAPLAN tests numeracy, reading, writing and language conventions. Science preparation is aimed at school assessments and at building the reasoning skills that other tests do reward.
Is every class live and one-to-one?
Yes. One teacher, one child, on a shared online whiteboard with voice and video. Nothing is pre-recorded, and classes are booked in your own time zone with WhatsApp reminders.