Make it move!
View Sequence overviewStudents will:
- identify and describe some things that move, the way they move and the parts that help them to move.
- describe the effect of shape, size or material on the way things move.
- predict, reason, observe and explain what will happen when small changes are made to each moving object.
Student will represent their understanding as they:
- use language to report on observations, comparing how some changes affect the way things move.
- represent their understanding about movement through drawing, writing and using their bodies.
In this lesson, assessment is formative.
Feedback might focus on:
- students’ ability to safely engage in investigations and make observations.
- students’ ability to explain their observations using key ideas related to identify factors that influence movement.
In this lesson, assessment might also be summative.
Students working at the achievement standard (science inquiry) should be able to:
- compare observations with predictions with guidance.
Refer to the Australian Curriculum content links on the Our design decisions tab for further information.
Whole class
Class science journal
Video: Rube Goldberg Swish Machine (3:19)
Pre-prepared examples of flying toys, and/or a loop glider and a paper aeroplane. See the Flying toys Resource sheet for further detail about how to make each toy.
Optional: Demonstration copy of the Toy investigation Resource sheet
Each group
To make the flying toys, groups will need one or both of the below:
Paper aeroplanes
1x A4 sheet of paper
1x A3 sheet of paper
Loop gliders
1x short straw, not bendable
1x long straw, not bendable
2x large strips of paper/card (approx. 26cm x 3cm) to make large paper loops
2x small strips of paper/card (approx. 13cm x 3cm) to make small paper loops
Tape/glue
Each student
Optional: Toy investigation Resource sheet
Lesson
Re-orient
Watch the video The Swish Machine: 70 Step Basketball Trickshot (Rube Goldberg Machine) (3:19).
With students, create a list of the objects they noticed and details about how the objects moved e.g. The rake rolled slowly down the ramp.
If students are ready, you can also ask them to name some factors that might have impacted the movement e.g. The handle of the rake is round, so it rolled.
The Inquire phase allows students to cycle progressively and with increasing complexity through the key science ideas related to the core concepts. Each Inquire cycle is divided into three teaching and learning routines that allow students to systematically build their knowledge and skills in science and incorporate this into their current understanding of the world.
When designing a teaching sequence, it is important to consider the knowledge and skills that students will need in the final Act phase. Consider what the students already know and identify the steps that need to be taken to reach the level required. How could you facilitate students’ understanding at each step? What investigations could be designed to build the skills at each step?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkIdentifying and constructing questions is the creative driver of the inquiry process. It allows students to explore what they know and how they know it. During the Inquire phase of the LIA Framework, the Question routine allows for past activities to be reviewed and to set the scene for the investigation that students will undertake. The use of effective questioning techniques can influence students’ view and interpretation of upcoming content, open them to exploration and link to their current interests and science capital.
When designing a teaching sequence, it is important to spend some time considering the mindset of students at the start of each Inquire phase. What do you want students to be thinking about, what do they already know and what is the best way for them to approach the task? What might tap into their curiosity?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkChanging movement
Show the students the moving (a loop glider and/or a paper aeroplane) toy/s they are going to make. Demonstrate how to make and move the toy/s.
Pose the question: Can you change the way these toys move?
The Inquire phase allows students to cycle progressively and with increasing complexity through the key science ideas related to the core concepts. Each Inquire cycle is divided into three teaching and learning routines that allow students to systematically build their knowledge and skills in science and incorporate this into their current understanding of the world.
When designing a teaching sequence, it is important to consider the knowledge and skills that students will need in the final Act phase. Consider what the students already know and identify the steps that need to be taken to reach the level required. How could you facilitate students’ understanding at each step? What investigations could be designed to build the skills at each step?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkThe Investigate routine provides students with an opportunity to explore the key ideas of science, to plan and conduct an investigation, and to gather and record data. The investigations are designed to systematically develop content knowledge and skills through increasingly complex processes of structured inquiry, guided inquiry and open inquiry approaches. Students are encouraged to process data to identify trends and patterns and link them to the real-world context of the teaching sequence.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider the diagnostic assessment (Launch phase) that identified the alternative conceptions that students held. Are there activities that challenge these ideas and provide openings for discussion? What content knowledge and skills do students need to be able to complete the final (Act phase) task? How could you systematically build these through the investigation routines? Are there opportunities to build students’ understanding and skills in the science inquiry processes through the successive investigations?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkMaking the toys
Working with a partner, students create two different versions of the same toy, either:
- Two paper aeroplanes, one made from an A4 sheet of paper and one made from an A3 sheet of paper.
- Two loop gliders, one made using a long straw and one made using a short straw. Alternatively, the size of the loops can be changed: one glider made using a large and small loop, the other made with two large loops or two small loops.
Teams complete the Predict and Reason sections of a PROE (either verbally or written), describing how they think both toys will move. Written responses can be recorded/scribed onto the Toy investigation Resource sheet.
Alternatively, you can record students’ ideas as a class on a demonstration copy of the Toy investigation Resource sheet.
They then test each design, flying them both from the same spot and seeing where they land.
They complete the Observe and Explain sections of the PROE (either verbally or written) to name which design flew further and why they think that, making explicit reference to their size. For example, The smaller aeroplane flew further because it was light, or The loop glider with the short straw flew further because it was lighter. Whilst students' observations should be accurate here (i.e. they should be correct in noting which flying toy went further) their reasoning will likely not be. That is because there are many factors that will impact how far the flying toy travels. This experience is valuable however as it supports students to start linking observations to reasoning and it allows them another opportunity to experience a fair test.
If appropriate you might get students to measure the distance each toy moved using a streamer, handprint measures, or using some other form of informal measurement tool such as blocks, pencils, glue sticks, books etc.
You might also take a photo as evidence of which toy travelled further.
The Inquire phase allows students to cycle progressively and with increasing complexity through the key science ideas related to the core concepts. Each Inquire cycle is divided into three teaching and learning routines that allow students to systematically build their knowledge and skills in science and incorporate this into their current understanding of the world.
When designing a teaching sequence, it is important to consider the knowledge and skills that students will need in the final Act phase. Consider what the students already know and identify the steps that need to be taken to reach the level required. How could you facilitate students’ understanding at each step? What investigations could be designed to build the skills at each step?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkFollowing an investigation, the Integrate routine provides time and space for data to be evaluated and insights to be synthesized. It reveals new insights, consolidates and refines representations, generalises context and broadens students’ perspectives. It allows student thinking to become visible and opens formative feedback opportunities. It may also lead to further questions being asked, allowing the Inquire phase to start again.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider the diagnostic assessment that was undertaken during the Launch phase. Consider if alternative conceptions could be used as a jumping off point to discussions. How could students represent their learning in a way that would support formative feedback opportunities? Could small summative assessment occur at different stages in the teaching sequence?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkExplaining results
In this Integrate step, guide students to link their experiences during this investigation, and previous ones, to the concepts about movement being explored.
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Teams explain to the class what happened in their investigation. Encourage them to share their evidence by asking which toy moved further, and sharing their photographs and/or measurements if they were taken.
Ask students if they think the size and/or shape of their toy changed the way it moved and how.
Students complete the relevant sentence stem:
- The (smaller/bigger, lighter/heavier) paper moved further.
- The (shorter/longer, lighter/heavier) loop glider moved further.
Jointly construct a sentence about how the size of an object changes how it moves. Students can add more examples from personal experience.
Compare the teams’ results with the results of other teams that made the same toy to see if they found the same things. Discuss why they may or may not have happened.
Ask students if they can think of any other activities they've done during the sequence where the size of an object affected the way it moved. For example, when playing T-ball in Lesson 3, a larger, heavier ball might have need to be hit harder to travel as far as a smaller, lighter ball.
Size and shape
How does size and shape affect movement?
The size of an object can affect how easily it moves. Larger objects are usually heavier, and heavier things are harder to move. This is because of Newton’s law of inertia: objects resist starting to move or stopping unless you apply a force. The size of the force needed is dependent on how heavy it is—Newton’s second law. For example, it’s much harder to push a big table than a small toy car because the table is heavier.
The surface area of an object (the outside surface) also plays a role in how an object moves. Bigger objects with a larger surface area, like a flat piece of paper, will be slower to move through the air because of the air resistance. For example, a big flat piece of paper falls more slowly than a crumpled ball of paper because flat paper has more air resisting its movement. This is also why a parachute falls slowly.
Students in Foundation are not yet required to consider concepts such as force and air-resistance (a type of force). It is enough for them to understand the simple concept that size affects movement.
The size of an object can affect how easily it moves. Larger objects are usually heavier, and heavier things are harder to move. This is because of Newton’s law of inertia: objects resist starting to move or stopping unless you apply a force. The size of the force needed is dependent on how heavy it is—Newton’s second law. For example, it’s much harder to push a big table than a small toy car because the table is heavier.
The surface area of an object (the outside surface) also plays a role in how an object moves. Bigger objects with a larger surface area, like a flat piece of paper, will be slower to move through the air because of the air resistance. For example, a big flat piece of paper falls more slowly than a crumpled ball of paper because flat paper has more air resisting its movement. This is also why a parachute falls slowly.
Students in Foundation are not yet required to consider concepts such as force and air-resistance (a type of force). It is enough for them to understand the simple concept that size affects movement.