Make it move!
View Sequence overviewStudents will:
- be guided through the design process to support them to explain, modify and/or design a game that involves movement.
Students will represent their understanding as they:
- create an annotated diagram to explain how objects move in a game.
- communicate about their game to a selected audience (their classmates), demonstrating how the moving object’s movement can be changed.
In the Act phase, assessment is summative.
Students working at the achievement standard should:
- be able to describe how objects move and how factors including their size, shape or material influence their movement.
- be able to communicate to a selected audience (their classmates) how objects move in different ways in a game, and respond to questions.
Refer to the Australian Curriculum content links on the Our design decisions tab for further information.
Whole class
Class science journal (digital or hard-copy)
Demonstration copy of the My moving game Resource sheet
Each student
My moving game Resource sheet
Lesson
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkScience education consists of a series of key ideas and core concepts that can explain objects, events and phenomena and link them to the experiences encountered by students in their lives. The purpose of the Anchor routine is to identify and link students’ learning to these ideas and concepts in a way that builds and deepens their understanding.
When designing the Act phase of a teaching sequence, consider the core concepts and key ideas that are relevant. The Anchor routine provides an opportunity to collate and revise the key knowledge and skills students have learned, in a way that emphasises the importance of science as a human endeavour.
What have we learned?
Re-examine the data and ideas collected in the class journal over the course of the teaching sequence. Discuss what factors influence how things move.
You might also revisit/replay any activities and games students have participated in, and discuss which investigations they enjoyed and why.
Discuss what students have learned about movement. Make a list of all of the students’ discoveries. To promote creativity, accept all responses but challenge the students to share evidence, e.g. "We found out...", or "We know this because...".
- How did you make things move further?
- How did you make things move faster?
- How did you make things move in different ways?
- How do you know?
- What materials did you use?
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkEach student comes to the classroom with experiences made up from science-related knowledge, attitudes, experiences and resources in their life. The Connect routine is designed to tap into these experiences, and that of their wider community. It is also an opportunity to yarn with community leaders (where appropriate) to gain an understanding of the student’s lives, languages and interests. In the Act phase, this routine reconnects with the science capital of students so students can appreciate the relevance of their learning and the agency to make decisions and take action.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider the everyday occurrences, phenomena and experiences that might relate to the science that they have learned. How could students show agency in these areas?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkHow can we use our learning?
Discuss with students how they learn to play games like some of the ones they have played throughout the sequence and record their ideas in the class science journal. For example, they might:
- watch someone play the game.
- listen to the rules/instructions.
- look at and test the equipment needed to play the game.
- practice different parts of the game.
Explain to students that, as discussed in Lesson 1, they are going to explain, modify or design a game (depending on what is deemed suitable for your students’ needs and level of development) for other students to play.
List and discuss some of the games and activities students played/participated in over the course of the sequence, the equipment they used, and how people and objects move in the game.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkWhen students use their knowledge and skills in new ways, they also have an opportunity to develop and use their creative and critical thinking skills. With scaffolded support, they can become more confident to work in a team and develop a stronger sense of autonomy. This results in stronger student outcomes, attitudes and sense of empowerment.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider what activity would allow students to showcase their knowledge and skills. Consider the current abilities of your students. What are they capable of explaining? What props could they design or build that would support their explanations? How much information would they need in their design brief to support their thinking? How does this connect with their lives and interests?
Explaining the game
Define
Define the challenge for students in an appropriate way. For example:
- How could we model, draw, describe, or explain 3 movements from a popular game for someone who has never played it before?
- What modification/s could you make to a game you know that would make it easier/harder to play (related to size, shape, material of objects, or required movements)?
- Design your own game where people and/or objects are moving.
Ideate
Brainstorm students’ suggestions to their design challenge and record the ideas in the class science journal. The prompts you might use, and the ideas students offer will depend upon the design challenge students are presented with.
To encourage creative thinking at this stage, every idea offered by the student should be recorded in the class science journal. No idea is discounted.
Then, at the end of the brainstorming, revisit the list and discuss opportunities / challenges of making these changes with the available materials.
Plan/Prototype
Students use the My moving game Resource sheet to outline the details of the game that they will model, explain, and play with their peers. Support them to record their ideas by modeling and scribing as required.
The Act phase empowers students to use the Core concepts and key ideas of science they have learned during the Inquire phase. It encourages students to develop a sense of responsibility as members of society—to act rather than be acted upon. It provides students with the opportunity to positively influence their own life and that of the world around them. For this to occur, students need to build foundational skills in an interactive mutually supportive environment with their community.
When designing the Act phase, consider ways that students could use their scientific knowledge and skills. Consider their interests and lifestyles that may intersect with the core concepts and key ideas. What context or problem would provide students with a way to use science to synthesise a design? How (and to whom) will students communicate their understanding?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkA key part of Science Inquiry, the Communicate routine provides students with an opportunity to communicate their ideas effectively to others. It allows students a chance to show their learning to members of their community and provides a sense of belonging. It also encourages students to have a sense of responsibility to share their understanding of science and to use this to provide a positive influence in the community.
When designing a teaching sequence, consider who might be connected to the students that have an interest in science. Who in their lives could share their learning? What forum could be used to build an enthusiasm for science. Are there members of the community (parents, teachers, peers or wider community) who would provide a link to future science careers?
Read more about using the LIA FrameworkPlaying the game
Pair/group students to share their explanations/modification to existing games or the game they designed. They should be encouraged to use key vocabulary that they have learned throughout the sequence when describing the movements that happen in their game.
Consider recording students explaining how their selected game is played for assessment purposes.
Reflect on the sequence
You might:
- consider what students have learned about how things move.
- discuss why it is important to understand how we can test and change different things to make things move in different ways.
- Discuss kinds of jobs that would need to use this understanding.
- Discuss how this understanding might apply to everyday life and how it might help you plan/choose how to move something depending on its size, shape or material.
- challenge the students to explain/play their games with family and friends at home.