Lesson Topic/Focus: Experimenting with Parachutes Date: 15/08/2013 AusVELS Domain: Science Year Level: 2 AusVELS Content: Science

Understanding, Science as a Human Endeavour, Science Inquiry Skills Duration of Lesson: 50 minutes Learning Outcomes/Standards: A push or a pull affects how an object moves or changes shape (ACSSU033) Science involves asking questions about, and describing changes in, objects and events (ACSHE034) Respond to and pose questions, and make predictions about familiar objects and events (ACSIS037) Participate in different types of guided investigations to explore and answer questions, such as manipulating materials, testing ideas, and accessing information sources (ACSIS038) Through discussion, compare observations with predictions (ACSIS214) Indicators Students make predictions/hypotheses using prior knowledge about forces Students work collaboratively to experiment and collect data Students record findings and share them using their understanding of forces Student use scientific vocabulary such as hypothesis, experiment, resistance, wind and results Assessment Criteria: Students as a class create at least two hypotheses (and are able to justify their predictions) Students work with their partner collaboratively and share the elements of the task Students demonstrate their understanding of forces within parachutes by using scientific vocabulary and can provide data collected during the experimentation process Teaching Focus: A. Chosen by associate teacher Continuation of forces lesson focus on using scientific language and learning about the science experiment process (hypothesis, experiment, analysis of results, conclusion etc.) Background to the learning: B. Pupil Students have had two classes regarding forces. The last lesson contained a similar task to this lessons experiment but the scientific inquiry process is more structured. Lesson Resources: Plastic bin bags Hole puncher Thread Tablespoons (or something with weight) Data sheet Instructions from How toys fly book

Content of Lesson: A. Introduction 5 mins Show students the How toys fly book again as a revision tool and say we are going to be doing an experiment today based on the knowledge we are building about forces. Ask them to demonstrate their prior knowledge scaffolded over the past few lessons. B. Development 10 mins Explain that we are going to be experimenting in pairs with parachutes that are different sizes. The question we are trying to answer is: Does the size of a parachute affect how fast it falls? Show them the instructions about dropping them from the same height etc. Ask the students what do we think we should do before we start experimenting? Is there usually a step before we construct everything and begin collecting data? If students come up with predictions say they are correct, however there is another word we can use to describe a prediction starting with h. If students dont come up with it, explain that hypothesis or hypotheses for more than one is a scientific word for predicting something that may happen during an experiment. Also enquire about why we write a hypothesis or prediction first. It is important students recognise that at the end we reflect on what we thought will happen in comparison to what actually happened. Therefore without a prediction, there is nothing to compare it to. Before they break up into their groups remind them to write down their names on the data sheet and write a hypothesis before they construct their parachutes. Go through the data sheet to explain how they can use it to record the data they need to find the answer. C. Consolidation and Practice Get the students to break up into pairs and collect their materials. Let them construct their parachutes on their own and begin the experimenting process. Walk around and see if groups are collaborating fairly and efficiently, asking them guiding questions about their hypotheses and data. Students will be given a five minute warning as to when they should begin packing up. The timer will begin after that (approx. 7 minutes to pack up). Get the students to keep their data sheets out to share at the end Early Finishers Extension Activities For groups that finish early and have written up their data, they can begin to experiment with the weight at the bottom (make a prediction, experiment with different weights, write up data and share findings later) D. Closure 10 mins Choose some groups (groups that have worked well/found some interesting data) to come up and share their hypothesis, experiment findings and concluding thoughts. Create small discussion on the experimental process. 25 mins

Post Lesson Review and Evaluation: Pupil Achievement Getting into group was a bit messy, it was tricky when there wasnt enough resources for just pairs Parachute making was probably too challenging, the CRT and I went from group to group knotting and threading the parachutes for them Some groups were extremely well together, testing and delegating jobs equally, whereas others were too excited to test and left other members of their group to write up their results Pretty please with the completion of the sheet, every group recorded something

Teacher Effectiveness Realised as I was preparing the parachute packs, there was not enough spoons. Therefore, acting quickly there were some groups of two, three and four. It was good that I made spare parachutes, as there was many errors while building them that were too difficult to fix Because there was so many students needing help, I wasnt available to those few groups who finished early Noise management wasnt fantastic, but because I was so preoccupied helping groups who were running out of time to test their parachutes, I couldnt tell if the noise was silliness or excited discussion at the end Rushed at the end, however got in a brief discussion to hear about their findings (and we had another small revision discussion when Miss Miller came back into the classroom the next day) Next time: - Double check the amount of resource available (that way everyone wouldve been in a pair rather than in larger groups) - Get students into group quicker and more efficiently - Find another way to create a parachute that wasnt so fiddly (maybe make simpler parachutes or create parachutes for them where they only have to do one or two steps) - This activity wouldve worked a lot better over a double lesson: spreading out the discussion, the experimentation process, time for writing their findings and the concluding sharing discussion.