LESSON PLAN - Superheroes
Aim
The students:




Learn about one of the four elements
Are able to describe the characteristics of an element
Learn to make a hypothesis before an experiment
Are able to use the knowledge about an element when creating
a superhero with powers.
Level
A1
Content – Subject
Science
Communication Language
Vocabulary: adjectives, clothes, gender, keywords on ‘Air’.
Making descriptive sentences: My Superhero is…. My superhero can…..
My superhero has….
Verbs in simple present: can, have, fly…..
Approx. time overall
4 hours
Plan
Short Description
Links to Activities
Stage 1
Introduction to the element ‘air’
though experiments where the
students have to make a
hypothesis beforehand.
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Stage 2
The students have to create a
superhero and describe his/her
powers and make a comic to
show a day in the superhero’s
life.
Activity 5
Evaluation
The students show their books
with the comic to each other and
if possible to another class.
Activity 1 - Superheroes
Procedure
Introduce the class to ‘superheroes’ and to the aims for this topic. Talk
about the different superheroes the students know and which powers
they have eg Superman can fly and Spiderman can climb walls like a
spider. They know a lot of different heroes or bad-guys with
extraordinary powers.
The first two experiments show movement in the air
Experiment 1:
Place a couple of books 10-12cm apart on a table. A piece of paper is
placed as a bridge between them. What do you think is going to
happen when we blow air underneath the paper bridge? (Worksheet 1)
Now try it. What happened? Why?
Observation: The paper sinks down
Ask the class how this could be a superpower if it was something we
could do (ie make things fall down)
Experiment 2:
Two inflated balloons are hung up so that there is a distance of 5-6cm
between them. What do you think is going to happen when we blow
air in between them? (Worksheet 1) Now try it. What happened?
Why?
Observation: The balloons move towards each other
Ask the class how this could be a superpower if it was something we
could do (ie get things to move towards/against each other)
Approx. time
45min
Level
Learning outcome
Indicators
Materials
Back to Top
A1
The students
 Learn to make hypotheses
 Learn to follow instructions
 Learn to make observations
 Learn about air movement
The students
 Use the activity sheet
 The students make hypotheses
 Can do the experiments
Books
Papers
Balloons
String
Worksheet 1
Activity 2 - Superheroes
Procedure
Air pressure:
Can air hold water?
Divide the class into groups of 4 students. Explain to the groups what
they are going to do with the glass and ask them: What do you think is
going to happen when we turn the glass upside down? (Worksheet 2)
Now try it. What happened? Why?
Experiment:
Fill a glass with water to the top. Put a piece of cardboard over the top.
It is important that there are no air bubbles in the glass underneath the
cardboard. Make sure you hold the cardboard firmly in place when you
turn the glass upside down. (Do it over a sink or a tub). Now remove
your fingers from the cardboard.
Observation: The water doesn’t pour out of the glass. Why? Because?
the cardboard is wet.
The water stays in the glass because of the air pressure on the
cardboard. This pressure is stronger than the pressure from the water.
Ask the class how this could be a superpower if it was something we
could do (eg hold back water like Moses, stop it raining where we are
standing, make things stop moving towards us)
Approx. time
Learning outcome
Indicators
Materials
Back to Top
20min
The students
 Learn to make hypotheses
 Learn to follow instructions
 Learn to make observations
 Learn about air pressure
The students
 Use the activity sheet
 Make hypotheses
 Can do the experiment
A glass – for each group
A piece of cardboard or paper – for each group
Sink/tub
worksheet 2
Activity 3 - Superheroes
Procedure
Blow a ball - game
The class is divided into pairs. Each pair has a table and a piece of
cotton wool or a ball made from a piece of paper. They are to battle
against one another. They have to stand on each side of the table. They
have to blow air against the wool/ball and they score when the
wool/ball goes over the opposite edge of the table. Play for 3min.
Afterwards, talk to the class about the movement of the wool/ball
when we blew air against it. Which way did it move? What if both blew
at the same time from different sides? How much effort did it take?
Ask the class how this could be a superpower if it was something we
could do (ie make things move away)
Approx. time
Learning outcome
Indicators
Materials
Back to Top
15min
The students:
 Learn to follow instructions
 Learn to make observations
 Learn that air can move things.
The students:
 Have fun while playing
 Answer questions
Cotton wool or paper
Tables
Activity 4 - Superheroes
Procedure
The weather - Tornadoes
Air also has destructive powers, which can be seen in eg a twister or a
tornado. (link to an explanation for teachers)
http://youtu.be/ljHgZS2vnok)
Explain to the students the air movement that creates the twister and
then do the experiment with the tornado in a bottle
(http://youtu.be/M9OmmqtoM_k). Through the experiment, they get
an understanding of the circulation power needed for tornadoes.
http://youtu.be/7KDz6dGQ5RE - Here they can see the beginning of a
tornado (0.40-2.20)
http://youtu.be/cj0HPni092E - here you can see animations of the different
categories of tornadoes.
Ask the class how this could be a superpower if it was something we
could do (ie get things to fly and move heavy objects up and away)
Approx. time
Learning outcome
Indicators
Materials
Back to Top
30min
The students:
 Learn about the power in a tornado
 Learn how a tornado is created
 Learn to follow instructions
The students:
 Can do the experiment
Computer
Projector
Bottles
Water
Glitter
Washing up liquid
Activity 5 - Superheroes
Procedure
Now the students know some of the powers of the element ‘air’ and
they have to use that knowledge to create powers for their
superheroes. Together the class comes up with ideas of which powers
are possible. They can make drawings to illustrate the powers and
these drawings are hung in the classroom.
The students get a book each and create their own superhero and
finally they have to draw a comic about a day in the superhero’s life.
Before starting on the comic, let the students tell each other about
their superhero (page 2 and 3 in the booklet). You could use the
method from “cooperative learning” called “Inside-outside Circle”:
1. Students stand in two concentric circles around the classroom.
Students in the inside circle face out, facing a student standing on the
outside circle.
2. Students from the inside circle share something with their partners.
3. Students switch roles; the outside circle students now share while
their partners listen.
4. Students rotate to work with new partners – rotate two people
ahead to a new partner
Approx. time
Learning outcome
Indicators
Materials
Back to Top
The comic: Talk with the class about characteristic of comics. Together
with the students, the teacher makes suggestions about what they
could write in their speech-bubbles and writes them on the board.
2 hours
The students:
 Can use their knowledge about the element ‘air’
 Learn to make a comic
 Speak English
The students:
 Produce/draw illustrations that refer to the element ‘air’
 Can describe their superhero in the book
 Create comics using the chosen powers
 Write short sentences in their comic
Worksheet 3
Flashcards e.g. http://www.mes-english.com/flashcards/clothes.php
Flashcards airpowers