I accompanied the
children to Streamvale
animal farm on
Tuesday 15th May 2007
BASICS Project
Lesson Plan
Class: Primary 2
Date: 17th May 2007
Topic: Building materials
Week no: 6
(Which is the best material for Discovery
Dog to use to build his kennel?)
Learning outcomes: the children will have opportunities toScience
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-
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Recognise the range of materials that can be used to build homes.
Plan a science investigation to find out which material is most suitable for
Discovery Dog to use to build his kennel. The children will test a range of
materials (i.e. straw, twigs and bricks) using a hairdryer.
Record what happened by making comparisons and drawing conclusions.
Appreciate that house bricks are made from clay that are dried and baked in
a very hot oven to make them hard and strong.
Literacy
- Listen to and predict the outcome of the story entitled ‘The Three Little
Pigs’.
- Participate in a shared writing experience in order to plan a science
investigation, using the Discovery Dog planning poster.
- Complete a simple task sheet relating to different animal homes.
- Watch a video outlining how house bricks are made (5 mins).
The aspects of science enquiry (Planning, Obtaining and presenting evidence,
Considering evidence and evaluating) addressed in this lesson are,
Planning
-
Obtaining
and
presenting
evidence
Evaluating
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The children will suggest some form of plan or method by completing the
Discovery Dog planning poster, through shared writing.
Children will predict the outcome of the investigation.
Pupils will identify some of the materials needed in order to carry out the
investigation.
Children will be provided with an opportunity to test a range of materials,
(i.e. straw, brick, twigs) using a hairdryer.
Children will be provided with an opportunity to consider what properties are
important when building a house, i.e. the house must strong.
Pupils will present their findings by completing a simple task sheet.
The class will make relevant observations and evaluate what they have found
out as a result of the investigation, by participating in a whole-class review
session.
Introduction:
- Introduce the storybook entitled ‘The Three Little Pigs’ (for full reference view
resource list on following page). (In order to make reading more pleasurable, the book
will be projected onto the Interactive Whiteboard - Also have available the
hard copy of the storybook for the children to see). Discuss the features of the
book, i.e. the spine, front page, back page, price, the characters on front cover,
the pictures, author, etc.
- Read the storybook (allow children to join in at wolf’s part)
- While reading the book, stop at appropriate places - Challenge the children to
predict, which house will remain standing and which will ‘blow down’.
- Record the results on the recording chart with a sad or smiley face to show
whether the pigs escaped from the wolf or not.
Resources:
– Interactive Whiteboard with storybook entitled ‘The Three Little Pigs’
scanned in;
Moore, M. and Hefferan, R. (2001) The Three Little Pigs. Franklin Watts.
London.
- Discovery Dog puppet
- Discovery Dog planning poster
- Information Book:
Oliver.C. (2004) I work on a Building Site. Franklin Watts. London.
- Materials - i.e. twigs, straw, bricks.
- Hairdryer – (ensure there is access to an electric power point and outline the dangers of
children touching electric power points)
- Writing and drawing utensils (colouring pencils)
- Recording board/chart to collect results/findings
Development:
- Discuss with the children that today Discovery Dog wants them to find the
best material to build his kennel.
- Use the Discovery Dog puppet - Challenge the children to predict which
material they think would be the most suitable if it was a windy night.
- Plan the investigation using the Discovery Dog planning poster.
- After planning and predicting the outcome then test the materials using a
hairdryer.
- Record the results on the recording chart with a sad or smiley face.
- Talk about the way in which the houses/materials were blown down. Attempt
to draw from the children that each house was not necessarily blown in the same
way. Explain to the children that house bricks are made from clay, which is dried
and baked in a very hot oven to make it hard. Ask children to consider the
different uses of the other materials (i.e. straw, twigs) – Where would you find
them? What use do they have?
At this stage refer to the information book entitled “I work on a Building Site”
(full reference can be obtained from reference list above).
Discuss the children’s own homes and why we need homes – for example, to provide
safety, shelter, comfort, somewhere to sleep, somewhere to play, and so on. Draw
parallels with animals and there homes.
- Remind the children that on Tuesday of this week, they went to a local farm.
Talk to the children about where the animals live on the farm. Ask them if they
know the name of a cow’s home [brye] a pig’s home [sty] a sheep’s home [pen] and
a horse’s home [stable].
- The children should then complete a simple the activity sheet.
- To conclude sing ‘Old McDonald had a farm’, making all the noises of the
animals you have discussed.
Activities
- Read the storybook entitled ‘The Three Little Pigs’ (for full reference refer to
resource list).
- Children will use a hairdryer to test which material is most suitable for
Discovery Dog’s kennel.
- Children will record their findings by attaching a sad or smiley face to a predrawn recording sheet.
- Children will complete a simple activity sheet.
- The class will sing ‘Old McDonald had a farm’ to conclude lesson.
Classroom organisation
This lesson will be taught in the ICT room.
The children will sit on the floor in front of the Interactive Whiteboard in
order to read the story. After discussion children will plan the investigation, as
a whole class, using the Discovery Dog planning poster.
After planning children will then be divided into 3 groups of 10 and workstations
will be set up. One group will work with me at the centre desks in the ICT room
and carry out the investigation using the hairdryer. The remaining children will
work with the class teacher on the computers. Each group will rotate and
therefore each child will have an opportunity to complete each task.
When the children return to the classroom they will sit at their desks and
complete a simple task sheet, related to the concept.
After completing the task sheet children will then come to the carpet area to
watch a video outlining how house bricks are made (5 mins).
Key Vocabulary:
- Words relating to science aspect: strong, hard, soft, stronger, useful for
building.
Words relating to literacy aspect: describing word, animal homes,
building materials, three little pigs.
Key Questions:
- Why could the wolf not blow down the brick house?
- Why are houses made from bricks?
- Have you ever seen a straw house?
- Which pig was the most sensible?
- What materials do you think would be the best for Discovery Dog to build his
kennel with? Remember it’s a dark, windy night.
Science enquiry skills developed
- Pupils are provided with an opportunity to help plan an investigation in order to
find out what material would be the best for Discovery Dog to use to build his
kennel.
- Children will predict before testing the materials, which one they think will be
the best.
- Children will be provided with an opportunity to use a hairdryer in order to
make relevant observations and obtain evidence about the material Discovery
Dog should use.
- Pupils will be provided with opportunities to evaluate what they have learned
at the end of lesson, by completing a simple task sheet with support from the
teacher.
Evidenced by
- Pupil’s ability to pose and answer questions orally about the investigation taking
place.
- Ability to complete the Discovery Dog planning poster.
- Can the children predict and give reasons for their suggestions?
- Ability to carry out the investigation correctly and make reasonable
observations/comparisons.
Literacy skills developed
- Use of describing words, demonstrated through shared reading.
- Ability to ask/probe questions.
- Can the children work as a small group to record observations?
- Ability to predict the outcome of the story using cues and knowledge of
materials.
Evidenced by
- Pupil’s ability to ask constructive questions relating to the storybook read.
- Children’s ability to use a variety of describing words relating to the concept
of building materials.
Lesson Evaluation
What worked? How do I know?
- The children enjoyed using the hairdryer.
- When discussing the building materials all the children contributed and were
very eager to take part.
- This lesson linked very well to animal homes. The children had just visited
Streamvale animal farm on Tuesday.
- During this lesson the class teacher sat with the autistic child and this worked
well.
- The children enjoyed singing ‘Old Mc Donald had a farm’ at the end of the
lesson.
What would I need to change for the next time?
- The class teacher sitting with the autistic child worked really well.
- I found it extremely difficult to control the lesson in the computer suite.
- The carpet area is very small for the size of the class – the children were
squashed and feel this hindered some learning experiences.
How did the pupils respond to the Literacy aspects of the lesson?
- The children were engrossed during the whole lesson despite the fact that
some children already knew the story.
- The children loved joining in when reading the storybook (The children played
the part of the wolf).
How did the pupils respond to the Science enquiry aspects of the
lesson?
- The pupils responded positively to the Science enquiry aspects present within
this lesson.
- During this lesson the children required less support from me when planning
the investigation. They were able to predict and back their perceptions with
reasons.
How did the Literacy and Science support each other?
- The storybook introduced the concept of building materials.
- I linked this into animal homes.
- The children had to plan an investigation to find out, “Which material would be
best for Discovery Dog to use to build his kennel?”
- The children then tested different materials using a hairdryer.
Pupils’ Comments (Please ask the pupils)
What did the pupils enjoy most in the lesson?
- 21 children stated that they enjoyed using the hairdryer the best.
- 8 children enjoyed completing the activity sheet.
Individual responses included;
 “I now know why my Daddy uses bricks instead of straw”.
 “I want to be a builder when I grow up”.
(In response I asked the child – “Would you use straw on your building site?”
– In reply he said – “That would be so silly – look what happened to the three
pigs, Miss Armstrong!).
Why?
- The children explained that they liked using the hairdryer because they got to
“switch the hairdryer on and off”.
What did the pupils enjoy least in the lesson?
- The children stated that they did not like the part where “the big bad wolf
blew down the house made of sticks and the house made of straw”.
Why?
- The children explained that this meant that “these two little pigs had nowhere
to live”.