Aspects to be
planned for and
reinforced across
the curriculum
Class ……Primary 4……….
Literacy

Numeracy

Health and
Well-Being
Science - Smooth Moves – Forces – Primary Connections
Focus experiences and outcomes:
By investigating forces on toys and other objects, I can predict the
effect on the shape or motion of objects.
Skills development:
SCN 1-07a
 Carry out experiments
Technologies
Sciences

By exploring the forces exerted by magnets on other magnets
and magnetic materials, I can contribute to the design of a game.
SCN 1-08a
Social Studies
RME
MNU 1-20b
Expressive Arts
Citizenship
`
Enterprise
`
Creativity
`
 Observe, collect, measure, record evidence, taking account of safety
 Present, analyse and interpret data to draw conclusions
 Review and evaluate results to identify limitations and improvements
I have used a range of ways to collect information and can sort it
in a logical, organised and imaginative way using my own and
others’ criteria.
Modern
Languages
children have practised;
 Asking questions and hypothesising
 Present and report on findings
 Observing and exploring
 thinking about how to test fairly
 finding simple associations between two variables
When listening and talking with others for different purposes, I
can exchange information, experiences, explanations, ideas and
opinions, and clarify points by asking questions or by asking
others to say more.
LIT 1-09a
 thinking creatively
 applying learning
 sharing ideas with others and listening to their ideas
 working co-operatively
Content (knowledge and understanding):
Conceptual Journey
Sustainability
Successful
Learners

Confident
Individuals

Responsible
Citizens

Effective
Contributors

Links to Enterprise
Enterprising teaching and learning
Develop enterprising skills, attitudes and creative
approaches through learning and teaching across the whole
curriculum.
 By working in a team with roles and responsibilities
 Creating a game, with instructions for others to follow
 By inviting in an expert or watching and discussing a
clip on a toy designer
 Know that forces can change the motion of an object
 Understand that pushes and pulls can cause an object to move
 Be able to describe some of the effects of forces acting upon
stationary and moving objects
 Understand that we can use arrows in a diagram to represent
the direction and size of forces
 Experience the effects of friction
 Know that friction is a force that slows a moving object and
that different surfaces create different amounts of friction
 Observe the effects of gravity and know that it is a pulling
force
 Relate forces to real-life scenarios
 Change the size of a force acting upon an object to make it
move and record, measure and evaluate results
Context :
Most of this plan is based on the Primary Connections unit: Smooth Moves. The topic involves the learners finding out about forces in the context of games.
Possible Learning and teaching activities (adapt to suit their needs and ideas) and assessment opportunities:
 What do the children already know?wwhat do they think they will learn about?
 Elicit initial ideas about forces. Show the children a video clip from Wipe out and talk about what it is that makes the people fall from the obstacles.
Discuss pushes and pulls and strength of pushes and pulls. Put a marble in the middle of the circle and ask them to suggest how they could move it.
Introduce the topic, telling them that they will be learning about forces through playing, designing and making games. Show them the Smooth Moves
word and question wall which they will use during the topic. In co-operative teams the children will play one of the following games: marbles, jenga, mini
ten pin bowling, blow football, tiddly winks. Their task is to play the game and then draw an annotated diagram with their ideas about pushes and pulls
that are used during the game and how to show the varying strengths of pushes and pulls used. The groups will then feedback their ideas and the
learners will get a copy of their teams diagram for their science journals. – Diagnostic assessment (Engage stage)
 Show the learners a clip of the Apollo rocket taking off. Do they think it would need a big push or a little push to take off? What is giving it the push?
Why does it need a big push? Organise co-operative teams in order to make a toy rocket. The children will think about what happens when they change
the amount of push their rocket gets. Make straw rockets (or use different materials) and give the children the opportunity to play with them. Let
them explore making it go short and long distances. They could also look at how to change its direction. Ask them to discuss different ways to show
the different strengths of the pushes they give their rockets when they blow into the straw. Once the rocket is moving through the air, is it still being
pushed? Discuss how the rocket gets an initial push and how it then keeps moving but other forces act on it to slow it down. Elicit through discussion
that the air is rubbing against it slowing it and there is a force that pulls it to the ground (gravity). Show them a storyboard and explain what it is for.
Ask them to complete a storyboard in their science journals, with captions explaining how they varied how far their rocket went with different pushes.
Add new words to the word wall and any questions. (Explore)
 Use some of their questions to create investigations to involve them. Choose at least one question that might involve asking an expert or finding out
about the world of work (Teacher TV has some good insights into science/technology and engineering careers)
 Watch the Spellbound Science episode: A Bad Day and use it to discuss their ideas on friction and what it is. Carry out the activity from Smooth Moves,
tug of war where the learners are divided into two teams and have a tug of war but the conditions change e.g. after discussing how the surface of the
floor makes it easier or harder, give one group plastic gloves to wear. Put a little fairy liquid on the gloves and let them rub them together and discuss
the effects. Introduce the terms friction, force and lubricant. Carry out the activity where they pull a heavy object across different surfaces and
discuss how the different surfaces affected the movement and the different sizes of forces needed. Show the learners how to use arrows to
represent the direction of forces and their strength and draw different diagrams in the class science journal to represent moving the heavy object
over different surfaces. – (Explore)
 Get the children to investigate the effects of different surfaces on a slope on toy cars. Discuss fair testing with them. Get them to work in cooperative teams to change one variable (the surface, wooden, rough carpet, smooth carpet, plastic) and to measure one variable (distance the toy car
travels from the bottom of the slope). Discuss things to watch out for when keeping the test fair.
 Give them a writing frame for writing up their results and discuss why scientists record and share results. Discuss and evaluate their results with them
(Explain)
 Let them explore science simulation games on BBC science clips and Digger and the gang and record their thoughts on what they found out on a Voki
(Explain)
Possible Learning and teaching activities (adapt to suit their needs and ideas) and assessment opportunities:
 Play a game with the children as a class where they try to keep a balloon in the air without letting it fall to the ground. Discuss why it falls. Introduce a
globe to the students and ask them if anyone has friends or family that live elsewhere in the world. Ask them to name some countries. Get them to
draw a picture of the world and place four people around the world with a ball in their hands, ask them to draw an arrow to show where the person’s
ball will go if they drop it. As a class discuss gravity and the different ways that they experience it in their life and describe it as a force that pulls
things towards the centre of the Earth. Discuss questions such as: How do we know gravity exists? What effects of gravity can we see or
experience? What does the balloon game tell us about gravity? What might happen if there was no gravity? Is there gravity on the moon? At this
stage get the children to review their picture and add any thoughts or make any adjustments they feel are necessary. Add the word gravity to the
wall (explore)
 Children could design a game in groups which involves pushes, pulls, friction and gravity. Show them the materials that are available to them, which will
include marbles and ask them to draw pictures to show how their game will work. They should also write instructions for their game so that another
team would know how to play it. Get the teams to build the games in one session and then play each other’s games in another session, describing the
forces that were involved in playing the game. Each team should leave feedback for the team whose game they played saying what they liked about it,
suggesting ideas to improve it (Elaborate)
 Model for the children how to annotate a diagram describing the game of ten pin bowling and the forces at work. Include forces arrows. Now ask the
children to draw an annotated diagram in their science journals explaining the game their team designed and the forces involved. Assess their
drawings and give formative feedback (Evaluate)
 The children can fill in a learning journey diary in their journals including questions like: Which activity did you enjoy doing most and why? What new
things have you learned? Which activities helped you learn them? What are you still wondering about? If you could do anything what would you like to
investigate to find out more about forces? (Evaluate)
 Use one or two of their wondering questions for activities, investigations, research or home learning.
 Use the Let’s Think Through Science activities on magnets to investigate non-contact forces. They will explore which materials magnets attract and be
introduced to the terms: attract, repel, poles. One of the investigations involves them in sorting a collection of magnets according to how strong they
think they might be, to make a hypothesis, then they are asked to devise a test to find out which magnets are strongest. Many of the learners will
think strength is related to size and will be surprised by the results
 They could also design a game that involves magnets
SUCCESSFUL LEARNERS
WITH:
 enthusiasm and motivation for learning
 determination to reach high standards of achievement
 openness to new thinking and ideas
AND ABLE TO:
 use literacy, communication and numeracy skills
 use technology for learning
 think creatively and independently
 learn independently and as part of a group
 make reasoned evaluations
link and apply different kinds of learning in new situations
CONFIDENT INDIVIDUALS
WITH:
 self-respect
 a sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being
 secure values and beliefs
 ambition
AND ABLE TO:
 relate to others and manage themselves
 be self-aware
 develop and communicate their own beliefs and view of the world
 live as independently as they can
 assess risks and make informed decisions
achieve success in different areas of activity
RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS
EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS
WITH:
 respect for others
 commitment to participate responsibly in political, economic, social
and cultural life
WITH:
 an enterprising attitude
 resilience
 self-reliance
AND ABLE TO:
 develop knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland’s
place in it
 understand different beliefs and cultures
 make informed choices and decisions
 evaluate environmental, scientific and technological issues
develop informed, ethical views of complex issues
AND ABLE TO:
 communicate in different ways and in different settings
 work in partnerships and in teams
 take the initiative and lead
 apply critical thinking in new contexts
 create and develop
solve problems