Irchester Community Primary School
Area of Learning: Science (Unit 4E: Friction)
2
We Are Learning
To… S.C.
WALT: understand
how to make a
clear prediction
SC
I can make a
prediction
I can also explain
why I think this will
happen
I can even explain
the reason for my
results using my
previous experience
and knowledge
Term 4
Planning Grid
Year Group: 3/4
Teacher: KB/SF/RH/ST
Main Teaching Activity / Key Questions
Differentiation
Assessment for
Learning
Starter
Sorting task – tyres, skates, shoes, sledge, banana skin, bowling ball
etc. Children sort by own criteria. Keep going until a team suggests
rough/smooth (grippy/slippy, high/low friction). Talk about why they are
grippy/slippy and allow children time to study closer (if real objects)
using hands lenses.
Task 1
Children record their predictions in their
books and improve them.
Can the children rewrite their predictions:
- using ‘because’ (LA) CT support
- applying the correct science vocabulary
(MA)
- linking to their previous experiences (HA)
Children peer assess: does it tell the reader
what they think, why they think that and using
appropriate scientific vocabulary?
Level 2

I can respond to suggestions
about how to find things out
and, with help, make my own
suggestions about how to
collect data to answer
questions.

I can use simple texts, with
help, to find information.
Level 3

I respond to suggestions and
put forward my own ideas
about how to find the answer to
a question.

I can recognise why it is
important to collect data to
answer questions.

I can use simple texts to find
information.
Level 4

I can recognise that scientific
ideas are based on evidence.

I can select information from
sources provided for me.
Main
Give out the forcemeters and ask the children to explore how it works
by pulling weights along (does the weight make a difference?) What
does it measure? (they measure forces, they measure the pull of
gravity on something if hung from them, and they measure friction if
something is dragged along a surface. (When children are exploring
they might not drag anything, they might just hang things - you may
need to prompt them)
What unit of measure does the forcemeter measure in? (newtons)
Why is this unit called a newton? Where have children heard this
word before? Isaac Newton, British scientist from the 1700s. This is
why the force meter is sometimes called a newton meter.
Provide a range of surfaces for the children to explore, using hand
lenses. Go round questioning individuals: Q If you do not want to slip
and slide when you run around in PE, what type of shoes do you
wear? Why? Can you apply this knowledge? If you want to go
down the slide at the park, what does it need to be like? Why?
Can you apply this knowledge?
At the front, pull an object along the surface and read the
measurement. Then change the surface and ask the children to predict
in their books what will happen.
Task 1
MiniPlenary
Pick out some good examples that used ‘because’ and/or linked to
prior knowledge/experiences and display using the visualiser. Children
make improvements (see opposite)
Irchester Community Primary School
Show the children what happens? How much does the forcemeter
change by? Was this what we expected?
Plenary
Four corners – 4 possible reasons for the results in the corners of the
room. Children choose the most appropriate answer and need to be
able to justify why.
Establish that a large force is needed to move an object across a rough
surface. A rough surface produces more friction than a smooth surface.
Therefore a bigger reading on the forcemeter shows it is more difficult
to get an object moving than a smaller reading.
Get the children to realise that it is lumps and bumps on surfaces
which collide, rub and snag when dragged over another surface to
cause friction. The smoother the surface, the less friction will occur,
however no surface is completely smooth - they will still have
microscopic ridges and bumps.
Planning Grid