Elementary Science
Unit 5:
Using questions to extend students’
understanding of forces
Teacher Education
through School-based
Support in India
www.TESS-India.edu.in
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
The TESS-India project (Teacher Education through School-based Support) aims to improve
the classroom practices of elementary and secondary teachers in India through studentcentred and activity-based approaches. This has been realised through 105 teacher
development units (TDUs) available online and downloaded in printed form.
Teachers are encouraged to read the whole TDU and try out the activities in their classroom
in order to maximise their learning and enhance their practice. The TDUs are written in a
supportive manner, with a narrative that helps to establish the context and principles that
underpin the activities. The activities are written for the teacher rather than the student,
acting as a companion to textbooks.
TESS-India TDUs were co-written by Indian authors and UK subject leads to address Indian
curriculum and pedagogic targets and contexts. Originally written in English, the TDUs have
then been localised to ensure that they have relevance and resonance in each participating
Indian state’s context.
TESS-India is led by The Open University and funded by UKAID from the Department for
International Development.
Version 1.0
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated, this content is made available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/3.0/
Contents
Introduction
1
Learning outcomes
2
1
Exploring questioning
3
2
Bloom’s Taxonomy
4
3
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
7
4
Questioning in everyday teaching
10
5
Using questions for assessment
16
6
Encouraging students to ask questions
17
7
Summary
18
8
Resources
19
9
Resource 1: Rolls-Royce activity sheet on ‘Forces and air
resistance’
Resource 2: Rolls-Royce teachers' notes on ‘Forces and air
resistance’
24
Related units
28
19
References
29
Acknowledgements
30
Transcript
31
Introduction
Introduction
Good questioning skills are an essential part of teaching in the elementary
science classroom. A teacher should use a range of questions throughout
their lessons to check their students’ understanding, structure their learning,
prompt their thinking and maintain their involvement. Through skilful
questioning, a teacher can modify their students’ knowledge and
understanding of scientific concepts.
Carefully structured questioning can promote higher-order thinking during
investigative work and can support the development of essential skills of
enquiry such as prediction and evaluation.
In addition to using questions themselves, teachers should also encourage
students to formulate and ask their own questions, as a means of mediating
their own learning.
This unit will explore how careful questioning can be used to support and
encourage learning in the elementary science classroom.
1
TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
Learning outcomes
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
2
.
use a variety of different question types in your elementary science
teaching
.
encourage your students to ask questions about the science topics they
are learning.
1 Exploring questioning
1 Exploring questioning
Pause for thought
.
Why is questioning important in the elementary science classroom?
.
In what ways can it help your students? Make a note of any ideas
that come to mind.
Here are some possible ideas you may have noted down. Questioning helps
to:
.
establish students’ prior knowledge and understanding
.
focus students’ thinking in relation to a specific scientific concept or
process
.
engage and motivate students
.
highlight any scientific misconceptions that students might have
.
challenge and extend their scientific knowledge
.
support the students in applying their knowledge and understanding
.
support students in scientific enquiry (observing, hypothesising,
predicting, evaluating and concluding)
.
give students a sense of ownership of what is being learnt
.
maintain the pace and flow of the lesson.
Types of questioning
Good questioning can have a direct impact on student progression. However,
not all types of questions are effective in facilitating learning.
You may be familiar with the distinction between ‘closed’ and ‘open’
questions. If so, can you give an example of each type?
A closed question is one that is limited to a single ‘correct’ answer,
including ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Examples of closed questions are:
.
If I push the ball, will it move?
.
Is ‘pushing’ a force?
Closed questions like this are useful to check your students’ recall of
information or to guide their understanding of a process. Open questions, in
contrast, invite a range of responses and encourage students to think.
Examples of open questions include:
.
What would happen if there was no friction on our planet?
.
Can you describe all the possible ways you could move this ball?
These questions will require students to apply their knowledge and
understanding in order to answer the question.
3
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Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
2 Bloom’s Taxonomy
In 1956, Benjamin Bloom classified the different intellectual behaviours that
were important to learning. He identified behaviours that required less
complex thinking, such as information recall or recognition of facts, and
those that placed higher cognitive demands on students such as evaluating.
He devised a hierarchy of intellectual behaviours, ordering them from lowerto higher-order thinking.
As part of his research, Bloom studied thousands of questions asked by
teachers and categorised them according to the hierarchy he had devised. He
discovered that over 90% of teacher questioning required students to think
only at the lowest possible level, and that this thinking was mainly related to
information recall.
Table 1 shows the six categories of questions that Bloom defined, commonly
referred to as Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Table 1 A summary of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Thinking
level
Categories
Thinking behaviours
Example types of
questions
High
Synthesis
Inventing, imagining,
hypothesising, creating,
devising
What would happen if
…?
How many ways can
you …?
How might you solve
this problem?
Can you design a … to
…?
Can you of another
way to …?
Evaluation
Debating, justifying,
assessing, prioritising
Why do you think …?
Can you think of
another solution to this
problem …?
How effective is …?
Analysis
Criticising, comparing,
investigating,
categorising
How does this compare
with …?
What was the problem
with …?
What are the reasons
for …?
Why do you think this
happened?
4
2 Bloom’s Taxonomy
Middle
Application
Applying, transferring,
showing
Can you give me
another example of …?
Can you write
instructions for …?
What factors could you
change?
What else has the
same characteristics as
…?
Low
Comprehension Restating, discussing,
summarising
Can you write … in
your own words?
Can you tell me what
happened when …?
What does … mean?
Knowledge
Locating, recalling,
listing, describing
Can you list …?
Describe what
happened.
What is …?
Can you find the
answer to …?
This first activity will encourage you to reflect on your own classroom
questioning skills.
Activity 1: What questions do you ask your
students?
Choose a 5–10 minute section of an elementary science lesson that you
are due to teach.
If you have access to an audio recording device, place it on the desk
and record yourself. After the lesson, replay the recording, writing out all
the questions that you asked your students. Alternatively, you could ask
a colleague to observe part of your lesson and note all the questions
that you ask during that time. Perhaps you could offer to do the same
so you can focus on improving your questioning skills together?
The grid in Table 2 is copied from Table 1. Use it to categorise the
questions that you have used in your teaching. Refer back to the
examples in Table 1 if you find them helpful.
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Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
Table 2 Grid for categorising your questions.
High
Synthesis
Evaluation
Analysis
Middle Application
Low
Comprehension
Knowledge
Pause for thought
6
.
What type of questions did you use the most? Did this surprise you?
.
How could you change some of your lower-level questions into
higher-level questions?
3 Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
3 Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
In the next activity, you will reflect on another teacher’s use of questioning
and consider what impact this had on her students’ learning.
Activity 2: Observing a teacher using questioning
Now watch the video below about of a teacher developing her students’
understanding of a ‘fair test’ (see TDU 13, Practical investigations:
exploring seed germination for more on using fair tests in the
elementary science classroom). If you are unable to watch the video, it
shows the teacher using questioning to ensure that her students are
conducting a fair test by changing one factor (or variable) at a time, and
drawing attention to the use of equal force when pushing objects. You
may also find it useful to read the video’s transcript.
Now watch the video clip. If it is unavailable or has not been
provided separately, you can find it at the TESS-India YouTube
channel. You will find the transcript at the end of this unit.
After watching the video, read the list of questions used by the teacher
and classify them according to Bloom’s Taxonomy, using the grid below.
You may wish to watch the video again before completing this activity.
1 ‘T’ stands for …?
2 What did you do with the tennis ball?
3 What did you do with the paper ball?
4 You pushed the paper ball. Why?
5 But do you think it was right?
6 Did you treat both balls in the same way?
7 What should you do?
8 Was that a fair test?
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Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
9 What were the results?
10 What did you see?
11 Which ball moves faster?
12 Why do you think the tennis ball was going further?
13 What about the paper ball?
14 How was the surface of the slope? [pointing to the slope used]
15 What if we tried rolling balls on a different surface?
16 What kind of surface could we use for our next experiment?
17 So if I spread a cloth on this [points to slope], will that make it
rough and uneven?
Table 2 Grid for categorising your questions.
High
Synthesis
Evaluation
Analysis
Middle Application
Low
Comprehension
Knowledge
8
3 Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
Answer
High
Synthesis
15. What if we tried rolling balls on a
different surface?
16. What kind of surface could we use
for our next experiment?
Evaluation
12. Why do you think the tennis ball was
going further?
13. What about the paper ball?
Analysis
4. You pushed the paper ball. Why?
Middle Application
Low
Comprehension 2. What did you do with the tennis ball?
3. What did you do with the paper ball?
7. What should you do?
9. What were the results?
10. What did you see?
Knowledge
1. ‘T’ stands for …?
5. But do you think it was right?
6. Did you treat both balls in the same
way?
8. Was that a fair test?
11. Which ball moves faster?
14. How was the surface of the slope?
[pointing to the slope used]
17. So if I spread a cloth on this [points
to slope], will that make it rough and
uneven?
At the beginning of the experiment, the teacher checked her students’
understanding by using factual questions that had a limited number of
answers. As the investigation progressed, she used problem-solving
questions that required her students to think more abstractly. The
students responded to these questions in a variety of ways,
demonstrating their understanding of forces in action.
Look back at the list of questions asked by the teacher. Which were the
most effective in changing and developing her students’ ideas about
forces? What impact did these have on her students’ learning?
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TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
4 Questioning in everyday teaching
Pause for thought
.
How have you supported your students in answering your questions
in class?
.
Can you identify the students in your class that are particularly good
at answering questions? What skills do they have that help them do
this?
Supporting your students to move from giving simple responses to engaging
in complex, potentially conflicting sets of answers can be challenging,
especially if they are not used to having interactive discussions. A series of
well-structured, challenging questions will have limited impact on learning if
your students are unused to responding to them.
The following suggestions may help you to develop answering skills among
your students:
10
.
Be sure to allow your students sufficient thinking time to respond
thoughtfully to your questions.
.
Vary your approach from lesson to lesson, by asking students to think of
the answers to your questions individually on some occasions and to
share their ideas in pairs or small groups on others.
.
Manage your students’ answers so that each response contributes to the
learning process. Sometimes a single answer will be sufficient. This is
most likely with closed questions. With open questions, a full range of
answers will be more valuable. In this case, you should encourage
several different students to respond.
.
Vary the way you select students to respond, by choosing from among
those who have volunteered to answer (by putting their hand up) on
some occasions and selecting from those who have not volunteered on
others. Alternatively, agree a ‘no hands up’ question-and-answer session,
with you differentiating the nature of the questions and selecting
appropriate respondents according to their ability. This inclusive approach
can build all the students' confidence.
.
Introduce an ‘ask a friend’ option to answering questions. If a student is
struggling to answer a question, they have the right to ask a friend to
help them with their response. This form of public peer collaboration can
be both useful and fun, while removing some of the stress associated
with answering questions on one’s own.
4 Questioning in everyday teaching
Case Study 1: Mrs Das tries higher-level
questioning while teaching forces
Mrs Das, a Class II teacher, was beginning an elementary science topic
on forces. She wanted her students to have direct experience of forces
and their effects. She therefore decided to take her class to an outdoor
area of the school grounds to explore forces in action. She set up three
activities, each with a different set of equipment, next to which she
placed some instructions, followed by two questions. She then
organised the class into three groups, each of which spent ten minutes
at each activity before moving on to the next one. Read how she went
about incorporating questioning into the activity.
I had recently learned about higher-level questioning and the impact it
could have on students’ learning. I wanted to use this kind of
questioning to encourage my students to observe and analyse forces
while they were playing with the different equipment I had arranged on
each table.
These are the three activities that I set up, together with the
accompanying questions and some of the answers my students gave.
Rope Pull
I placed some ropes on the ground and asked three students to stand at
each end of each of a rope. I asked the students at one end of the rope
to pull, while the other students held the other end. They then swapped
roles and did the same. Due to the risk of injury, I supervised this
activity to ensure that the students did not pull the rope too hard.
These are the two questions that I asked my students, followed by a
selection of their responses.
Q. What would happen if everyone stopped pulling the rope?
A. No one would move because no one would be pulling.
A. Ropes don’t move by themselves. They need a force to make this
happen.
Q. Why should you not pull the rope too hard?
A.
If we pulled hard, it could make the other students fall over.
A.
If we pulled gently, the other students would only move a little bit.
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Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
Balls and Bean Bags
On this table I placed a selection of large and small balls, together with
some bean bags.
These are the two questions that I asked my students, followed by a
selection of their responses.
Q. How can you control the speed of a ball?
A. If you kick the ball hard, it moves a long way away, but when you tap
it gently, it only moves a little bit.
A. When you use a little bit of force, it moves softly. When you use all
your strength, it goes really fast.
Q. How does rolling a bean bag compare with rolling a ball?
A. The ball rolls easily but the bean bag does not really roll. You have to
keep pushing it. The bean bag can’t roll because it isn’t the right shape.
Flour Dough
The previous night I made a simple flour dough with water and
vegetable oil. I placed small balls of dough onto a plastic sheet.
These are the two questions that I asked my students, followed by a
selection of their responses.
Q. What types of shapes can you make with the dough?
A. I made lots of shapes. I made a ball, a snake and flat bread.
A. I made a face by poking my fingers into the dough.
Q. What did you do to change shape of the dough?
A. I rolled, pulled and squashed the dough.
A. I used the force of my hand to make it flat and pushed my fingers
into it to make holes.
Mrs Das reflects on the activity
I could tell that my students really enjoyed this outdoor activity. I felt that
by the end of the lesson they had a good practical understanding of
forces. On our return to the classroom, I gave them ten minutes to
prepare a short report of their findings. They established that pushing
and pulling made objects change their shape, speed and direction. They
recognised that a force was required for an object to move.
By allowing my students time to explore and reflect before responding to
the questions I had prepared, I helped them achieve a better
understanding of forces. I intend to prepare key questions as part of my
12
4 Questioning in everyday teaching
lesson planning in future as I find them useful in structuring my
teaching.
In the next activity you will prepare a sequence of questions that will
encourage your students to use higher-order thinking.
Activity 3: Preparing a lesson plan to teach gravity
and air resistance
The lesson plan below aims to help students to investigate gravity and
air resistance. It is based on the lesson plan template in TDU 1,
Resource 3.
The lesson plan does not yet contain questions. Using Bloom’s
Taxonomy (Table 1) for support, write down the questions that you will
ask your students at each stage of the lesson. Think of the questions
that you will ask at the beginning of the lesson, during the main activity
and during the discussion at the end.
You can adapt the plan according to the needs of your class. You may
also wish to consider questions that could challenge your more able
students and questions that could support those who need more
guidance.
Resource 1 and Resource 2 near the end of this unit provide some
activity materials related to air resistance.
13
TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
Objectives (with
dates)
Elementary science
topic focus: Physical
processes/forces
Objectives: What are
students going to
learn?
Gravity is a force that
pulls objects to the
ground.
Friction, including air
resistance, is a force
that slows a moving
object.
Main teaching
Independent/group
activity
Lesson introduction:
How will you engage
your students during
your lesson
introduction? For
example, will you use
mini tasks, paired
discussion, hands-on
tasks, games, etc.?
Pick up three
classroom objects and
drop them. Ask
students in pairs to
discuss why the
objects fell to the
ground and note their
ideas. Draw an object
with an arrow
indicating the force of
gravity. Write ‘gravity’
on the board and
agree a brief definition.
Students’
activity:
What will the students
do? How will this help
them meet the
objectives?
Organise students into
groups and provide
them with a piece of
paper, a stopwatch and
a cotton wool ball.
Ask the students to
drop the paper and
time how long it takes
to reach the ground
(repeat several times
to get an accurate
reading). Ask the
students to change the
shape of the paper and
record how long it
takes for the paper to
reach the ground.
Repeat the activity with
the cotton wool ball.
Encourage the children
to make a ‘fair test’.
After the investigation,
ask each group to
prepare a short report
of their findings to the
class, including the
data collected and
diagrams which help to
explain the forces
acting on the objects.
Explain that in the
following activity
students will
investigate the forces
that will slow down
objects as they move
through the air towards
the ground.
Outcomes: What
should the students be
able to do at the end
of the lesson?
Say what forces act on
an object as it falls to
the ground.
Describe what air
resistance is and how
it can slow down a
moving object.
14
Support: How will
lower-achieving
students be
supported?
Remind the students
about any previous
work relating to forces.
Draw a set of diagrams
using arrows to
indicate the forces
working on the paper
in various shapes.
Once these have been
discussed with the
students ask them to
drop the paper and tell
you what is happening.
4 Questioning in everyday teaching
Questions: What will
Scientific vocabulary you ask your students
during your teaching?
and definitions:
friction
air resistance
gravity
force
streamlined
Plenary: How will you
conclude your lesson?
Allow each group to
report their findings.
Brainstorm everyday
objects that have been
designed to increase
or decrease air
resistance. Encourage
students to ask
questions about air
resistance which could
form the basis of
further class
investigation.
Extension/challenge:
How will higherachieving students be
challenged?
Give students a picture
of two different sized
parachutes and ask
them to explain which
parachute would fall
the fastest and why.
This could be tested in
another lesson.
Assessment: How will
you know the students
have met the
objectives? What are
the opportunities for
CCE during this
lesson?
Were the students able
to explain why an
object falls to the
ground? Could they
describe, verbally or
through the use of a
diagram, how air
resistance works to
slow an object down?
Did they know that by
changing the design of
an object they can
increase/decrease air
resistance?
Pause for thought
.
Did you use questions that encouraged a variety of ideas and
responses from your students? How did your questions support or
challenge your students' thinking?
.
Do you think the use of questions in your lesson encouraged your
students to explore the concept of air resistance? Will you prepare
questions in advance for future lesson plans?
15
TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
5 Using questions for assessment
Continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE)
Questions are a common way of checking your students’ understanding
of concepts and processes so that you can modify your lesson plans
according to your students' needs. Using open-ended questions can
help you assess your students’ attainment at the end of a lesson or
study topic, by providing opportunities for them to demonstrate their
increased understanding over time.
Here are some sample questions that could be used with students after
completing investigative work on gravity, friction and air resistance.
.
What are the forces that act on an object as it falls to the ground?
.
What is the effect of friction on an object in motion?
.
Why do some objects have more than one force acting on them at
once?
.
How would you change an object to decrease its air resistance?
.
Why would you want to increase frictional forces on a moving
object?
.
What would happen if the Earth’s gravitational pull was decreased to
half?
Students may answer questions verbally or record their responses on
paper, accompanied by pictures or diagrams where appropriate.
16
6 Encouraging students to ask questions
6 Encouraging students to ask
questions
Questioning is not something only teachers should do. Rather, students
should be encouraged to do so as well. Skilful teacher questioning,
especially of the higher-order open type, should prompt students to formulate
their own questions about the topic as they consider possible answers.
Students’ questions can be very revealing – in demonstrating their
imagination and curiosity, in providing a different perspective on a particular
issue and in displaying misunderstandings or gaps in their knowledge.
It is important to ensure that students feel comfortable about asking
questions in the classroom especially if they are not used to doing this. Be
sure to value all their contributions. If a student’s question displays some
form of misunderstanding, it is very likely that some of their peers will have
similar misconceptions. You can therefore use the opportunity to clarify
issues with the whole class. Inviting other students to provide possible
answers is often much more rewarding than responding yourself.
The following activity is designed to develop students’ questioning and
answering skills.
Hot Seating
Hot seating can be done as a whole-class activity or in several groups
of six to eight. It is best done as a short introductory or review activity in
relation to a current topic.
A volunteer students takes a seat in front of the class or their group and
answers questions about the topic from their peers.
Using prompt cards with the questions ‘Who?’, ‘What?’, ‘Why?’,
‘Where?’, ‘When?’ and ‘How?’ will encourage students to formulate
questions that require more complex answers. Questions that include
these words cannot be answered with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
Question stems can be displayed in class, and modelled by the teacher,
to encourage students to formulate higher-level questions. Examples
might include:
.
What other way could you …?
.
Is there a better solution to …?
.
Why did … happen?
17
TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
7 Summary
This unit has demonstrated how carefully prepared questions can extend
students’ knowledge and understanding of concepts in the elementary
science classroom. By improving your questioning skills, you can have a
direct impact on your students’ attainment. Similarly, by using a rich variety
of questions, including those that require students to use higher-order
thinking skills, you will not only motivate and engage your students but
provide them with a foundation to help develop their critical thinking.
The unit has outlined a number of ways of supporting students when
answering questions, and finished by stressing the importance of encouraging
students to ask questions themselves, as these can provide valuable
contributions to the learning process.
18
8 Resources
8 Resources
Resource 1: Rolls-Royce activity sheet on
‘Forces and air resistance’
Rolls-Royce PLC, a leading company in aerospace design and
manufacturing, has produced a four-page activity booklet for students aged 7
to 11 that invites students to identify the forces that act on an object as it
falls to the ground. The booklet (in English) describes what air resistance is,
and encourages students to modify air resistance to produce lift.
19
Forces and Air
Resistance
For pupils aged 7-11
Activity sheet
This Activity Sheet is provided by Rolls-Royce plc as part of our continuing
commitment to education
Forces and Air Resistance
When a football is kicked into the air, as it starts to fall back down two forces are present.
Gravity
Air Resistance
Gravity pulls the ball down towards the ground but as the ball falls the air pushes back against the
ball. This force is called Air Resistance.
These forces are shown on the picture above by arrows.
The arrows show the direction of the forces. A longer arrow means a larger force.
Air resistance always pushes in the opposite direction to the way the object is moving.
The air resistance pushing back on an object can be changed by changing the shape of the object.
For example the shape of a parachute traps the air which pushes back to give a high air resistance.
Forces and Air Resistance
For each pair of the following pictures use arrows to show the direction and size of the air
resistance. Under each pair write a sentence to say what the air resistance does. Say whether you
think the air resistance is useful or is a problem.
Bike with high handle bars
Parachutist. Chute is NOT open
Parachutist. Chute IS open
Bike with low handle bars
Lorry with shaped cab
Lorry with square cab
Forces and Air Resistance
As an aeroplane takes off the force pushing it forward comes from the powerful gas turbine
engines. This force is called thrust.
The picture below shows an aeroplane flying
level. The force acting upwards is called lift.
This force happens because of the special
shape of the aeroplane wings.
Lift
On the picture use arrows to show the direction of three other forces:
The thrust from the engines
The air resistance
The force of gravity.
TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
Resource 2: Rolls-Royce teachers' notes
on ‘Forces and air resistance’
There is also an accompanying four-page booklet of ‘teachers' notes’.
24
Force and Air
Resistance
For pupils aged 7-11
Teachers’ notes
This Activity Sheet is provided by Rolls-Royce plc as part of our continuing
commitment to education
Forces and Air Resistance
Forces and Air Resistance
For each pair of the following pictures use arrows to show the direction and size of the air
resistance. Under each pair write a sentence to say what the air resistance does. Say whether you
think the air resistance is useful or is a problem.
Bike with high handle bars
Parachutist. Chute is NOT open
Parachutist after chute opens
Bike with low handle bars
On the bicycle with the high handlebars the
person will have more air resistance. This will
slow them down and make it more difficult for
them to pedal.
When the parachutist opens their parachute
the air resistance increases. This slows the
parachutist down and lets them land safely.
Lorry with shaped cab
Lorry with square cab
The Lorry with the shaped cab will have less
air resistance. This lorry will use less fuel. It will
cause less pollution and be cheaper to run.
Forces and Air Resistance
Forces and Air Resistance
The picture below shows an aeroplane flying level. The force acting upwards is called lift. This force
happens because of the special shape of the aeroplane wings.
On the picture below use arrows to show the direction of three other forces:
The thrust from the engines
The air resistance
The force of gravity.
Lift
Gravity
Forces and Air Resistance
Practical tips
On these activity sheets arrows are used to show both the direction and size of forces. The longer
the arrow the bigger the force.
The first sheet illustrates how gravity acts to pull an object, in this case a football, towards the Earth.
As the ball accelerates downwards it has to move through the air which resists it with an upward
force, air resistance. This is a difficult concept for children to understand, but it is really just a
particular example of friction. The ball rubs against the air particles which have to be pushed aside
to let the ball pass as it falls.
The next section gives examples of how the shape of an object affects air resistance, the more
streamlined the object is the less air resistance it has, the air pushed to one side can flow smoothly
over the surface causing less air resistance.
The pupils are then asked, mark in the direction of three other forces acting on an aeroplane.
Balanced forces are not a specific teaching point at KS2 but for an aeroplane in level flight the forces
of lift and gravity will be balanced and thrust and air resistance will be balanced.
National Curriculum Links
This investigation links to attainment target Sc 4, Physical processes. At KS2:
Pupils should be taught:
Sc4 2b Pupils should be taught that objects are pulled downwards because of the gravitational
attraction between them and the Earth.
Sc4 2c Pupils should be taught about friction including air resistance, as a force that slows
moving objects and may prevent objects from starting to move.
9 Related units
9 Related units
Questioning is a classroom technique that runs through all the Elementary
Science units. The following units are particularly closely linked with the
use of structured questioning.
.
TDU 3, Using explanations as a teaching strategy: life processes: This
unit explores how teachers can use questions to motivate and actively
engage students during large-group demonstrations.
.
TDU 7, Sorting and classifying living and non-living things: This unit
explores the role of questioning in supporting students to sort and
classify living and non-living things.
.
TDU 13, Practical investigation: exploring seeds germination: This unit
explores the scientific method and identifies ways in which questioning
can enhance scientific enquiry skills.
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TDU 5
Using questions to extend students’ understanding of forces
References
Adams, R. (1994) Blueprints: Science Assessment Key Stage 1, Surrey, Stanley
Thornes.
Lancashire Grid for Learning, UK (undated) ‘Science National Curriculum: Key
Stage 1’ (online). Available from: http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/
science/download/file/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Natioanl%
20Curriculum%20for%20Key%20Stage%201.pdf (accessed 10
January 2014).
Rolls-Royce PLC (undated) Activity sheet on forces and air resistance for pupils
aged 7–11.
Rolls-Royce PLC (undated) Accompanying teachers' notes for activity on forces
and air resistance.
Wikipedia (2014) Bloom's taxonomy [Online], 12 January. Available at http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy (Accessed 14 January 2014).
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
The content of this teacher development unit was developed collaboratively
and incrementally by the following educators and academics from India and
The Open University (UK) who discussed various drafts, including the
feedback from Indian and UK critical readers: Jane Devereux and Christine
James.
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated, this content is made
available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not
subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made
to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:
Video: appreciation and thanks are extended to the participation of teachers
and students at Ramjas School, R.K. Puram and all those involved in the
making of this video.
Resources 1 and 2: activity sheets for teachers and students © Rolls-Royce,
http://www.rolls-royce.com.
CCE logo: http://www.cbse.nic.in/.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been
inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the
necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.
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