My Sustainable STEM Sideshow - Gravity and Energy

Australian Curriculum content descriptions (v9): 

Year 5 to 8 Science:

• investigate and represent balanced and unbalanced forces, including gravitational force, acting on objects, and relate changes in an object’s motion to its mass and the magnitude and direction of forces acting on it (AC9S7U04)
• classify different types of energy as kinetic or potential and investigate energy transfer and transformations in simple systems (AC9S8U05)
• pose investigable questions to identify patterns and test relationships and make reasoned predictions (AC9S6I01)
• plan and conduct reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses, including identifying variables and assumptions and, as appropriate, recognising and managing risks, considering ethical issues and recognising key considerations regarding heritage sites and artefacts on Country/Place (AC9S7I02)
• write and create texts to communicate ideas and findings for specific purposes and audiences, including selection of language features, using digital tools as appropriate (AC9S6I06)
• develop investigable questions, reasoned predictions and hypotheses to explore scientific models, identify patterns and test relationships (AC9S8I01)

Syllabus outcomes: SC4-10PW, ST3-4WS, SC4-5WS, SC4-4WS

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking, Numeracy, Literacy

Relevant parts of Year 5 to 8 achievement standards: 

By the end of Year 6, students explain how scientific knowledge helps us to solve problems and inform decisions. They follow procedures to develop design investigations into simple cause-and-effect relationships. They identify variables to be changed and measured and describe potential safety risks when planning methods. They collect, organise and interpret their data, identifying where improvements to their methods or research could improve the data.

By the end of Year 8, students identify different forms of energy and describe how energy transfers and transformations cause a change in simple systems. They identify and construct questions and problems that they can investigate scientifically, consider safety and ethics when planning investigations and identify variables to be changed, measured and controlled. Students construct representations of their data to reveal and analyse patterns and trends and use these when justifying their conclusions.

Time required: 50 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – Teacher needs to explain various mathematical concepts around probability and assist students to apply the outcomes and event frequencies in their own Sideshow Game to the mathematical conceptual framework around probability.

• a set of ‘nutritional scales’ such as those used to measure weights of food items in grams (these can be purchased quite cheaply at most department stores)
• cardboard tube or concave ramp propped up on a slope, with 3 small balls (see the demonstration in ‘Activating prior knowledge’, as set out below)
• interactive whiteboard or data projector
• students’ ‘Sustainable STEM Sideshow Game’ prototypes, from Lesson 1 of this Unit – set up ready to go in the classroom or learning space
• Student Worksheet for Lesson 3: Gravity and Energy (one per student)
• whiteboard (or electronic whiteboard) with pens.

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• communication
• critical thinking
• problem solving.

This is an original Cool+ lesson.