Energy & Forces - Forces & their effects - Forces - G7
This is the Teacher's Guide for this targetThis is the Teacher's Guide for this targetTeacher's Guide

EF-A3.1

PIPS2_Energy & Forces  (access to videos - probably only suitable if you have Broadband or a great deal of patience!) - Part 1 - Susan (video 25 Mb)
2. Worksheet A11a (G) provides a basic table for the children to fill in either by drawing pictures or writing the words. It is possible to find a good selection of pushing and pulling toys in toy shops and also used ones at school jumble sales etc. and often asking the children to look in their own toy boxes can save you the effort!
4. It might be helpful to start by giving each child some plasticine and asking them to push it. What has happened to the shape? Now pull it. Again what has happened to the shape?

Dropping things onto plasticine could be a little hazardous. One way to control this investigation would be to make several similar sized plasticine balls. Put one at the bottom of a cardboard tube - from a kitchen roll or poster. Drop a small weight down the tube and look at the effect on the plasticine ball. Now repeat with another plasticine ball and a larger weight. Compare the two balls. Repeat three or four times. What other items could be used to make a dent in the plasticine? (Pencils, rulers etc) By using the tube, the test can be made fair - the same height is used each time.
6. Worksheet A11b (G) can be used for the children to write or draw what they see.

a) Try to get the children to predict whether an object will float or sink before putting it in the water. Once they have tested all the objects in the water, sort the objects into three groups - float easily, just float or sink. Look at the sorted objects and ask if they can tell you something about the objects in each group. Do all the metal objects sink? Do all the cuboid objects float?

b) Try an assortment of plastic toys - ducks, boats, Lego blocks, Duplo-people etc. Do all the things made of plastic float?

c) Plasticine is useful here since its shape can be readily changed and it can even be made to float if it is pressed very thin and made into a boat shape.