Looking through forces spectacles - an activity
Classroom Activity
for 5-11
11-14
What the Activity is for
Helping students to see the world in a new way.
The purpose of this activity is for children to make simplified drawings of each of the stations in the circus and to draw in the forces acting on the different objects.
What to Prepare
A set of stations to show forces in action. For example:
- a cup on the table
- a mass hanging on a string
- a floating block
- a shoe on a slope
- some foam under a heavy book
- a stretched spring
- something leaning against the wall
- something on a weighing machine
For this activity you might use the same circus of stations as for the Cardboard Arrows activity.
- starter sheet,
Where are the forces?
, which explains the task, gives an example and then offers children a framework for their own work (download below).
What Happens During this Activity
Pupils might be taken through the first example as a whole class. The main point to make being that the modelling process is aimed at producing a simplified sketch of the real situation at each station. The skill is to observe, think and then draw. Forces can be added as a last stage.
Resources
Download the support sheet / student worksheet for this activity.
