Things you'll need to decide on as you plan: Non-Zero Force Changes Speed

Bringing together two sets of constraints

Focusing on the learners:

Distinguishing–eliciting–connecting. How to:

• explore the connection between resultant force and change in motion
• draw out children's ideas about forces, persuading them to be explicit
• connect scientific ideas of motion to the ideas that children already have

Teacher Tip: These are all related to findings about children's ideas from research. The teaching activities will provide some suggestions. So will colleagues, near and far.

Focusing on the physics:

Representing–noticing–recording. How to:

• move from a description of forces acting on an object to a prediction of the motion of that object

Teacher Tip: Connecting what is experienced with what is written and drawn is essential to making sense of the connections between the theoretical world of physics and the lived-in world of the children. Don't forget to exemplify this action.