Things you'll need to decide on as you plan: Predicting Constant Speed

Bringing together two sets of constraints

Focusing on the learners:

Distinguishing–eliciting–connecting. How to:

• draw on what pupils have learned about drawing arrows to represent forces
• reactivate their knowledge about resultant forces and natural motions

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:

• separate arrows representing force from arrows representing movement
• develop a good exposition of terminal speed
• describe situations where the resultant force is equal to 0

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.