Things you'll need to decide on as you plan: waves interacting

Focusing on the learners:

Distinguishing–eliciting–connecting. How will you:

• make connections to prior studies of reflection, propagation and refraction
• exploit the simple idea of being in-step
• keep refraction and diffraction separate
• build on the idea of do like me – but later

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 will you:

• bring the phenomena into focus through well-managed demonstrations
• attach specific and precise meaning to new technical terms
• exploit the ideas of paths and trip times and contributions

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.