• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Friction; Gravity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Charles Darwin / Marie Curie / Isaac Newton / Thomas Edison) → Isaac NewtonPrompt: A story says an apple fell near him.
2. Why do people oil a squeaky bicycle chain? (to increase friction / to reduce friction / to make it heavier / to make it magnetic) → to reduce frictionPrompt: Oil makes surfaces slippery.
3. On the Moon, an astronaut dropped a hammer and a feather at the same time. What happened? (They floated away / The feather landed first / The hammer landed first / They hit the ground together) → They hit the ground togetherPrompt: The Moon has no air.

• Drop a sheet of paper and a scrunched-up sheet together and ask why one falls faster.
• Share the objective: Air resistance and water resistance. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Why are fish and boats streamlined (smooth and pointed)?
• Step 1: Streamlining reduces water resistance, so they move faster using less energy.
• Step 2: So the answer is: to reduce water resistance
• Answer: to reduce water resistance
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Why does a parachute slow a skydiver down? (It turns off gravity / Its large surface creates a lot of air resistance / It is full of helium / It makes the skydiver lighter) → Its large surface creates a lot of air resistancePrompt: The parachute pushes against lots of air.
2. Why is it harder to walk through water than through air? (Gravity is stronger in water / Air pushes you forward / Water has no particles / Water resistance is much bigger than air resistance) → Water resistance is much bigger than air resistancePrompt: Water particles are much closer together than air particles.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Why are fish and boats streamlined (smooth and pointed)? (to look nice / to increase water resistance / to float higher / to reduce water resistance) → to reduce water resistancePrompt: A streamlined shape lets water flow past easily.
2. Which is the best shape for a fast racing car? (covered in flags / flat and wide like a sheet / tall and square / low and streamlined) → low and streamlinedPrompt: The car should slip through the air.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.