• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Find the part that vibrates to make the sound; Why we need light to see things). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. What vibrates to make the sound of a loudspeaker? (the cone at the front / its wings / the air inside the tube / the metal bell) → the cone at the frontPrompt: Which part moves back and forth when the sound is made?
2. You go into a room with no windows and shut the door. The light is off. What can you see? (everything, but in black and white / only red things / nothing at all / only shiny things) → nothing at allPrompt: What is missing from the room?
3. You pluck a guitar string and then touch it to stop it moving. What happens to the sound? (It stops. / Nothing changes. / It gets higher. / It gets louder.) → It stops.Prompt: What makes the sound in the first place?

• Ask the class to make a wave with a rope or slinky and describe what moves and what doesn't.
• Share the objective: Send messages with light and sound. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Does this signal use light, sound or both: a doorbell?
• Step 1: These signals are heard, so they work even if you cannot see them.
• Step 2: So the answer is: sound
• Answer: sound
• 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. Does this signal use light, sound or both: a lighthouse beam? (light / sound / both light and sound) → lightPrompt: Do you see it, hear it, or both?
2. Your friend is across a noisy playground. Which signal will they notice best? (waving a brightly coloured flag / whispering her name / tapping a pencil quietly / humming softly) → waving a brightly coloured flagPrompt: Sound gets lost in a noisy place.

• 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. What message does this signal send: a car's flashing orange indicator on the left? (There may be a fire: get out. / I need help. / The car is about to turn left. / Playtime is over; go back to class.) → The car is about to turn left.Prompt: Where would you meet this signal, and what should you do?
2. Why does a pedestrian crossing beep as well as show a green light? (because the light is broken / to wake up birds / to make the cars go faster / so people who cannot see well know when to cross) → so people who cannot see well know when to crossPrompt: Who might not see the green figure?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-1.