Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 minutes
Air resistance and water resistance
Forces and motion
CCSS NGSS.MS-PS2-2England: KS2 Y5 Forces
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Air resistance and water resistance.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Friction; Gravity
Leads to: Newton's laws of motion
Materials: Force meters, Toy cars and ramps, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Friction; Gravity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Isaac Newton / Marie Curie / Thomas Edison / Charles Darwin) → Isaac NewtonPrompt: A story says an apple fell near him.
- On which surface would you slide furthest in your socks? (a thick carpet / a grassy field / a polished wooden floor / a gravel path) → a polished wooden floorPrompt: Which surface is smoothest?
- 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.
Hook · 5 min
- 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.
I do: model it · 10 min
- 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.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why? (to increase friction with the road / to see the road better / to make the bike heavier / to reduce air resistance) → to reduce air resistancePrompt: Air pushes against the front of a moving body.
- Which is the best shape for a fast racing car? (tall and square / covered in flags / flat and wide like a sheet / low and streamlined) → low and streamlinedPrompt: The car should slip through the air.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true? (A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly. / Water resistance only acts on boats. / Air resistance is a type of friction. / Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance.) → Water resistance only acts on boats.Prompt: Which way does air resistance act on a falling object?
- Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why? (to make the bike heavier / to increase friction with the road / to see the road better / to reduce air resistance) → to reduce air resistancePrompt: Air pushes against the front of a moving body.
Watch out for
- Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
- Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Friction.
- Use concrete materials: force meters.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Newton's laws of motion.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder