• 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. Which way does gravity pull objects near Earth? (down, towards the centre of the Earth / towards the Sun only / up, towards the sky / sideways) → down, towards the centre of the EarthPrompt: What happens when you drop a ball?
2. On which surface would you slide furthest in your socks? (a polished wooden floor / a grassy field / a gravel path / a thick carpet) → a polished wooden floorPrompt: Which surface is smoothest?
3. People in Australia do not fall off the Earth. Why? (They hold on tightly / They wear heavy shoes / Gravity pulls everyone towards the centre of the Earth / Australia has no gravity) → Gravity pulls everyone towards the centre of the EarthPrompt: "Down" means towards the centre of the Earth, wherever you are.

• 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. Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why? (to make the bike heavier / to increase friction with the road / to reduce air resistance / to see the road better) → to reduce air resistancePrompt: Air pushes against the front of a moving body.
2. Why does air resistance increase as a cyclist goes faster? (Gravity gets stronger / The cyclist hits more air particles each second / The air gets heavier / The bike gets bigger) → The cyclist hits more air particles each secondPrompt: Think about air particles in the cyclist's path.

• 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.

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

1. Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true? (Air resistance acts against the direction of motion. / Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance. / A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly. / Water resistance only acts on boats.) → Water resistance only acts on boats.Prompt: Which way does air resistance act on a falling object?
2. Which falls slowest: a flat sheet of paper or the same paper screwed into a ball? (neither falls / the ball of paper / the flat sheet / they always land together) → the flat sheetPrompt: They have the same mass. What is different?

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