• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Harder and gentler pushes: how far and how fast?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Mia gives a ball a gentle push and then a hard push on the same floor. Which push makes it go further? (the gentle push / the hard push / they are the same) → the hard pushPrompt: Which push is bigger?
2. True or false? An empty box and a box full of books need the same push to move. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Think about a swing, a ball and a heavy box.
3. Mia gives a toy car a gentle push and then a hard push on the same floor. Which push makes it go further? (the gentle push / the hard push / they are the same) → the hard pushPrompt: Which push is bigger?

• Drop a sheet of paper and a scrunched-up sheet together and ask why one falls faster.
• Share the objective: When things bump into each other. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Why do bumper cars have thick rubber all around them?
• Step 1: Rubber squashes and makes each bump gentler.
• Step 2: So the answer is: to soften the bumps when they crash into each other
• Answer: to soften the bumps when they crash into each other
• 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 do bumper cars have thick rubber all around them? (to make them heavier / to make them go faster / to make them quieter / to soften the bumps when they crash into each other) → to soften the bumps when they crash into each otherPrompt: What does a soft cushion do when something hits it?
2. True or false? A slow ball knocks down more pins than a fast ball. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Picture balls, cars and pins bumping.

• 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. A big heavy ball and a small light ball roll at the same speed into a box. Which pushes the box more? (neither touches it / they push it the same / the light ball / the heavy ball) → the heavy ballPrompt: Which ball would be harder to stop?
2. True or false? A slow ball knocks down more pins than a fast ball. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Picture balls, cars and pins bumping.

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