• 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 drum? (the air inside the tube / the strings / the metal bell / the stretched skin on top) → the stretched skin on topPrompt: Which part moves back and forth when the sound is made?
2. A cat's eyes seem to shine in the dark when a car's headlights catch them. Is the cat making light? (Yes, but only at night. / No, its eyes are reflecting the headlights. / Yes, cats' eyes are light sources. / No, it is the Moon making the eyes.) → No, its eyes are reflecting the headlights.Prompt: Would the eyes shine if there were no light at all?
3. Put your fingers gently on your throat and hum. What do you feel? (your heart stopping / nothing at all / something very cold / a buzzing vibration) → a buzzing vibrationPrompt: Sounds are made by things moving back and forth.

• 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: traffic lights? (light / sound / both light and sound) → lightPrompt: Do you see it, hear it, or both?
2. Ships at sea at night watch for a lighthouse. What message does its light send? (Fish are nearby. / It is time for dinner. / Danger: rocks or land are near here. / The sea is warm today.) → Danger: rocks or land are near here.Prompt: Why would a ship need to know where the coast is?

• 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. Your friend is across a noisy playground. Which signal will they notice best? (tapping a pencil quietly / waving a brightly coloured flag / humming softly / whispering her name) → waving a brightly coloured flagPrompt: Sound gets lost in a noisy place.
2. Does this signal use light, sound or both: a pedestrian crossing that beeps and shows a green figure? (light / sound / both light and sound) → both light and soundPrompt: Do you see it, hear it, or both?

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