• 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. 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.
2. On which surface would you slide furthest in your socks? (a grassy field / a thick carpet / a gravel path / a polished wooden floor) → a polished wooden floorPrompt: Which surface is smoothest?
3. Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Marie Curie / Isaac Newton / Charles Darwin / Thomas Edison) → Isaac NewtonPrompt: A story says an apple fell near him.

• 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 see the road better / to reduce air resistance / to make the bike heavier / to increase friction with the road) → to reduce air resistancePrompt: Air pushes against the front of a moving body.
2. A skydiver falls at a steady top speed (terminal velocity). What is true about the forces? (Weight and air resistance are balanced / Air resistance is bigger than weight / There is no air resistance / There is no weight) → Weight and air resistance are balancedPrompt: Steady speed means no resultant force.

• 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 is a type of friction. / Air resistance pulls falling objects downwards. / Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance. / Air resistance acts against the direction of motion.) → Air resistance pulls falling objects downwards.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 flat sheet / they always land together / the ball of paper) → 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.