Lesson 2-Forces.

Year 8 Katherine High

MY REFLECTION OF THIS LESSON
The Iirst part oI the lesson did not run smoothly due to the projector not working so I was unable to
show the students the video clip in the lesson plan. The reason I had included the clip in the lesson was
to get students attention and Iocus. The video clip itselI was a Iun way to engage students in the lesson
so I could continue with the content. I did improvise by explaining concepts and drawing diagrams on
the board and went around later on and showed each group the video individually on a laptop. The Iirst
time I taught this lesson I used a video clip similar to this and Ielt that it drew the student`s interest. I
think that by not being able to show the students the clip in this lesson they were less engaged. In Iuture
lessons, I will continue to use this technique to gain attention.

This lesson was also disrupted due to students being taken out oI the classroom to complete a PoLT
survey. This became challenging because I had already selected groups Ior the students to work in some
cases many oI the team members oI each group were away Irom class Ior a signiIicant amount oI time.
This meant that students were coming into the classroom at all diIIerent times with no idea what they
were doing and subsequently they were very disruptive to other students. This also made it especially
hard to maintain behaviour in the classroom.

The outcomes oI this lesson were Ior students to be able to relate static electricity and inertia to their
prior knowledge oI Iorces. Students would be able to recognise the contribution oI science in concepts
oI our everyday liIe. Students would conduct investigations and record data and then process and
interpret the inIormation to draw conclusions about the types oI Iorces around us.

This lesson was designed to help students comprehend Newton`s Iirst law oI inertia and the Iorces which
act upon an object to slow it down, speed it up or change its direction etc. The second part oI the lesson
was to demonstrate the Iorces oI attraction between positively and negatively charged particles to
students.

Students were able to describe what a Iorce as a push or a pull; however they did not seem to be able to
relate the concept to static electricity or inertia. I used questioning throughout the lesson to determine iI
students understood what they were doing. Fewer students than I expected were able to identiIy the
relationship between Iorces and the activities. I think that in the case oI this class, Iurther discussion oI
the activities was required beIore the students undertook them, although I handed out a workbook with
step by step instructions and discussion questions Ior students, they all seemed unsure oI exactly what
they were expected to do. This caused a lot oI conIusion and ultimately students were disruptive and
disengaged.

Having students work in small groups and rotate around the room to complete the activities did not seem
to work in this classroom. Students seemed conIused with the rotation aspect and many did not work
cooperatively in groups. Many students were not writing observations or explanations on their
worksheets. I think this again comes back to me not giving these students enough instruction at the
beginning oI the lesson. I do however think that students became much more engaged in discussion
when I went around to each group individually at their stations and discussed what was happening.
Students were then able to Iill in answers to the discussion questions more readily.
The students in this class did not appear to have much prior knowledge oI the Iorces and I was wrong to
assume that because they undertook a similar topic in the previous school year that they would be able to
relate this inIormation to the activities I provided. I needed to spend more time reinIorcing concepts to
students and making my expectations clear, whilst gauging what they knew and what needed to be
Iocused on. When teaching this topic again to a group oI students similar to this one I would need to
Recognise the value oI regularly reIlecting on
their proIessional knowledge and practice
and develop strategies Ior reIlection
individually and collectively.
spend more time describing the relationships with Iurther video clips, demonstrations and explanation
beIore having students undertake the activities.


MENTOR TEACHER FEEDBACK:

The material and activities were appropriate and well organised Ior the lesson - consisting oI 6 mini-
investigations/experiments. A booklet was provided to each student which contained all activity
instructions and structured questions to answer. The rotational group work was a good idea and a
pedagogically sound decision to demonstrate a range oI concepts, along with maintaining student
enthusiasm and Iostering collaborative group dynamics.
Students seemed generally compliant when entering the classroom. The lesson commenced with
students being asked questions about things covered in the previous lesson - several students responded
and it also proved a successIul settling strategy in encouraging others to comply with expectations and
join in the discussion.
We knew in advance that there would be some disruption because oI 10 students at a time being
withdrawn to complete POLT survey. I believe this contributed to some unsettled behaviour with some
students and made things diIIicult Ior Jacqui who was trying to establish the direction oI the lesson,
instructions, etc, and just when she had almost Iinished, another group would go and a group would
return, Iorcing Jacqui to recap and restart instruction.
On the whole, I think the students appreciated the diIIerent concepts displayed through the activities.
As something to look at in the Iuture, I would like Jacqui to consider the importance oI establishing
behavioural boundaries and maintaining those with deliberate, pro-active rule-reminders and Iollow-
up/consequences, etc, as required. In particular this should be Ior insisting on silence beIore speaking,
as well as routine Iollow up Ior certain behaviours that might occur - and certainly Ior continued
deIiance and non-compliance with reasonable requests, work output expectations, etc. UnIortunately
with Middle Year aged students, management oI behaviour in a systematic/objective way can be just as
involved as preparing Ior the curriculum content. In time and with consistent application, students will
learn to operate within the behavioural boundaries are set Ior them, which will also have pay-oIIs in
their learning outcomes.
Josh Dean, Katherine High School
Lesson Plan








LESSON OB1ECTIVES:
Students will understand: What a force is and the concept of pushing and pulling forces and
their relationship to inertia and static electricity

Unit/Topic: Forces Lesson # 2

Strand(s): science Level: year 8

Time: 2 periods (65 mins each)



MATERIALS:













LESSON STRUCTURE:

Time Main Content: Teaching Approaches
10 min







20 mins





60 min













20 min








-Forces: What are forces







Introduce Inertia and static electricity
Show quick YouTube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?vSziVG51BGR8



Activities relating to inertia and static electricity
5 stations are set up and students are in groups of 2 or
three for activities. Students spend 5 minutes at each
activity and when completed, rotate to the next station.
1. Flick tricks
2. Catching coins
3. The spinning egg
4. Salt and Pepper
5. Bending Water
6. Balloon Magnet




Students answer questions and discuss answers to
questions.







Review oI previous lesson
Use a mind map or similar to
collaborate answers. Pose
questions such as what is a
Iorce/what is an example oI a
Iorce?


Class discussion, use board to
show examples and question
appropriately



ReIer to activity sheet Ior set
up oI activities. Teacher is
walking around classroom
asking questions about each
activity and helping students
to complete.
Students are required to Iill in
answers to discussion
questions on activity sheet
beIore they rotate to next
activity.



Students complete the
worksheet questions and are
asked to share their answers to
questions with the class and
discuss what they think is
happening in relation to each
activity. Activity sheets are to
be pasted into notebooks.

Copies oI activity sheet enough Ior one per student
13 20 cent coins
Playing card
I boiled egg
1 raw egg
Small plate
Table salt
Black ground pepper
Plastic ruler x2
Balloons












ASSESSMENT:
Classroom discussion oI questions Irom activity worksheets. Questioning students to attain their
understanding oI the topic.