Science · Year 5

Active learning ideas

Introduction to Forces

Active learning helps students grasp invisible forces like gravity and resistance by letting them see and feel the effects firsthand. When students test ideas with hands-on tasks, they move beyond abstract explanations to concrete understanding.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• NC-KS2-Science-Y5-Forces-1

• 25–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 60 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Parachute Challenge

In small groups, students design and build parachutes using different materials and surface areas. They drop them from a height and time the fall, discussing how the air resistance (upward force) opposes gravity (downward force) to slow the descent.

Explain what a force is and how it can change an object's motion.

Facilitation Tip

During The Parachute Challenge, circulate and ask each group to predict how changing the parachute size will affect fall time before they test their ideas.

What to look for

Provide students with a picture of a playground scene (e.g., a child on a swing, a ball rolling). Ask them to list three forces they can see or infer in the picture and briefly describe what each force is doing.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Streamlining in Water

Students shape pieces of modeling clay into different forms (e.g., a ball, a flat disc, a teardrop) and time how long they take to sink to the bottom of a tall water container. They use their findings to explain how shape affects water resistance and why fish and boats are streamlined.

Identify different types of forces acting on everyday objects.

Facilitation Tip

For Streamlining in Water, provide a timer for each trial so students practice measuring and recording results precisely.

What to look for

Hold up various objects (e.g., a book, a pen, a crumpled piece of paper). Ask students to identify a force they could apply to each object and predict how the object would move. For example, 'What force could you apply to the book, and what would happen?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Gravity on the Moon

Students watch a video of astronauts jumping on the Moon. They think about why the jumps are so much higher than on Earth, pair up to discuss the relationship between a planet's mass and its gravitational pull, and then share their conclusions with the class.

Predict how applying a force will affect an object's movement.

Facilitation Tip

In Think-Pair-Share: Gravity on the Moon, circulate and listen for pairs using evidence from their prior investigations to explain why the Moon has gravity.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are pushing a heavy box across the floor. What forces are acting on the box? What would happen if you stopped pushing? Explain your reasoning using the vocabulary we learned.'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers often find that students learn best when they start with simple, visible examples before moving to abstract concepts. Avoid rushing to formal definitions; instead, let students describe what they observe and build the vocabulary together. Research suggests that guided inquiry—where students predict, observe, and explain—leads to deeper understanding than direct instruction alone.

Successful learning looks like students accurately explaining how gravity pulls objects toward Earth and describing how air or water resistance opposes motion. They should use correct vocabulary (e.g., friction, streamlining) to explain observed outcomes in their own words.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Parachute Challenge, watch for students who believe heavier objects always fall faster. Redirect them by asking, 'What happens when you drop the light ball and the heavy ball at the same time? Use your observations to explain why.'

  During Think-Pair-Share: Gravity on the Moon, have students discuss why astronauts can jump higher on the Moon if gravity is weaker there. Guide them to realize gravity is still acting, but the Moon’s gravity is less than Earth’s.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Simulation Game
• Think-Pair-Share