Science Scheme | Year 5 | Block 2: Forces | Lesson 2: What is Air Resistance?
Help pupils explore the concept of air resistance with this fully resourced Year 5 science lesson. Part of our Scintillating Science programme, this lesson introduces air resistance as a force that acts against moving objects, slowing them down.
Aligned with the National Curriculum, this lesson encourages children to work scientifically through questioning, predicting and carrying out simple practical tests. Pupils investigate how different shapes and surfaces affect air resistance using paper planes and streamlined designs.
What’s included?
- Detailed lesson plan
- Interactive teaching slides
- Differentiated worksheets
- Hands-on investigation: paper plane testing
- Assessment questions to check understanding
Through practical enquiry and discussion, children discover how air resistance impacts moving objects and begin to understand its role in real-world contexts, such as parachutes, sports and transport design.
Teaching tip: Challenge pupils to design and test their own paper planes or streamlined shapes to explore how air resistance changes with surface area and shape.
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