Science Scheme | Year 5 | Block 2: Forces | Lesson 3: What is Water Resistance?
Introduce the concept of water resistance with this fully resourced Year 5 science lesson. Part of our Scintillating Science programme, this lesson helps children understand that water resistance is a force that acts against the movement of objects through water.
Aligned with the National Curriculum, this lesson encourages pupils to plan and carry out a simple comparative test using plasticine shapes to explore how shape and surface area affect the amount of water resistance experienced.
What’s included?
- Detailed lesson plan
- Interactive teaching slides
- Differentiated worksheets
- Hands-on investigation: testing streamlined shapes in water
- Assessment questions to check understanding
Through practical exploration, discussion and prediction, children develop their understanding of how streamlined shapes reduce water resistance and why this is important for swimmers, boats, and aquatic animals.
Teaching tip: Encourage children to design and test different shaped boats or submarines to find out which travels fastest through water and why.
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