The following activities are written as step by

step instructions and organised with Hacklings

(2005) 5 Es Instructional model - Engage,
Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate.



ACTIVITY ONE
ENERGY & CHANGE (PHYSICS)
MISCONCEPTION:
Magnets are attracted to all metals/silver objects (MathScience Innovation
Centre, 2007)

CURRICULUM
TARGET
Grade 3 students working at Band Level 2.
NTCF Energy & Change
Band Level 2 Transformers and Transformations
Learners are able to:
Investigate the properties of objects to determine the effect of the forces that act
on them, eg magnets pick up some objects and not others, some balls are bouncier
than others, smooth objects move more easily on a surface

AIM
Students will alter their misconception of magnets (attracting all metal & silver
objects) and get a clearer understand of what magnets are attracted to and why.

ACTIVITY
Learners will have the opportunity to predict which objects from a collection
will be attracted to a magnet and which ones will not. Students will then play
and test each object to see whether their prediction was right.
Need: a various range objects made from different materials to test (buttons,
plastic block painted silver, wooden peg etc), one worksheet/science book per
student, pencil
Engage.
Raise questions to create interest and raise questions
Reveal student ideas and beliefs
Compare students ideas
1. Brainstorm with students what a magnets is, what it is attracted to, and why
Jot these ideas down on a whiteboard
2. Show students each object to be tested one at a time. Have the students stand
up if they believe it that the magnet will be attracted to the object, and remain
seated it they believe it wont.
On the whiteboard, jot down the majority of beliefs for each object, for reflection
at the end
*Alternatively, add a column on the worksheet for students to write down their
predictions
Explore.
Explore questions and test students ideas
Experience the concept
3. Students break off into small groups and begin to play with the magnets and
objects
4. Students fill out a worksheet ticking or crossing the box correlating to the
image, noting if the magnet stuck to the object or not
*students should be encouraged to play while testing to stimulate engagement.
Explain.
Compare ideas
Construct explanations and justify them in terms of observations and data
5. Once the students have completed their worksheet, they converse with the
other members in their group about what they found out during the activity,
comparing their predictions
Elaborate.
Reconstruct and extend explanation to new concepts
6. Students participate in circle time discussing their findings with the class eg.
Why they thought a certain object would attract and whether they were right or
not.
Evaluate.
The teacher looks for evidence of changes in students ideas, beliefs, and
skills
Students evaluate their own learning
The completed worksheets and class discussion provides evidence of learning




ACTIVITY TWO
NATURAL & PROCESSED MATERIALS
MISCONCEPTION:
Mass is the most important factor determining whether an object will sink or
float. (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2006)
Things float if they are light and sink if they are heavy.
(Thompson & Longue 2006)

CURRICULUM
TARGET
Grade 3 working at a Band Level 1
NTCF Natural and Processed Materials
Band 1 - Structures, Properties and Uses
The learner knows and understands that:
different materials can be used for the same thing, eg this table is made of wood
and that table is made of plastic
The learner is able to:
Investigate and observe the properties of materials, eg which materials can be
poured, which materials can hold water

AIM
Students will identify that certain materials have distinct characteristics in terms
of sinking and floating. Eg. Wood will always float, plastic will often float, and
metal will often sink. Students will also understand that just because an object is
heavy, does not mean it will sink, nor will a light item always float. The aim is not
to go into depths of why these items float/sink (buoyancy, displacement) but
rather, to break their misconception and allow space for them to then understand
such concepts later on in their learning
Each group of students will need: One of each object, a clear tub/container/tank,
a science book, kitchen scales and a pencil



ACTIVITY

Engage
Raise questions to create interest and raise questions
Reveal student ideas and beliefs Open questions and individual
Discuss with students what makes something sink/float
Give examples of objects a boat, a feather do these float? Why?
Write their ideas down for later reflection
Explore
Experience the phenomenon or concept
Open investigation work to explore questions and test students ideas
Investigate and solve problems, observe, test ideas and try to answer
questions.
In a small group, students test 3 items that are made of different materials but
have a similar mass, and record their findings in the science books
Next, they test 3 items that are made of different materials but weigh the same.
They then record their findings in their science books.
Each item is tested one at a time and results are recorded on the worksheet or in
the
Explain
Compare ideas
Small-group discussion
Explanations
&
Evaluate
The teacher looks for evidence of changes in students ideas, beliefs, and
skills
Students evaluate their own learning
Students then join up with another group to discuss their findings and form further
questions.
Reflection on what was discussed before the activity is revised with students
having opportunity to discuss whether they still believe what they had previously
guessed.

*to help stimulate involvement, food dye/glitter could be added to the water
CONTINUATION OF LEARNING
Students could continue to change the variables in the investigation drop the
object from different heights or wrap foam around an object that usually sinks.



ACTIVITY THREE
LIFE & LIVING (BIOLOGY)
MISCONCEPTION:
Plants are not alive (Hatano, 1997)
CURRICULUM
TARGET
Grade 3 students working at Band Level 1
NTCF:
Band 1 Structure and Function
Learners know and understand that:
All living things share common characteristics that distinguish them from non-living
things
Learners are able to:
Distinguish between living and non-living things using characteristics such as
movement, reproduction, growth, feeding/nutrition

AIM
Students will be able to classify plants as living and understand the characteristics
that living things have.

ACTIVITY
Students will create a flip book that will help them to assess whether objects
are living or non-living. They will then test the books on various types of
objects.
Engage.
Raise questions to create interest and raise questions
Reveal student ideas and beliefs
Open questions and individual
Discuss with students what makes something living/non-living and to provide
examples.
Elaborate.
Reconstruct and extend explanation to new concepts
Each student will be given 8 strips of paper 3.5cmx21cm (divide an A4 piece of
paper into 8ths, length-ways); the students will write a question in texta on each
piece of paper.
On the first piece of paper write Am I living? Then on the following write these
questions per page: Do I need air? Do I need water? Do I need food? So I produce
offspring? Do I move? Do I grow? And on the final piece write Yes! Im living.
Then staple the strips together.
Explore.
Explore questions and test students ideas
Experience the concept
Then they begin their investigation, answering the questions about an object with
the flip book, if they answer no to a question it is not living, if they answer yes
to all of the questions then it is living.
Explain
Compare ideas
Construct explanations and justify them in terms of observations and data
Once the students have sampled 5 objects they then share with a partner what
they learnt about living things and which ones of their samples were living/not.
* To enhance engagement, allow the students to draw and decorate their flip
books.

ACTIVITY FOUR
EARTH AND BEYOND (SPACE/EARTH)
MISCONCEPTION
Shadows come from within animate and inanimate objects and follow them.
(Domaschenz, Collett & Wells 2010)
CURRICULUM
TARGET
Grade 2 students at Band Level 1.
NTCF Earth & Beyond
Band Level 1, Earth In Space
Learners know and understand that:
Shadows are created when an object blocks out the light source.
Shadows are created by the sun and change during the day
Learners are able to:
Observe and record patterns in shadows, eg recognise that their shadow changes in
size and direction depending on the time of day.
AIM
Students will learn to comprehend that:
Shadows are not a part of themselves.
Shadows change in shape and size throughout the day depending on the placement
of the sun and direction in which they are facing.
ACTIVITY
Students will trace and measure their partners shadows at three separate
intervals during the day to investigate any changes to their shadows and to
question why these changes occur and where shadows come from.
Each pair needs: Science Books, Pencil, Measuring tape, Chalk, partner
Engage.
Raise questions to create interest and raise questions
Reveal student ideas and beliefs
Open questions and individual
1. Ask students What is a shadow? When do we see our shadow? How do we see
our shadow?
Take notes on board to reflect on later
Explore.
Explore questions and test students ideas
2. Take students outside with their partner to a courtyard or an open space that is
paved/concreted (Dont forget hats!)
3. Point the students to south (or alternatively have them use a compass)
4. Instruct the students to begin to trace their partners shadow, measure the
length of the shadow and write the data in their science books.
Explain
Compare ideas
Construct explanations and justify them in terms of observations and data
5. Ask students the following questions:
- Turn towards another direction (south, east, west), does the shadow
change its position?
- What if we went undercover, would we see our shadow?
- If I move out of the way, is my shadow still in the same spot? What
happened to it? Why do you think this is?
6. Repeat two more times (tracing and measuring, and working out the difference
between measurements)
Continue to ask the same questions in addition to these:
- Is the shadow the same length? Why not?
- What has changed outside? /Where is the sun in the sky? Does this
make a difference?
*To assist in student engagement, play a short game of shadow tip with their
partners each time and/or allow students to draw/colour-in features on their
traced shadows eyes, ears, hair etc.
Elaborate
Reconstruct and extend explanation to new concepts
Evaluate
The teacher looks for evidence of changes in students ideas, beliefs, and skills
7. Have circle time reflecting on what students have learnt and their findings
from the activity. Re-ask the questions from before the activity taking note of their
answers this time in comparison to before. This will help to assess whether the
students have met the aims of the activity.
CONTINUATION OF LEARNING
Shadows are not only caused by the sun, but any light source. Have students use
different types of light sources in a dark room to test their shadows overhead
projector, torch, lanterns etc. Put these sources of light in different positions
overhead, low to the ground and see how the shapes change.