PLANNING VIDEO FOR TEACHERS
Ken’s planning video — watch once, then use the steps below as a reminder.
- Get ready: Prepare a cushion with a zip, a selection of elastic bands, a ruler, small identical weights, hooks and cotton. Have the Turkish delight image and experiment poster ready.
- Start with the mystery: Show the bazaar spring balance. How can it weigh sweets without electricity?
- Explore materials: Press, bend, squash, twist and gently pull suitable objects. Discuss which are flexible, stretchy or squashy.
- Introduce the challenge: Show the five elastic bands. Ask children to predict which will stretch most under the same weight.
- Measure carefully: Measure the original length of each band, hang the same weight from it, and measure its stretched length in millimetres.
- Find the extension: Subtract the original length from the stretched length. Record results and rank the bands.
- Watch the videos: Use Ken’s new stretching challenge first, then the existing explanation of flexible materials.
- Summarise: Play Ken’s concluding video to reinforce the difference between flexible and elastic and the idea of extension.
- Explore the textbook: Use the existing textbook to revisit properties of materials.
- English in Science: Read Toby’s No Way Out! adventure and discuss how the children use their knowledge of materials to escape.
- Further reading: Offer the Bay 3 library for children who want to explore more.
You're the teacher. Ken is here to help. Choose the activities that suit your class.
Flexible and stretchy
Words to learn: flexible • elastic • bend • stretch • extension
WHAT IS THE PROPERTY?
Flexible materials bend without breaking. Elastic materials stretch or squash and return towards their original shape.
HOW CAN WE TEST IT?
Compare elastic bands by hanging the same weight from each and measuring their extension.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Cushions squash, clothes stretch, and spring balances use springs to measure weight.
1. CAN YOU MEET THE STRETCHING CHALLENGE?
Use the same weight to compare elastic bands. Measure their extension and record your results.
2. WATCH KEN EXPLAIN FLEXIBLE MATERIALS
TRY THE CHALLENGE
Use what you have learned to investigate hard and soft materials.
OPEN THE CHALLENGE3. LET’S SUMMARISE WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
NOW LOOK AT THE TEXTBOOK
OPEN THE BOOKENGLISH IN SCIENCE
English and science are not separate subjects. They work together — as this amazing story shows.
No Way Out!
How can they get out of the magic maze?
Follow the adventure and discover how knowing about materials can help the children escape.
OPEN THE STORY