Year 6 teacher Zoe Lowe engages in her class's first science lesson. She looks at mass, weight and gravity using balls to represent major planets, the Earth and Moon and 'Astrobear' to indicate a living creature. She begins with gravity, using the materials to illustrate pupils' conveyed understanding. This provides a visual representation of their understanding and also their misconceptions about gravity. Through paired talk, they begin to understand that gravity is a force. Zoe introduces the term 'gravitational pull' and refers back to classwork already done on the 'Earth and Beyond' at the end of Year 5. She explains the difference in the scientific usage of the word 'weight' as distinguished from everyday use using her visual aids and illustrates how gravitational pull differs and affects weight. Once the children have listed key vocabulary for the lesson, they engage in a practical session using Newton meters.

Video Series: KS2 Science
Release Date 2005