Ready for action?
Resources
Web links
Downloadable Resources
Preparation
Locate an appropriate playground for the Learning Scenario and contact the municipality - find and contact the person/department responsible for the approval of the placement of plaques in playgrounds. Carry out preliminary visit to the playground to take pictures of the playground equipment and identify places to hang up the plaques, taking exact measurements of poles/equipment to be labelled. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation and design the template for the research cards.
Goals, messages & concepts
Specific goals
- Motivate students to take part in the learning scenario.
- Prepare students for a visit to a local playground.
Specific messages
- Using the laws of physics, analysis can be undertaken to evaluate motion in playground equipment and understand why mishaps like falls or slips sometimes occur.
- It is possible to study physics and carry out scientific research on a playground as well as in the classroom.
- Laws of physics that are learned in the classroom are relevant to everyday life.
Main terms
- Scientific research process
Practices & skills
STEM practices
- Analysing and interpreting data
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Planning and carrying out investigations
Soft skills
- Teamwork and collaboration
Management skills
- Planning
- Use of resources
Course of activity
step 1
Ask students to discuss the concept of open learning and the benefits of this type of learning. Through open learning, students are empowered to deal with and solve real problems that affect their own communities. Ask students if they can think of any examples. Explain the structure of the Learning Scenario.
step 2
Discuss the question: Where does physics appear in everyday life? Use the playground as an example; What actions take place on a playground? Why do people slide down a slide? How does physics explain swinging, and why does the body need to move to keep the swing moving? Provide as many examples as you can.
- Show this short video about swings. Show another short clip (from 12:09) about jumping off a swing. These videos show how actions on the playground can be analysed and explained in terms of physical forces. Over the next few lessons, students will start thinking about the playground from this perspective.
- Explain what is to be accomplished in the next lesson. This will involve a visit to the playground, use and experiment with the equipment, and learn about the physical principles that govern each piece of equipment. The ultimate goal is to produce captions that will convey this information - in a fun and accessible way - to the primary school children who use the playground.
step 3
Before the playground visit, students will consider the playground as a lab. What kind of equipment is available there, and what experiments can be undertaken to learn about physics? (Please note that the experiments must not include activities that endanger participants or their environment). They will look at the PowerPoint of the playground (prepared by the teacher), and identify all the equipment you see in the playground area. Next, they will discuss what experiments they want to conduct at the playground?
Step 4: What experiments do we want to conduct at the playground?
Divide into groups. Each group formulates a research question around the equipment.
- Name of the equipment / area
- Research question
- Experiment design
- Hypothesis
- What instruments are needed (for measuring and testing)
- Results
- Possible explanation for results
step 5
Students will then present their ideas for experiments on the playground equipment to their peers (see resources for a list of examples of possible experiments). They will offer suggestions for improvements and speculate on the results of the experiments, then complete their research questions based on this feedback.