How The World Works
Grade 5 undertake a number of experiments to determine which sporting equipment is the most efficient at harnessing energy.
Central Idea: Energy may be harnessed, transformed and used to support human progress
Key Concepts:
Lines of Inquiry: 1.Different forms of energy sources (renewable and non-renewable) 2. The harnessing and transformation of energy. 3. Efficient uses of energy
This unit was a new unit I decided to undertake together with grade 5 as it was new for them too. Therefore, it was a unit that can definitely be improved upon next year but was still fairly effective. In this post, I have decided to add the swimming learning experience alongside the PE lessons to show how the unit developed over the 6 weeks.
In PE, I decided to begin the unit by connecting with the learning the students had been doing in class, what had they discussed and discovered already? This then led to a conversation connecting sports/PE to the concept of energy, the energy our body uses and how we see energy used in sports. I then asked the students to conduct a quick video interview with a partner using Flip cameras to ask the following questions: 1 – Where does your energy come from? 2 – How does it get there? 3 – How is the energy in your body made? 4 – How can energy be harnessed and transferred in sports? 5 – Can you give an example? Here is one of the interviews with Angelo.
I then wanted to get my students moving and had (previously) decided to have the students do a quick tour of the PE store room and decide on some equipment to take with them back out on front court. Once there, I instructed the students to use their equipment and consider how energy was being harnessed and used when they were performing (on scooter-boards, with hoops, bouncing, shooting, kicking, hitting etc). They could work individually or in pairs and after a period of 3 minutes, they were to stop and join up with another group to discuss their equipment and energy. I then asked the students to leave their equipment on the floor and change to a new piece of equipment and repeat the process. To finish, I asked the students to give me feedback as to which types of activities had the clearest examples of energy being harnessed and used. The most common examples were with throwing, hitting and kicking of different types of balls and we decided as a class to focus on these areas for the remainder of the unit. An idea was suggested that we could test out some of the equipment to see which equipment harnesses energy the best (most efficiently).
Swimming
In swimming, I conducted a similar learning experience as the one described above in PE. We started with a quick discussion related to energy in swimming and how using energy may differ by being in water compared to being on land. I then instructed the students to again take a quick tour, this time of the swimming store room to look for equipment which could help to harness energy when swimming in the water. Many of the students noticed the large amount of floatation devices (noodles, wing floats, kick-boards, float mats, pull buoys), and the other equipment which was also popular were the swimming fins and hand paddles. In a similar way to the previous lesson, students experimented with the equipment before getting together in pairs to discuss the equipment and how energy connected to that equipment. The cycle repeated a number of times before our final discussion which again related to experimenting with different types of equipment to see which was the most efficient at harnessing energy.
Learning Experiences (Weeks 2-5)
Week 2 – PE – Throwing experiments
Following the previous weeks tuning in sessions, we decided to conduct a series of experiments each week focusing on a different area. In the first experiment, we focused on throwing. The students received a basket containing a number of different balls: Ping-Pong ball, floor hockey ball, tennis ball, softball and a bocce ball. Each student was to take their turn throwing a ball as far as they could and in any order they liked. They were to leave all of the balls out on the field before collecting them to physically see which ball went the furthest. Other students in the group were to take photos of the person during the experiment. The session finished with discussing which ball the students believed was the most efficient at being harnessed when energy was applied. Most students agreed on the tennis ball and the factors for and against the others (too light/heavy). Other areas were also discussed such as flaws in the experiment as students noticed they couldn’t apply the same force or energy each time they threw the ball and about the fact that only a machine could do it properly but we decided to continue conducting our experiments anyway.
Swimming – Floatation experiments
In a similar way to above, the students spent this lesson partaking in a number of mini experiments to try and test floatation devices and harnessing energy. This experiment immediately stood out as being different because the floatation device itself simply floats and doesn’t actually harness energy. What we decided to focus on therefore was the amount of energy needed to force a floatation device under water and which devices were more resistant and required a greater amount of energy to be forced under water. Eg. In the kickboard experiments, students began by trying to force one kickboard under water and push it to the bottom of the small pool. Then they tried 2 kick boards joined together and compared how much more energy was needed to force the kickboard underwater. The experiment was conducted numerous times using all of the different types of floatation devices possible.
Week 3 – P.E – Striking experiments
This week’s experiment focused on the action of striking. The groups each received a tub containing the following equipment: A tennis ball & a bat tennis bat, a soft baseball bat, an aluminum baseball bat, a tennis racquet, a badminton racquet and a tee (tee-ball) to hit the balls from. The students each took turns to place the ball on the tee, and strike the ball with each piece of equipment in order to see which bat could hit the ball the longest (which bat harnessed energy most efficiently). The students took photos of one-another once again and each student took their turn before discussing their results with their group and finally as a class. Our final class discussion was once again quite broad with students discussing their results and looking for similarities. Most agreed that the baseball bat could hit the ball the longest but limitations relating to the experiment were once again discussed. Most students recognized that the tennis racquet probably could hit the ball longer but in their experiment, the frame of the racquet hit the tee and therefore energy was lost.
Swimming – Swimming Fins experiments
Using the swim fins in this session proved to be quite popular. Before beginning, we discussed the different ways in which we might be able to conduct these experiments in order to truly test the equipment and what could harness energy the most efficiently. We again discussed that our experiments were not going to be perfect as we might tire as the session went on but we had to try and set up the best experiments we could possibly do and therefore, the experiments focused on comparing results against yourself. Students worked in pairs in a lane, one student would wear the fins and the other went without the first time. Instead of racing against one another, they were to count the number of kicks performed as they swam, many students chose to use the dolphin kick as it seemed easier to count. The students then took turns at each role and all students showed a lower number of kicks when using the fins. Another experiment was conducted to see the least amount of kicks that could be used to swim a full length both with and without fins. We finished with a final discussion about the students general observations: students could kick harder and glide for longer with fins on and limitations were once again discussed such as the fact that some students were more proficient at swimming and using fins where some students had hardly used them before.
Week 4 – P.E – Kicking experiments
The kicking experiments began in a similar way to before, with a discussion relating to the experiment, the equipment, possible limitation and their hypothesis. The students then worked in new groups to take their turn kicking the following: soft foam ball, Ping Pong ball, soccer ball, rugby ball and a large exercise balance ball. After taking their turns and photographing one another, we again held a class discussion discussing the results and limitations. Similarities to the previous weeks were noted: Some students were more proficient and kicking certain balls due to their personal experiences. The issue of force/energy being applied at different rate due to fatigue was also discussed but students believed that if a machine could conduct the experiment, the soccer ball would possibly go the furthest only because of the bounce and roll following afterwards but we couldn’t come to any conclusions regarding what would go the longest on the full (without the bounce and roll). With some time left over, we decided to take another tour of the PE store room to find other balls that could be kicked (Gaelic & AFL football, volleyballs).
Swimming – Hand Paddle experiments
Our session began again with a similar discussion: the experiment, the equipment, possible limitation and their hypothesis. The students then worked in new pairs to take their turn using the hand paddles and counted the number of strokes they performed and then trying without. The discussion that followed related to the fact that again, some students had never used them before, they sometimes fell off and were physically harder for some students to pull themselves through the water. The students then wanted to look through the swim store room again to look for other equipment and found some plastic paddles, kickboards and swimming fins to use as oars to try and propel themselves through the water. I suggested they used noodles to sit on while paddling and counting their strokes with as many different types of paddles we found. The session was quite entertaining and the plastic paddles, intended for using in an inflatable raft was clearly the most efficient followed by the kickboards and then the fins.
Week 5 PE – Energy & Our Body
As we had conducted a number of similar experiments (focusing on the 2nd and 3rd lines of inquiry), I decided to change the direction of the unit for the last session before the summative assessment week to run a small introduction on the energy systems of the body. I began by showing the students the following youtube clips giving an explanation of the stages of energy consumption and the transition through 3 different stages: The ATP-PC, Lactic Acid and Aerobic energy systems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCmNQQWlrc0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQMsJSme780
While the video went through each stage, I paused the clips and we recalled features relating to each energy system and wrote them on the board. ATP-PC – First system, up to 10 seconds, short sprint, long jump etc. Second system – Lactic Acid system -uses stored energy, anaerobic glycolysis, happens when muscles work too hard, lasts about another 20 sec plus, Third system – When muscles require oxygen, requires respiratory & circulatory systems to work, aerobic glycolysis, also uses body’s fat, up to about 2 hours. The students agreed it all seemed quite complex but I assured them they wouldn’t face this level of work in PE for some time, however, some students did find it quite worthwhile. I wanted to get the students moving and told them I had a few little challenges for them to complete, each related to an energy system.
- ATP-PC – A short relay race in house teams, each leg taking under 10 seconds to complete.
- Lactic Acid – Star Jump Challenge – How many jumps can be completed within 20 seconds.
- Aerobic – 5 minute race – How many laps of the 200m circuit can be completed in 5 minutes.
After each of the challenges we had a class discussion relating to the energy system being tested and I also wanted to use the time for the students to relax and return their heart/breathing rates to resting.
Swimming – In this session we decided to have a bit of fun and use some noodles and inflatable raft paddles to have house team relay races. The students had four noodles to tie together to sit on and paddled from one side of the pool to the other. We experimented with harnessing energy in different ways by racing forwards, backwards, with kick boards and with hands only as paddles.
Summative Assessment
The summative assessment task involved both a practical and written component. The students were instructed in the previous week to choose a piece of sporting equipment from home or from the store room to conduct a short presentation and demonstration on. This could be from any type of sport of physical activity but simply had to be something the students could use to demonstrate how energy was being harnessed and how it might be most efficiently used. The students worked in groups of 4 to present and video record one-another.
Written Assessment
Instead of a swimming session this week, the students completed their written reflection/assessment task. This focused on the learning experiences, attitudes/learner profiles, personal likes/dislikes and an explanation of the experiments undertaken to help demonstrate the students understanding of the central idea.
