The “Catch a falling ruler” powerpoint explains to students how to conduct an investigation with a partner to explore their ‘reaction time’ when a 1 metre ruler is held at their eye level and then dropped. The student must grasp the ruler and record their results for 5 trials. This product also includes review questions to evaluate the investigation. There is a final slide to explain ‘reaction time’. The results could be graphed in a line graph.

The students make their own Scribblebots in teams of three. Once the students have completed their Scribblebot’s conduct a brainstorm with the students and record their ideas on how they could test out their Scribblebot’s performance. Give each team very large piece of paper. Use the worksheet to plan the investigation and record data. At the conclusion of the activity each team presents their findings to the class and gives a demonstration on how they conducted their challenge.

Students will learn that everyday tasks that seem easy to us are difficult for a mechanical robot to perform. Students will investigate this by using a robotic toy hand. As a class we will discuss the limitations and challenges that robots face in grasping tools and manipulating them. To conduct this lesson you will need to purchase up to 12 or 14 robotic toy hands. This can be purchased at Toys R Us for about $7(Australian dollars) each. There are plenty of youtube clips that you can show the students prior to the investigation that cover the use of robotic arms in industry and on the ISS. Once you have your equipment then you can use the powerpoint to guide the students through two investigations. Part 2 and Part 3 of this package is the worksheet to accompany the investigations.

The students were placed in teams to view Robots in Industry from this website (cut and paste this address) . This website has been crated and designed by Crickcrick which is me an author and seller on TES http://thescienceworkshop.weebly.com/year-6-robots-in-industry.html Each team viewed a set of youtube clips about a type of robot or drone. Some examples are - car manufacturing, drones, marine robots, surgical robots, autonomous vehicles, NASA robots and robots for manufacturing. After viewing the video clips students work in their teams to discuss the questions on the worksheet about the role and task of robots and the positives and negatives of robots in our society and for the future.

This is a great activity to follow on and consolidate my other resource ‘Jump for robots’. Students carefully examine the pictures and ONLY colour in those pictures that they think are a robot. Put an X on the pictures that are not a robot and circle the pictures that may be a robot.

1. Ask students to define stormwater. Record their ideas in the Class Science journal or on the whiteboard. 2. Show students a video clip explaining what is stormwater. Discuss the need to keep our waterways free from pollution. 3. Take students on a tour around the school to identify drains, gutter, downpipes and grates etc. 4. Use the powerpoint to guide students through their written responses.

Students will examine images about Uluru to see how it has been affected by weathering, erosion and human activity. Students will carefully examine 6 images and describe the possible causes for the shape of the landform. Which type of weathering or erosion has caused the landform to change? Students record their ideas on the worksheet. Students draw a diagram predicting how the landform of Uluru might look 100 years into the future. At completion of the written task gather the students together to share their findings. This activity could be used as an assessment task to conclude a unit of work on erosion and weathering.

This is an activity investigating friction using remote control cars. For this lesson I purchased three different remote control vehicles from K Mart - a four wheel drive, a sports car and a jeep/buggy. Use the powerpoint to guide the students through the learning activities which include writing a prediction, conducting a fair test and recording their findings. The powerpoint also includes a procedure explaining how to set up the investigation on your school grounds. Accompanying the powerpoint is a worksheet for these students to record details of their investigation and to record their findings and data on a table.

To conduct this activity you will need to purchase about 10-12 Hexbug Nanos. I recommend fishpond.com. Explain to the students that Hexbug Nanos are robotic toys that move and react with sensors. Explain to the students that they will be working in teams of three to construct and create their own maze. Firstly get the students to draw a maze design that they will be able to build. Give each team the lid from a box of A4 photocopy paper. Cut an entry and exit opening for the students. Get them to make a mark where they want the opening to be cut. Pre cut several strips of hard cardboard with a guillotine (this will make it easier and quicker for the students to commence construction). Students construct their mazes using the strips of cardboard and masking tape. When their maze is complete they can test it out with their Hexbug Nano. On the worksheet the students can measure and record the distance travelled by their Hexbug. Then the students are ready to conduct their trials. For each trial the students place their Hexbug at the entry point and using a timer record how long it takes for the Hexbug to travel through the maze and out through the exit. If the Hexbug gets ‘stuck’ they re to record at which point it gets stuck and then make improvements to the maze. The goal is to continually improve the maze so that the Hexbug improves it’s travel time with each trial. The worksheet includes further questions on evaluating their investigation.

The students were given the following materials to complete this investigation a ruler a large foldback clip with the steel pin removed - this is the fulcrum several objects -small blocks, erasers, sharpeners etc easily sourced around the classroom. Plus a few heavier objects for investigation 3. Investigation 1 - First class lever The students set up their equipment to balance two objects Investigation 2 - Second class lever The students set up their equipment with the fulcrum at one end of the ruler and then balance two objects. Investigation 3 - Third class lever The students set up their equipment to lift a load. In their Science Journal the students choose two of the investigation and draw a diagram including these labels - fulcrum, object and ruler.

The students work in teams of two to investigate ’How many times can the bottle be lifted to shoulder height in 30 seconds?’ This powerpoint explains how to set up the investigation. The final slide in the powerpoint includes discussion questions.

For this investigation each team of students will need a small container of sea shells. a piece of coloured card A3 size. textas There are three slides in this resource Title slide Suitable to for Years 1-3 students. The students complete several sorting and classifying activities. They arrange their shells onto their A3 coloured card then use the words on the powerpoint to label their collection. Slide suitable for Years 4-6. For this activity the students have a few more challenging tasks. To conclude this activity the students can take a photo of their display with their iPads and upload to their digital online learning platform - eg Seesaw, Google Classroom, Freshgrade.

This is a 15 slide powerpoint that takes students step by step through an investigation into lava viscosity. Students will work in teams to mix different viscosities of flour and water then pour their mixture onto a paper plate to investigate flow. This investigation leads into a discussion on how different volcanoes take their shape dependent on lava flow. The powerpoint concludes with a focus on the possibility of past volcanic activity in Australia.

This powerpoint includes five slides to guide your student to set up a decomposition investigation in a small take away plastic container. each team of students will need a small piece of apple, paper, plastic and cloth. Once the student have covered their materials with soil or potting mix and secured the container they will construct a table in their Science book and write predictions for the materials.

Delight your students with this chemical and physical changes quiz. Students can work in teams or individually to answer 10 quiz questions. The questions are presented on slides with images. Here is the answer key Perfume evaporating on your skin - physical. Butter melting - physical. Digesting food - chemical. Burning fuel in a lawnmower - this one is NOT a physical change. burn (combustion) - chemical, crumble - physical, melt - physical, rust - chemical, crush - physical, freeze - physical, grind - physical, rot - chemical Fogging a mirror with your breath - physical. Mending a broken bone - chemical. Paper ripping - physical. Glass cracking when placed in cold water - physical. Slicing potatoes to cook fries - physical

This powerpoint guide prepares students for a design task. Discuss with students what they have read or observed about robots helping to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, or for use in medicine or in hospitals. The task is to design a robot that can help someone. Students label each of the robot’s parts or features and then write a paragraph on how their design could have a positive impact on the quality of a human’s life. Students include a comment predicting whether humans will accept or reject the new robot and why.

This is powerpoint explains how a 2 stroke engine operates. It explains the difference between a 2 stroke and a 4 stroke engine. There are definitions explaining the parts of a 2 stroke engine - spark plug, air filter, carburettor, crank shaft and piston.

This is an activity that is part of a unit on Our Five Senses. To set up the activity gather together up to 17 small film canisters or similar small jars. Place a cotton ball in each container. Use an eye dropper to add a few drops of the following food essences or aromatherapy oils to the containers - peppermint, lemon, orange, vanilla and rose. Mix up a small amount of coffee and pour a ew drops into one of the containers and to the final container add a few drops of vinegar. Place an adhesive dot on each container and then number them. Make a list of the scents and their matching number. This comes in handy for remembering what each scent is. Conduct a discussion with the students about our sense of smell. Invite them to the table that you have set up with the Scent Pots. The students use the worksheet to identify the smells that they recognise and place the correct number next to the scent. Place a cross through any scents that they did not identify.

As a whole class the students made playdough. I found this to be the best recipe as it did not require cooking. Ingredients · 2 cups plain flour · 2 tablespoons vegetable oil · 1/2 cup salt · 2 tablespoons cream of tartar · 1 and a half cups boiling water (adding it slowly until it feels just right) · food colouring (optional) · few drops glycerine (secret ingredient for stretch and shine!) Method Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add boiling water into the dry ingredients. Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough. Add the glycerine. Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. This is the most important part of the process, so keep at it until it’s the perfect consistency. If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more flour until just right. Before the students were given their blob of playdough, we conducted a class brainstorm about all the ways we could manipulate it. These were recorded in our Class Science Journal eg, press, pinch, squeeze, roll, flatten etc. Then the students were given time to get creative. Once the students had completed their model they were asked to use the words on the worksheet to describe how they formed and molded the dough. This is where the worksheet comes in handy as the students had a visual copy of the words. Students who struggle with literacy and to write a full sentence were encouraged to circle the words that they used to create their model.

This is a Frog Quiz to be used at the end of a unit or topic on frogs. All the images are of frogs in the Perth region. Perth in Western Australia. However, the quiz could be used to review frogs in any part of the world. Students work in teams to write their answers.