Aims | Outline | Curriculum Relevance | Background | Activities |
The Blue Dragon
Programme 9: Slipping and Sliding
This programme aims to develop children's
understanding of forces and ideas about push and pull, as well as
early ideas about friction.
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Like Programme 8, this story is also set in a snowy
and icy location. Here the characters are enjoying sledging and
finding out how the sledge moves over different surfaces and the
difference in pulling an empty and full sledge.
A new character, Badger, is introduced and the wolf returns to
steal the sledge.
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The programme
explores:
- push and pull as forces that can make things
move;
- push and pull as forces that can make things change
direction;
- the bigger the push or pull force the faster or the
further something will move;
- friction as a force that slows things down or makes
something stop moving.
There are many curriculum
links that can be made, for example:
- Geography – Travel Agents, cold countries
around the world, ski resorts around the world.
- English – writing postcards or commentating on
a sport, for example a ski competition.
- Art – design and draw postcards.
- Design and technology – design a sledge or
toboggan.
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A push force can make things move, slow down, stop
and change direction. A pull force can make things move and change
direction.
Friction is a force that makes things slow down or stop. When
surfaces move over each other there is friction. Smooth surfaces
have little friction and can move over each other easily. The
rougher the surface the greater the friction between the two. This
is because the bumps on each surface catch on one another and make
it difficult for each surface to move.
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In this activity children engage children in a
fair-test investigation set around the idea of a runaway sledge.
Ask the children to find out 'Which is the best material to stop a
runaway sledge?'
Give children a ramp down which they can send a piece of shiny
metal or plastic (a pretend sledge) that will slide down the
surface. Ask them to test different materials at the bottom of the
ramp to find out which one is the best one to stop the runaway
sledge.
The role-play area could be changed into a Travel
Agency where children could peruse travel brochures to winter
resorts and book holidays. Encourage children to role-play
different characters, such as the travel agent or person looking
for a holiday. The agent should give advice about each holiday and,
for example, what kind of activities would be available and what
clothes to wear.
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