EPISODE 4: RECIPE FOR DISASTER
GOBSTOPPER
TO TEACHERS AND PARENTS
A large focus in teaching science is around encouraging both curiosity
and the skills and dispositions to be able to find out or test things for
yourself. This includes developing an understanding about how science
itself works. The New Zealand Curriculum calls this the Nature of Science.
Tips about how to encourage these aspects are given in a
Use these to get your children talking, discussing, testing and thinking
about the science involved in Jiwi’s Machines. Have fun! The science
content involved in Jiwi’s Machines relates to the Physical World
Achievement Aims of the New Zealand Curriculum.
GOBSTOPPER
In this clip, Jiwi brings together many of the simple machines we’ve explored to
create a chain reaction of events that take a gobstopper from being balanced on
top of a chair, to making a fan roll down an inclined plane.
This clip provides an opportunity to see if the children can recognise simple
machine science alongside the humour of the situation.
LET’S REVIEW THESE SIMPLE MACHINES: There are 6 different types of Simple
Machine, most of which Jiwi has used repeatedly in constructing his amazing
machines. This is an opportune moment to review the simple machines we’ve seen
and discuss their uses.
ACTIVITY 1:
A SIMPLE MACHINE ‘DISSECTION’
(10 – 30 minutes)
Watch the GOBSTOPPER CLIP again and ask the children to list in order all the simple
machine examples they see. Although the fan is not a simple machine itself (beyond
turning itself on a wheel and axle), the wooden spoon taped to it becomes a lever. And so
we can ‘dissect’ the action of the Gobstopper clip and create a flow:
LEVER
INCLINED PLANE
SEESAW
CENTRE OF GRAVITY
WHEEL AND AXLE
INCLINED PLANE
Watch the entire Science extra clip for Episode 3 and do the same thing.
All of the machines around us today are made up of simple machines working together to
make something easier for us to do.
UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE
Encourage children to be curious,
to look closely, ask questions
and make connections.
What did you observe?
What action caused the
next action?
ACTIVITY 2:
THE SIMPLE MACHINES WITHIN
(1 hour)
BIG SCIENCE IDEA: Complex machines are
made up of several simple machines put
together.
Have a range of complex machines
available for children to look at, explore
and think about. What are the simple
machines incorporated in a stapler, a
can opener, a wheelbarrow? These are
all examples of complex machines that
combine a range of simple machines.
A bicycle has many marvellous examples
of simple machines. Put a bicycle upside
down (or several around the room) and ask
pairs of children to list as many examples
of simple machines as they can.
JIWI WONDERS
• How have bicycles changed
over time?
•
• What science understanding
led to those changes?
•
UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE
Scientific progress comes
from logical and systematic
work, and also through
creative insights.
MATERIALS
Activity 1
Pen / pencil
Paper
Activity 2
Staplers
Can openers
Wheelbarrows
Bicycle(s)
NZ CURRICULUM PLANNING SUMMARY
Contextual Achievement Objective:
PHYSICAL WORLD; Explore and investigate
physical phenomena in everyday situations.
Nature of Science Achievement Objective:
UNDERSTANDING IN SCIENCE; Scientists’
predictions are based on their existing science
knowledge.
Big Science Idea: Complex machines are made
up of several simple machines put together.
Big Nature of Science Idea: Scientists bring
their all their existing ideas together when
thinking about solutions.
Weblinks: http://scienceonline.tki.org.nz/Nature-
Capability focus:
USE EVIDENCE; scientists use observations to
suggest explanations to new challenges and
then test these.
of-science/What-is-the-Nature-of-Science/
Teacher-suggestions-Understanding-about-science/
Predictions-based-on-existing-knowledge
http://scienceonline.tki.org.nz/Introducing-fivescience-capabilities/Use-evidence