Sports Scientists

Sports Scientists

This series of lessons starts with a recap of measuring height/length, ensuring pupils know how to measure accurately and how to report their findings. A series of investigations is then carried out to answer certain questions - for example, "Can tall people jump further?" Further tasks and investigations involve pupils in making measurements, converting units (including duration), recording results and feeding back. Pupils mainly work in teams and have to organise themselves to ensure a fair process.   

  • Lesson 1

    Lesson 1 LESSON +

    Pupils are introduced to the topic hook of acting as ‘Sports Scientists’ to carry out investigations using accurate measurements and collecting and analysing data. They start by revising measurement skills, such as reading divisions on a scale and choosing which unit to use in measuring length. They then go on to measure the height of children in the classroom to explore the range of heights, which can be linked to data handling activities.

    • 3 Activities
    • 2 Documents

  • Lesson 2

    Lesson 2 LESSON +

    Pupils focus purely on the skill of converting between units using the strategy of multiplying or dividing by 10/100. They carry out some practical measurements and give the outcomes in two unit representations (cm and m).

    • 3 Activities
    • 2 Documents

  • Lesson 3

    Lesson 3 LESSON +

    Pupils investigate the statement ‘Neck diameter is twice wrist diameter’. They measure wrists and necks, record the data in a table and interpret the results to conclude whether the statement is true.

    • 1 Activity
    • 1 Document

  • Lesson 4

    Lesson 4 LESSON +

    Pupils predict which children in the class will be able to jump the furthest and measure the length of their jumps to find out whether their predictions are correct. They discuss their findings and think about what that means in terms of sporting ability.

    • 4 Activities
    • 2 Documents

  • Lesson 5

    Lesson 5 LESSON +

    Pupils continue in their role as Sports Scientists by investigating whether the length of throw achievable is related to arm length (or any other measurable variable), drawing conclusions from the results.

    • 1 Activity
    • 1 Document

  • Lesson 6

    Lesson 6 LESSON +

    Pupils use stopwatches to measure how long it takes them to run a certain distance, taking fair comparisons into account in their organisation of the runs. They record the results and think of questions to ask concerning the data collected.

    • 3 Activities
    • 1 Document

  • Lesson 7

    Lesson 7 LESSON +

    Pupils plan a ‘made-up’ sporting event, selecting from the range of skills they have practised in this unit as Sports Scientists. This lesson could be extended into a further one, where pupils watch other pupils carrying out the event they have created and record the results.

    • 1 Activity