Squashing and Bending: Things Change!

In this hands-on lesson, children will squash, roll and bend play-dough and other soft materials. They will notice how pushing changes the shape and learn to describe these changes using simple words.

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1 Getting Started
2 Look and Wonder
3 Squash, Roll and Bend
4 What Changed?
5 Make-sense Talk
6 Tidy Time

Your turn

Your teacher is running this lesson on the board. Here is the part you can try yourself.

Ste exploration

Observation

1 - Getting Started ~3 mins

The untouched dough ball close up, the object the lesson will push Look! A soft ball of play-dough. What might happen if I give it a big push?

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Look and Wonder ~3 mins

Key point

Today's word: change — when something looks different after we push, squash or bend it.

Will the ball stay round, or will it look different?

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Squash, Roll and Bend ~13 mins

The four materials laid out ready to push, squash and bend You each have dough, shiny foil, paper and a bendy stick. Push them. What changes?

+15 XP

4 - What Changed? ~5 mins

The same four materials after changing, so children compare shapes Hold up one thing you changed. Tell us: what did you do, and how does it look now?

+15 XP

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