Using toys and surprise events to teach about air and flight in the primary school

Most toys by their nature exhibit scientific principles in one form or another. They can be used to enliven and extend the range of science activities in the classroom, or to form the basis of interesting and enjoyable discussions between children and adults in any situation. Through their intrinsic interest and by the associations they generate, toys provide an impetus to investigation and learning through play. The use of surprise has always been a part of the teaching and learning of science. Some of these activities are "discrepant events" which can be used to excite the curiosity of students, to challenge their ways of looking at the world, and lead on to significant concept development. The activities have also been part of an extended program of research in which I have been interested to chart students' development of science understandings across the primary school. These activities have thus been trialed both in terms of whether they 'work' but also in terms of the ideas and the learning that can come from them. I have tried to reflect that in the commentaries that go with them the ideas that students have, and the difficulties they can encounter in interpreting them. These commentaries are based on many years of experience trying these activities with both students and adults. The questions represent ways of challenging students' understandings and focussing attention on the important features of the activity. They are not meant to be exhaustive, and it is a common experience that many more questions arise if students are allowed to explore these tricks for themselves. It is certainly intended that the surprise events are tried by the students themselves, rather than being demonstrated, but of course this can at times be impractical. Groups of students, working with these activities, generate many variations in their explorations. The activities can be seen, then, as 'taking off points', rather than as fixed menus. For the teacher I would advise the following principles in using these activities. Firstly, in almost every case it is best for the student to do the activity themselves, or at least be active participants. In this way a richer exploration can take place. Secondly, while the intention of the activities is to promote conceptual learning, it is not the best strategy to simply tell a puzzled child 'the answer'. It is far better, in terms of learning and also enjoyment, to explore the ideas with the child, supporting their observations, pointing out features, asking questions that focus their attention on relevant features, asking them