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Lesson overview
BUILD · Science · Week 4B · Do

Build a Working Muscle Model

🎯 Learning objective: I can build or operate a model that shows how a muscle pair moves a bone.
✅ Success criteria
  • Operate the model safely.
  • Show the contract/relax swap.
  • Explain one strength and one limitation of the model.
ArrivalStarterI DoWe DoI Do 2We Do 2IndependentExit
🧪 Model Arm Workshop⏱ 40 minutes🔁 Live Lundy loop
BEND: BICEPS PULLS STRAIGHTEN: TRICEPS PULLS
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
BUILD starts with safe participation and a familiar adult.
⏱ 3 min
🚪 Arrival · retrieve last lesson
Retrieve the actual previous lesson: W4A — muscles can only pull; biceps/triceps take turns contracting and relaxing. When the arm bends, the biceps (the top band) contracts and the triceps relaxes.
New to this class, or not sure? Everything you need is in the box above — read it, then answer.
◆ Supported

1 · Last lesson: Point to the band that contracts when the model bends.

2 · Last week: Point to the backbone on the skeleton picture.

3 · Week 3 again: Point to the animal with a hard case outside.

4 · Lead-in: Look at the card arm parts. Point to the joint.

▲ Standard

1 · Last lesson: Say what the biceps and triceps do when the arm bends.

2 · Last week: Name one vertebrate and one invertebrate.

3 · Week 3 again: Say one way an animal with no backbone is supported.

4 · Lead-in: Today we build. Say one thing a good model of an arm needs.

★ Stretch

1 · Last lesson: Explain why muscles work as a pair at the elbow.

2 · Last week: Give the rule that separates vertebrates from invertebrates.

3 · Week 3 again: Explain why size is not the test for a vertebrate.

4 · Lead-in: What would make a model arm show the real Science well? Say one idea.

Arrival retrieves. It does not assume today’s new concept. W4 has one prior taught week, so question 3 retrieves week 3 a second time.
BUILD Voice can be
☝ point / choose🗣 say / sign🧩 demonstrate / model✍ write / draw🔁 re-attempt
You can change how you answer. The Science goal stays the same.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Predictable retrieval; if access is blocked, change the mode before increasing demand.
⏱ 3 min
🌱 Starter · create the need to know

🔍 Today’s puzzle

Engineering challenge: can you make the same cardboard forearm move both directions using only pulling forces?

FRAME 1 / 4
BUILD IT OR USE A READY MODEL
Pause whenever pupil Voice changes what should happen next.
FRAME 2 / 4
PULL — DON’T PUSH
Pause whenever pupil Voice changes what should happen next.
FRAME 3 / 4
SHOW BOTH DIRECTIONS
Pause whenever pupil Voice changes what should happen next.
FRAME 4 / 4
EXPLAIN WHAT THE MODEL MEANS
Pause whenever pupil Voice changes what should happen next.
BUILD Voice can be
☝ point / choose🗣 say / sign🧩 demonstrate / model✍ write / draw🔁 re-attempt
You can change how you answer. The Science goal stays the same.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Pupil Voice opens the new question before the teacher supplies the explanation.
⏱ 4 min
👩‍🏫 I Do · picture first
🧠 Watch the thinking — picture first, words after the idea lands.
🔤 Key wordsMODELa simple version of the real thingCONTRACTSshortens and pullsLIMITATIONwhat the model does not show
Word help shows an everyday bridge under each scientific word — the scientific word always stays. TA route: say the bridge, then fade it as the pupil uses the formal term.
STEP Demonstrate the build with a pre-assembled option beside it.
STEP Show that the science goal is the pull/swap, not fine-motor construction.
STEP Model safe band/string tension and how to reset the model.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Teacher models; support staff watch regulation, access and the moment the idea lands.
⏱ 4 min
🤝 We Do · everyone commits
Commit before reveal: If the top band pulls to bend the arm, what must happen to straighten it?
BUILD Voice can be
☝ point / choose🗣 say / sign🧩 demonstrate / model✍ write / draw🔁 re-attempt
You can change how you answer. The Science goal stays the same.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Adult genuinely receives the response; the next explanation/question/scaffold changes because of it.
⏱ 3 min
👩‍🏫 I Do 2 · connect the second idea
🧠 Watch the thinking — picture first, words after the idea lands.
STEP Model evidence: photo alone shows a model existed, not what the pupil understood.
STEP Add a pupil demonstration or explanation to make the evidence meaningful.
STEP Model limitation: string/card is not real tissue; it represents the pull-and-pair idea.
✅ What this model helps us see

The model shows one idea: opposite moves need opposite pulls.

⚠ What this model does not show

It does not show tendons, real anatomy, force or tiredness.

🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Teacher models; support staff watch regulation, access and the moment the idea lands.
⏱ 4 min
🤝 We Do 2 · interactive lab
Interactive exploration: predict → manipulate → explain → adult receives → next move.

💪 Muscle Pair Lab

PREDICTTESTFREEZE & LOOKEXPLAIN
Simple elbow muscle-pair modelUpper arm, forearm and two patterned muscle paths. The forearm has three set positions. The text readout repeats every state.PINK SOLID = BICEPSBLUE DASHED = TRICEPSMODEL POSITION

1 · Predict which muscle pulls. Then test:

2 · Or move the model yourself. Every control is a button — no dragging:

Biceps: press a control first
Triceps: press a control first
Choose a prediction before the result is shown.
BUILD Voice can be
☝ point / choose🗣 say / sign🧩 demonstrate / model✍ write / draw🔁 re-attempt
You can change how you answer. The Science goal stays the same.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Adult genuinely receives the response; the next explanation/question/scaffold changes because of it.
⏱ 15 min
✏️ Independent · evidence of learning

✏️ Independent product / demonstration

Model Arm Workshop. Build a two-band arm. Or adapt one. Or just work it. Show BEND. Show STRAIGHTEN. Place the right labels. Then explain the swap to an adult.

🧪 PRACTICAL READY · HANDS-ON WHERE IT SERVES THE OUTCOME
EquipmentCardboard arm kit; split pins; string or yarn; labels; scissors if locally approved; pre-assembled spares; tablet/camera if authorised.
Safety / sensoryAdult manages sharp tools if used. Strings remain short and low tension. Use the model only — no body-contact activity.
Evidence targetShow your model to an adult. A labelled photo with your words, an adult watching, or a short clip if allowed.
15 minutes. Supported / Standard / Stretch are routes, not fixed identities.
◆ Use a built model. Work it. Then label it.
Photo sequence: choose band → pull → watch movement → label contracts/relaxes. Word bank: pull · bend · muscle · pair.
Fade it: remove the first prompt no longer needed.
▲ Build it from the photo steps. Work it. Explain the bend. Explain the straighten.
Two sentence frames. ‘When the arm bends, ___ contracts’. ‘When the arm straightens, ___ contracts’.
Fade it: remove the first prompt no longer needed.
★ Make the model better. Or find a fault. Keep the pull-pair rule.
Model critique. What does the band do well? What is not real about it?
Fade it: remove the first prompt no longer needed.
1 · Pupil decisionchoice, prediction, plan or classification
2 · Observable Sciencesort, model, demonstration, result or re-attempt
3 · Pupil meaningexplanation, justification or changed response
BUILD Voice can be
☝ point / choose🗣 say / sign🧩 demonstrate / model✍ write / draw🔁 re-attempt
You can change how you answer. The Science goal stays the same.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Pupil authors a choice, model or demonstration; staff fade prompting and receive the Science.
⏱ 4 min
🎫 Exit · adult Audience closes BUILD
◆ Supported

Which band pulls to straighten in your model?

▲ Standard

Explain the muscle swap using contract and relax.

★ Stretch

Explain one limitation of the model without losing the core scientific rule.

🔁 BUILD Lundy close

The pupil responds in a workable modality. The adult genuinely receives it — reads, listens or watches, and names back the Science they heard. The adult then calibrates the next learning move.

No extra pupil-written closure line is required for BUILD. If local policy uses an R code, it only belongs after genuine Audience; this file never adds it automatically.

BUILD Voice can be
☝ point / choose🗣 say / sign🧩 demonstrate / model✍ write / draw🔁 re-attempt
You can change how you answer. The Science goal stays the same.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
BUILD closes through genuine adult Audience. Influence is the next calibrated learning move.

BUILD Science W4B · Build a Working Muscle Model

Name: _______________________________   Date: ______________________

New to this class, or not sure? Everything you need is in the Retrieval box below — read it, then answer.

Learning objective: I can build or operate a model that shows how a muscle pair moves a bone.

Model: helps us see — The model shows one idea: opposite moves need opposite pulls. Does not show — It does not show tendons, real anatomy, force or tiredness.

Previous lesson retrieval: W4A — muscles can only pull; biceps/triceps take turns contracting and relaxing. When the arm bends, the biceps (the top band) contracts and the triceps relaxes.

Arrival (Supported forms): 1) Point to the band that contracts when the model bends.  2) Point to the backbone on the skeleton picture.  3) Point to the animal with a hard case outside.  4) Look at the card arm parts. Point to the joint.

Supported

◆ Use a built model. Work it. Then label it.

Photo sequence: choose band → pull → watch movement → label contracts/relaxes. Word bank: pull · bend · muscle · pair.

Standard

▲ Build it from the photo steps. Work it. Explain the bend. Explain the straighten.

Two sentence frames. ‘When the arm bends, ___ contracts’. ‘When the arm straightens, ___ contracts’.

Stretch

★ Make the model better. Or find a fault. Keep the pull-pair rule.

Model critique. What does the band do well? What is not real about it?

Evidence target

Show your model to an adult. A labelled photo with your words, an adult watching, or a short clip if allowed.

Exit + BUILD Audience

Supported: Which band pulls to straighten in your model?

Standard: Explain the muscle swap using contract and relax.

Stretch: Explain one limitation of the model without losing the core scientific rule.

Adult Audience: the adult truly receives the response. The adult says back the Science they heard or saw. Then the adult picks the next learning move. No pupil signature is needed.

Evidence capture sheet · W4B · Build a Working Muscle Model

Date: ____________________   PUPIL / EVIDENCE ID: ____________________

Learning objective: I can build or operate a model that shows how a muscle pair moves a bone.

Optional one-page capture. Point, say, draw or have an adult scribe — writing is never required. This sheet adds to the tiered pack; it never replaces it.

My decision

What I observed

Evidence I used

What the evidence means

What I changed after checking

Audience — who received it

What changed because of my voice

Teacher / TA comment