GROW · Science · Week 4B · Do
Mechanisms: Lever Investigation
🧭
Science mission
Lift It Smarter: investigate where the pivot should go.
Lift It Smarter: investigate where the pivot should go.
Visual model: use it to predict and explain — not as decoration.
Aut1·W4 — Investigate mechanisms: levers, pulleys and gears.
🎯 Learning objective: I can investigate a lever and use evidence to explain how pivot position changes the job.
✅ Success criteria
- I can set up a lever safely.
- I can compare at least two pivot positions.
- I can explain the force–distance trade-off.
ArrivalStarterI DoWe DoI Do 2We Do 2Independent evidenceExit + one Lundy close
v3 40-minute route · derived from current GROW lesson Science_Teesside/Grow/SCI_G_W4_Mechanisms.html at main SHA 93d570041f4c · repository originals untouched.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space → Voice → Audience → Influence runs through the lesson; it is not an extra activity at the end.
⏱ 3 min
Arrival
Staff influence opener — SAY, don’t record: “Last lesson your evidence showed ___. Today we are starting by remembering ___.”
Retrieve the previous lesson: W4A — levers turn around pivots; mechanisms can change force, direction or turning but involve trade-offs.
Not here last lesson? Everything you need is in the box above — read it, then answer.
◆ Supported — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Point to a lever in this room.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Last lesson you found levers, pulleys and gears. Name one and say what it changes.
R2 Week 3
Say which surface gripped most in the surface test.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — In Week 3 you tested surfaces. What did you keep the same so the test was fair?
R3 Week 3
Point to something that needs grip.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — Week 3: give one place friction helps and one place it gets in the way.
Lead-in Into today
Watch the seesaw. Point to where you would sit to lift a heavy friend.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Standard — On a seesaw, where would you sit to lift someone heavier than you?
▲ Standard — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Last lesson you found levers, pulleys and gears. Name one and say what it changes.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Last lesson: explain what a mechanism changes about a force, and what it leaves alone.
R2 Week 3
In Week 3 you tested surfaces. What did you keep the same so the test was fair?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Week 3: why does keeping everything else the same make a comparison trustworthy?
R3 Week 3
Week 3: give one place friction helps and one place it gets in the way.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Week 3: friction and levers both change how hard a job feels. Say how they differ.
Lead-in Into today
On a seesaw, where would you sit to lift someone heavier than you?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Stretch — Moving the pivot towards the load makes lifting easier. Predict what gets harder at the same time.
★ Stretch — three retrieval questions and one lead-in
R1 Last lesson
Last lesson: explain what a mechanism changes about a force, and what it leaves alone.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Point to a lever in this room.
R2 Week 3
Week 3: why does keeping everything else the same make a comparison trustworthy?
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Say which surface gripped most in the surface test.
R3 Week 3
Week 3: friction and levers both change how hard a job feels. Say how they differ.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Point to something that needs grip.
Lead-in Into today
Moving the pivot towards the load makes lifting easier. Predict what gets harder at the same time.
Non-reading route: point to it, say it, or show it. An adult can write down your exact words. Next step up: Supported — Watch the seesaw. Point to where you would sit to lift a heavy friend.
Rule: Arrival retrieves three times and then leads in. R1 is last lesson, R2 is the previous week, R3 is older material, and the lead-in opens today without teaching today’s concept.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Influence is made visible here: retrieve what the previous lesson actually showed before adding new Science.
⏱ 3 min
Starter👀 Notice❓ Wonder🎯 Predict🗣 Explain
🔍 Bridge into today
Predict before touching equipment: will a pivot nearer the load make the effort feel easier, harder or unchanged?
🎯 Commit to a prediction
Before we test: where should the pivot go to lift most easily?
Choose one. Say it, point to it, or press it.
Nothing here is right or wrong yet. Nothing is marked, scored or stored. A prediction still counts when it turns out differently. That is what makes the test worth running.
Frame 1 / 4
PREDICT THE PIVOT
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 2 / 4
KEEP THE LOAD SAME
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 3 / 4
COMPARE EFFORT
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Frame 4 / 4
EXPLAIN THE TRADE
Predict → notice → explain. Pause whenever a pupil idea needs receiving.
Low prior knowledge is expected. Notice, choose, predict or ask a question. The scientific explanation comes next.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice first: low-entry prediction or noticing before today’s explanation is taught.
⏱ 4 min
I Do
🧠 Watch the thinking, not just the finished answer.
Teacher-controlled model: reveal the invisible Science as you narrate.
✔ What this model helps us seeIt shows how moving the pivot changes the effort needed to lift the load.
✘ What this model does not showIt leaves out the friction at the pivot, the bending of a real beam, and the extra distance your hand must move.
Set the load, pivot and effort positions clearly. Keep the load the same.
Model two pivot positions safely. Ask for predictions before each test.
Compare effort, then compare how far the effort end moved.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space first: the model makes invisible thinking visible while support staff observe access and readiness.
⏱ 4 min
We Do
Commit before reveal: Moving the pivot closer to the load usually makes the lift…
Choose an answer. A first attempt is information, not a score.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice → Audience → Influence: everyone commits; the response decides re-model, recheck, adapt access or move on.
⏱ 3 min
I Do
🧠 Watch the thinking, not just the finished answer.
Model an evidence sentence that uses both observations: effort and distance.
Separate ‘what I noticed’ from ‘why I think it happened’.
Keep the initial prediction visible. Revising a prediction after evidence is strong Science.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Space first: the model makes invisible thinking visible while support staff observe access and readiness.
⏱ 4 min
We Do
Explore together: Lever simulator
⚙ Lever pivot explorer
Move the pivot. The load stays fixed. Watch the effort indicator and think about the distance the effort end must travel.
LOAD
Relative effort
Move the pivot and describe the gain and the trade-off.
🔩 Pivot Evidence Lab
The slider above shows one pivot position at a time. This lab freezes all three so you can use them as evidence.
Step 1 · Predict, before you test
Where should the pivot go for the least effort?
Choose one. Say it, point to it, or press it. Nothing here is right or wrong yet.
Step 2 · Test each one
Press one to see what it does.
Frozen results — these stay on the page
Nothing tested yet.
Step 3 · Explain
SCIENCE GLITCH: “Moving the pivot gives you free extra force.”
Use your frozen list as the evidence. Decide, then say why.
Every step is a button, and each option carries a shape and a word as well as its colour. Say it, point to it or have an adult press it — the route does not change the Science.
Talk move: “What changed? What stayed the same? What does that make you think?”
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Voice → Audience → Influence: everyone commits; the response decides re-model, recheck, adapt access or move on.
⏱ 15 min
Independent
✏️ Your independent product / decision
Lever investigation. Test two or three marked pivot positions. Use the same light load each time. Compare the effort at each position. Use an agreed scale for this. Use a spring balance if you have one and record the force in newtons (N). Then compare how far the effort end moves.
🧪 PRACTICAL READY · HANDS-ON WHERE IT HELPS LEARNING
EquipmentRulers/wood strips, stable pivots, light loads, trays, ruler/tape and optional spring balance.
Safety / sensoryLight loads only; feet clear; fingers never under a load; stop if apparatus slips.
Evidence targetTwo or three pivot setups + effort/distance evidence + pupil conclusion.
15 minutes. Supported / Standard / Stretch are routes, not identities. Pupils can move when the core is secure.
◆ Test two pre-marked pivot positions. Then record which one feels easier.
Photo or diagram sequence. Two labelled pivot positions. Choice words: easier · harder · further · less far. Pick one word for each test. Stem: ‘When the pivot moved ___, the effort ___ because ___. The effort end moved ___.’
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
▲ Record the effort at two positions. Then explain why one of them is easier.
Stem: ‘When the pivot moved ___, the effort ___ because ___. The effort end moved ___.’ Fill each gap with your own words.
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
★ Measure the effort. Then measure the movement distance. Explain the trade-off. Use both pieces of evidence.
Compare the effort-arm length with the load-arm length. Use the ratio. Words are fine here. Use numbers if you are ready.
Fade it: remove the first prompt that is no longer needed; do not keep a scaffold because it was used once.
Evidence can look different:
Two setup sketches/photos + comparisonTable of pivot position and effortScribed pupil explanation with practical productDigital photo sequence with pupil-authored caption
A photo on its own is not proof. Add what the pupil decided, explained, found or judged.
1 · Pupil decisionPrediction, choice, plan or question.
2 · Observable ScienceAction, model, product, result or re-attempt.
3 · Pupil meaningExplanation, evaluation or next step.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
The pupil authors a product/decision; adult support fades and evidence shows thinking, not attendance.
📖 WORD HELP
loadthe thing being lifted
pivotthe point it turns around
effortthe push or pull you supply
Use the scientific word first. Ask for help only when you need it. TA fade route: model the word. Then prompt for it. Then wait for it. Drop a step as soon as the pupil no longer needs it.
⏱ 4 min
Exit
◆ Supported
Which pivot position made your lift easier?
▲ Standard
Use your evidence to explain why pivot position changed the effort.
★ Stretch
Explain the force–distance trade-off using your own measurements or observations.
🔁 GROW Lundy close — ONE line only.
1) Pupil answers the Science question. 2) Adult genuinely receives it and gives one next step. 3) Pupil writes: “Next I will ______.”
No adult signature, initial or second receipt mark. If nothing needs changing, the next step can be transfer to a new example or greater independence.
✍ GROW written close — the pupil writes this line
“What I said, and what it changed:”
No adult initial is required. The adult is audience for this line, not verifier. There is no signature, initial, tick or receipt mark. The line closes when it is written and received.
If writing is hard: say it, and an adult writes down your exact words. Or point to what changed and say it aloud. Or draw it and give it one spoken caption. Or record it in the school’s own workflow. The line always stays. The route changes how you answer, not the Science.
Ways to show the Science
🗣 Say it☝ Point / select
✍ Write / draw🧪 Practical / model
A pause or different route changes access, not the learning goal.
🛡 SPACE
🗣 VOICE
👂 AUDIENCE
⚙ INFLUENCE
Adult genuinely receives the exit response, gives one next step, and the pupil writes one closure line. No signature.