Year 5 · Autumn 1.1 · Step 5

Earth & Space

Evaluate — parachute experiment

Drawing a conclusion from the data — greater surface area means more air resistance and a slower fall.

Arrival Starter I do We do Independent Exit ticket

🌱 Seedling · Working towards 🌿 Sapling · Expected 🌳 Oak · Greater depth

⏱ Whole lesson ≈ 44 min · pick a tier in the bar, or leave on "All"

Arrival 4 min

Recap of last lesson: running the test.

Recap: our results

🌱 Seedling

Working towards

Which parachute took the longest to fall — big or small?

🌿 Sapling

Expected

What did we change?
What did we measure?
What pattern did you see?

🌳 Oak

Greater depth

Did any result not fit the pattern? What might have caused an anomalous result?

Bridge into todayWe have our data. Today we evaluate — draw a conclusion, and suggest real improvements.

Starter 5 min

Read the pattern in the results together.

What do the results show?

The greater the surface area of the parachute, the more air resistance acts on it — so the longer it takes to fall.

🌱 Seedling

Working towards

Finish: Bigger parachute → ____ air resistance → ____ fall.

🌿 Sapling

Expected

Did your results match your prediction? Explain.

🌳 Oak

Greater depth

How confident are you in the conclusion? What would make you more sure?

I do · 1 6 min

Teacher models a good conclusion and a real improvement, then watch.

Conclude and improve

▶ Can't see it? Watch "Fair tests and variables — a recap" on YouTube

Swap the clip: change the ID after /embed/ (now J9kCgWAuB0Y).

Say thisA conclusion answers the question using the data. To improve or extend a test we change something — like drop height or material — not just repeat the same test again.

✅

Conclusionanswer from data

🛠️

Improvechange a parameter

📈

Extendnew heights/materials

We do · 1 6 min

Write a class conclusion sentence together.

Our conclusion

"The larger the surface area of the parachute, the longer it took to fall, because…"

Finish the sentence

…because a bigger surface meets more air, so there is more air resistance pushing up against gravity.

That is a conclusion built from our data.

I do · 2 4 min

Play the animation. Bust: repeating a flawed test will fix it.

See the pattern

Bigger canopy → longer fall time. The bars climb as surface area grows.

Model the ruleIf a test wasn't fair, repeating it the same way won't fix it. To improve, we change something — drop from different heights, try new materials — and measure again.

Watch for: "just do it again to get better results". Extending is not repeating.

We do · 2 5 min

Sort a few improvement ideas together.

Real improvement or not?

Decide together

"Try three more sizes." "Drop from a greater height." "Just run the exact same test again."

Which of these actually improve or extend the experiment?

Independent 10 min

On your own. Sort each statement, then write at your tier.

Evaluate sorter

✅ A fair conclusion

🛠️ A good improvement

🚫 Not a real improvement

Tap a card to sort it…

🌱 Seedling

Working towards

Sort the cards. Then finish: The bigger the parachute, the ____ it took to fall.

🌿 Sapling

Expected

Sort them, then write a conclusion and one way to improve the test.

🌳 Oak

Greater depth

Explain why repeating an unfair test won't help, and describe how you would extend it.

Exit ticket 4 min

Answer at your tier, then hand it in.

Show what you know

🌱 Seedling

Working towards

Bigger parachute → ____ fall time.
Did your results match your prediction?

🌿 Sapling

Expected

Write a conclusion for our enquiry question.
Give one way to improve the test.

🌳 Oak

Greater depth

What is the difference between repeating and extending an experiment?