Which material makes a good parachute

A simple investigation into parachutes and air resistance

Lesson idea. A brief explanation of a simple investigation into parachutes and air resistance followed by some ideas for a possible investigation and a description of how to make a simple parachute.

Teaching approach. This activity supports a number of learning types:

• small group work^(ta) - investigation conducted by small groups reporting back to the class.
• whole class^(ta) dialogue^(ta) - discussion of each situation open-ended questions^(ta) – why did this happen? what do you think causes this movement?
• peer assessment^(ta) – do peers agree?
• project work – linked in with the rest of the activities in this OER, topic work in design and technology, literacy, numeracy
• inquiry^(ta)-based learning – initial presentation to the class can be framed as a problem for them to solve; co-enquiry – children working collaboratively
• arguing and reasoning^(ta) – persuading each other about their explanations.
• exploring ideas – developing understanding of key scientific principles.
  

Resource details
Title	Which material makes a good parachute?
Topic	[[Topics/Force|Force]]
Teaching approach	[[Teaching Approaches/Assessment|Assessment]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Dialogue|Dialogue]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Questioning|Questioning]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Whole class|Whole class]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Group work|Group work]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Inquiry|Inquiry]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Reasoning|Reasoning]]
Learning Objectives	To gain understanding of the nature of force and the way in which force acts on parachutes. To gather data and draw conclusions.
Subject	[[Resources/Science|Science]]
Age of students / grade	[[Resources/Primary|Primary]]
Related ORBIT Wiki Resources	What floats and what sinks? The Elephant on the Bridge Building bridges from a piece of A4 paper What makes a good paper airplane? Forces in Static Situations
Files and resources to view and download	Download the document here File:SC0043 Parachutes.doc, or view it on the wiki Which material makes a good parachute/Lesson Document
Acknowledgement	This resource was adapted from resources and original ideas contributed by Paul Warwick, at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.