Energy and Change: Activities for the Classroom

In Activities for the Classroom, the authors of the ‘Teaching about why things change’ project show how a new approach to the fundamental question 'why do things change?' can be adopted in teaching. They do this with a set of classroom activities which show how the ideas can fit into the existing curriculum.

The booklet is intended to be more than just a collection of sample activities. The activities have been chosen to illustrate particularly important points in the story about energy and change. The commentary which links the activities together draws out these points and indicates how the activities can be linked into the wider development of the ideas. Thus two questions are addressed in this commentary - 'what is the point now?' and 'what is the pay-off later?'.

Contents
* Introduction
* Ideas and activities
1. Backwards and forwards
2. Spreading and mixing of matter
3. Energy flows and temperature differences
4. Differences can create differences
5. Moving things and springy things
6. Particles - joining and splitting, building and breaking
7. Storing differences in 'chemical springs'
8. Steady states - maintaining a difference
9. Making measurements
* Teachers' reactions and pupils' responses
* Support materials