With many children based at home due to Covid-19 partial school closures, Sam Reile created a video to prompt her pupils to observe closely and reflect on their ideas about the topic. On the video, Sam showed some different ways of separating materials and the children were also invited to replicate the practical activities at home if they could. The children added their ideas and observations to a Jamboard. For example, in response to using different sized sieves for separating rice, pasta and flour, some children commented that cooked rice would not have fit through the colander, demonstrating an understanding that cooking changes the size of the grains. Filtering sand from water using kitchen towel provoked some children to relate this to prior knowledge of filtering dirty water or parents making coffee. Whilst leaving salt and sugar water to evaporate prompted exploration of vocabulary like dissolving and soluble.

Year 5 (age 9-10), Little Green Junior School, Hertfordshire