# Week 4 — Roll, slide, stop **Foundation / Prep · five school days · development draft** **Question:** What changes the way an object moves? **Status:** human educator, local-syllabus, safety and accessibility review pending. Pair each day's integrated block with the separate English and mathematics Weeks 3–4 lessons. Those daily subject lessons continue their own taught sequences; this investigation does not replace them. **National ACARA v9 links, partial practice:** Science AC9SFU02, AC9SFI01, AC9SFI02, AC9SFI03, AC9SFI04 and AC9SFI05; Health and Physical Education AC9HPFM01, AC9HPFM02 and AC9HPFM04; Foundation Dance AC9ADAFD01, AC9ADAFC01, AC9ADAFP01 and AC9ADAFE01. A prediction, one roll test or a dance does not alone demonstrate a full content description. Check the locally adopted syllabus and any school safety procedure before using the guide. ## Prepare once - Make a **low, stable ramp** from a firm board resting on a book, with a marked start line and a clear catch box. Check that nothing can fall onto a foot or run into a walkway. A floor-level sloping tray is an alternative. Use large, clean objects only: a solid ball, a lidded empty box and a broad cylindrical container. Avoid loose small parts, sharp edges, glass and objects that a child could swallow. - Put plain paper on the floor after the ramp. Mark the object's **first stopping place** with removable tape or a paper strip. Use the same start line and release without pushing. Let an adult retrieve an object that has rolled away. A child may direct the adult instead of touching or moving. - Make a second safe track surface, such as a folded cloth laid flat. Keep the same ball and ramp position when comparing the paper and cloth. Say that this is a classroom comparison, not a universal rule about all surfaces. - Place the [prediction and observation card](#copy-ready-test-card) beside the ramp. Let children draw, place symbols, point, speak, sign or use AAC. Photographing is optional and follows school consent; a paper mark is sufficient. - Make two movement pathways with tape or floor markers, wide enough for the class. Offer a seated/tabletop route with hand, arm, eye gaze or object movement. Ask a child before moving their mobility equipment or body. The dance is a new sequence created by the children, not a copy of a cultural performance. **Everyday rhythm:** retain the arrival, food/rest, outdoor or indoor play and closing routine from [Week 1](week-01-classroom-detectives.md). Run one 30–40 minute integrated block below per day, with a movement break inside it. Use separate 25-minute English and mathematics lessons. The teacher can split an integrated block across the day. ## Day 1 — Notice how different objects move (35 minutes) **Goal:** describe a movement accurately and give a prediction that can be checked. **Links:** AC9SFU02, AC9SFI01/02/05. 1. **Look and wonder, 6 min.** Show the ball and lidded box. Ask, “If I let each go from this line, what might it do? What makes you think that?” Accept “I don't know yet” as a useful starting point. Show the start line and catch box. 2. **Model, 7 min.** Say, “I think this ball will roll. I will put it at the line and let go without a push. Then I will say what I actually saw.” Release it once. Point to where it first stopped and make a mark. Say whether it rolled, slid, wobbled, turned or stopped; do not call a wobble a failure. 3. **Try in small groups, 15 min.** Each child predicts one object. The adult releases both objects from the same line, one at a time. Children watch, feel an accessible model of the start/stop position, or hear a precise live description. Mark stopping places. Ask, “What stayed the same? What was different? Did what happened match your idea?” 4. **Share, 7 min.** Children complete one row of the card through a chosen route. If a child says “the ball was faster,” ask what they saw; this test only marked stopping place, so speed has not been measured. **Listen for:** a prediction before release, an observation after release and a distinction between them. A child who echoes the teacher's prediction can make a new one for the box tomorrow. This lesson compares objects with different shapes and materials, so it **does not isolate the cause** of a difference. ## Day 2 — Change one feature we can see (35 minutes) **Goal:** use a more controlled comparison to investigate shape. **Links:** AC9SFU02, AC9SFI01–04. 1. **Recall, 5 min.** Revisit the Day 1 marks. Ask, “Can we tell whether shape or material mattered most from yesterday?” Model “Not yet; both were different.” 2. **Make a pair, 8 min.** Split one large piece of the same reusable modelling material into two approximately equal portions, checking with a balance if available. Shape one into a ball and one into a short, flat-sided block. Keep the same track, start line and no-push release. The two portions must be too large to swallow. If this material is unsuitable locally, use a teacher demonstration with two large equal-mass objects made of the same material, or move to the Day 3 same-object surface comparison. 3. **Predict and test, 15 min.** Children say or show which shape might reach a different stopping place and why. Adult releases each shape from the line. Mark the first stop each time. Repeat once because a shape may catch or tumble differently. Let children notice and record an unexpected result. 4. **Explain the limit, 7 min.** Ask, “What did we try to keep the same? What did we change? What did we see?” Say, “This gives us evidence about these two shapes on this track. It doesn't tell us what every ball or block will do.” **Listen for:** “same material / same line / different shape,” or an equivalent demonstration. If the child mixes up the tested shape with the earlier different-material objects, place the two test shapes side by side and repeat the question with a gesture. ## Day 3 — The surface matters too (35 minutes) **Goal:** compare the same object's movement on two surfaces. **Links:** AC9SFU02, AC9SFI02/03/04. 1. **Set up, 7 min.** Show the same ball, same board height and two track surfaces: paper and a flat cloth. Children touch both if welcome, or hear a description. Ask how the surfaces feel; “smooth” and “rough” are observations about these samples. 2. **Choose a prediction, 5 min.** Ask, “Where might the ball first stop on paper? On cloth? Why?” Mark the two lanes. Children can choose a symbol for each surface. 3. **Test, 16 min.** Adult releases the same ball from the same line on paper, marks its first stop, then repeats on cloth. Repeat each lane once if time. Keep people out of the runout space. If the cloth bunches, flatten it before testing and record the change. 4. **Compare, 7 min.** Place the four stop marks on the paper/card. Ask, “Which mark belongs to which surface? Does your prediction match what we saw? What else could we check?” Accept “We cannot tell” if marks overlap or results vary. Do not promise that one surface always makes an object stop sooner. **Evidence:** two labelled stop marks and the child's comparison. “It stopped near this line on cloth” is a stronger observation than “cloth is always slower.” The card may use objects/raised marks instead of pencil. ## Day 4 — Move together, stop safely (35 minutes) **Goal:** use movement ideas in fair play and create a short original dance. **Links:** AC9HPFM01, AC9HPFM02, AC9HPFM04, AC9ADAFD01, AC9ADAFC01, AC9ADAFP01 and AC9ADAFE01. 1. **Safety and choice, 5 min.** Demonstrate each path's width and stop marker. Say, “Everyone may choose a body movement, a tabletop object movement or a movement we direct someone else to make. We move only in our own space and stop at the agreed signal.” Agree on one signal that can be **seen and heard**. 2. **Explore, 10 min.** Children try three self-chosen actions: a smooth travelling movement, a sliding movement and a still shape. These are expressive ideas, not claims that bodies literally roll like the tested ball. Adult models a slow, safe option. No forced floor roll, spin, touch or balance challenge. 3. **Make, 12 min.** In pairs or individually, choose an order of three actions: move → change → stop. Add a start position and a visible/aural cue. Practise once with space to change a movement if it feels unsafe. A seated hand sequence, eye-gaze-directed puppet or object track can communicate the same choreographic idea. 4. **Share and respond, 8 min.** Offer a class, small-group, private teacher or no-audience-yet sharing choice. Ask, “Which movement idea did you want someone to notice?” and “Why might people enjoy making or sharing a dance together?” Record the child's idea about the arts, not a judgement about confidence or physical speed. **Fair-play observation:** did the child help keep space, follow the agreed stop signal and allow another person's movement choice? If an adult cue was needed, note it and rehearse in a simpler path. A child's chosen access route is not a lower mark. ## Day 5 — Tell the test story (40 minutes) **Goal:** explain one tested question, prediction, observation and next idea; revisit safe movement. **Links:** AC9SFI01–05, AC9SFU02, AC9HPFM04. 1. **Retrieve evidence, 6 min.** Lay out each group's cards/marks from Days 1–3. Let a child pick one test: two shapes or two surfaces. The adult reads labels aloud. 2. **Model a fair account, 7 min.** “We wondered whether the same ball would stop in the same place on two surfaces. I thought ___. We kept ___ the same and changed ___. We saw ___. Next I would ask ___.” Use yesterday's real result; never fill a blank with a desired answer. 3. **Child explanations, 17 min.** Children use the [test-story frame](#copy-ready-test-card) through objects, drawing, speech, sign, AAC or an adult scribe. The teacher samples 4–6 focus learners closely and schedules the rest in the next arrival station. Ask one follow-up: “Show me the mark that tells you.” Keep the explanation in the child's own terms. 4. **Revisit play, 5 min.** Pairs show the start/stop rule on the movement path. Ask whether a route is safe and fair for a new child and let them change it. 5. **Close, 5 min.** Ask, “What surprised you? What would you try next?” Allow a private response or pass. Do not pressure a learner to perform publicly. **Next teaching move:** if the child reports a prediction as an observation, put two different-colour cards “before” and “after” beside one test and rehearse; if the child cannot identify what changed, put the same ball on both surface samples; if they can compare and justify, invite a new question with one planned change. Keep science, movement and dance evidence in separate notes. ## Copy-ready test card Use one card per test or draw the large boxes on separate sheets. A text or tactile equivalent uses the same labels and raised/placed start and stop markers. ```text OUR QUESTION: _______________________________________________ OBJECT(S): __________________ SURFACE(S): ___________________ BEFORE WE TESTED, I THOUGHT: __________________________________ WE KEPT THESE THINGS THE SAME: ________________________________ WE CHANGED: ___________________________________________________ FIRST STOP MARK / TRY 1: ______________________________________ FIRST STOP MARK / TRY 2: ______________________________________ AFTER TESTING, I NOTICED: _____________________________________ MY IDEA NOW: __________________________________________________ ONE NEW QUESTION: _____________________________________________ ``` **Teacher record:** child and date; chosen response route; exact prediction; exact observation or mark pointed to; what support/model was given; next teaching move. On a class sheet, use anonymous learner IDs and store the matching list under school policy. Do not upload identifiable learner evidence to this repository. ## Source and reuse The codes and level/band above were checked against [ACARA Australian Curriculum v9 official downloads](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/downloads), workbook retrieved 29 September 2026, SHA-256 `db446882d2c00cf7c085a03e250e2442fda6c44011fc114680c46c1dc7a822c3`. ACARA's [terms](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/copyright-and-terms-of-use) govern curriculum text and do not imply endorsement. [AERO's monitor progress guide](https://www.edresearch.edu.au/guides-resources/practice-guides/monitor-progress) informs the observation and next-step cycle; this particular guide has not been classroom tested. [ACARA disability guidance](https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/student-diversity/students-with-disability) supports individual adjustments. A state or territory teacher must check the current local syllabus and safety rules. **Reuse this guide:** © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, “SubjectNest Roll, Slide, Stop, Foundation Week 4”, version 0.1.0-draft. Original scripts, investigation card and movement sequence are [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit SubjectNest by NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd, link the source and licence, and note changes. ACARA text and any later third-party material are outside this grant. No third-party image, sound, dance or worksheet is embedded here.