Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Tune In: Watch the episode
20 minutes	Find Out: Tipping point play
15 minutes	Take Action: What is teamwork?
5 minutes	Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

explore numeracy concepts in addition, ordinal numbers and more than / less than through a team activity
reflect on times they have worked together to achieve something important.

Success criteria

Students can:

identify the first and last object in a sequence
count the quantity of objects in a group
compare the number of objects in two groups
consider properties such as weight and size of objects
discuss whether an event is more or less likely to occur
consider their contributions to a team or class activity.

Part A: Watch the episode

Step 1.

Share the Bluey episode Seesaw with your students.

Bluey 'Seesaw' - ClickView (https://clickv.ie/w/BOgx)

Seesaw synopsis: Dad has rudely plonked himself on one end of the seesaw. So Bluey and Bingo round up the entire playground to help flip him off, but they still need to find one more friend.

Step 2.

Facilitate a class discussion about the episode using the following prompts as guides:

I wonder how Bluey and her friends felt when they tipped the seesaw? Have you felt like that before? When and why?
I wonder how else Bluey could tip her Dad off the seesaw? Would that change how Bluey and her friends would feel?
I wonder if they could tip the seesaw if Pom Pom wasn't there? Why do you think that?
I wonder how many friends it would take if someone else was on the other end of the seesaw? What if it was Pom Pom? What if it was Mum? What if it was Bluey?
I wonder what would happen if Bluey changed the order in which her friends got on? Who would be last? Who would be first? Why do you think that?

Step 3.

Facilitate a discussion about number and order by using visual aids.

Depending on the direction of the discussion, consider playing back the episode and pausing to write on the whiteboard when each friend joins - for example, first, second, etc.

Bluey
Bingo
Coco
Snickers
Pom Pom
Dad

Use this to draw on numeracy language about 'more', 'less', 'first', 'last', etc.

Find Out: Tipping point play

Step 1.

Thread a wooden skewer through the handle of a bucket, then push two tables close together so that they support either end of the skewer, with the bucket hanging in the gap in between.

Step 2.

Explain to students that they are going to select one of the small objects from around the room and place it into the bucket.

Step 3.

Select a student, take their object and show it off to the room. Gently place the object in the bucket. Continue to select students, putting the objects in the bucket one by one, building the excitement as you go.

Step 4.

Eventually, the skewer will snap under the weight and the bucket will fall to the floor.

If you have access to a set of scales, similar to a seesaw, you can perform the same activity using the scales with a heavy object on one side and slowly building up the objects on the other. This will be much more similar to the episode if you have the equipment!

Step 5.

Once the bucket falls and the excitement settles, take time to discuss what happened. Ask questions such as:

How many objects did the bucket hold? Let’s count together.
Whose object whent in first? Whose went in last?
Which object was largest? Which was heaviest?

Step 6.

You can perform the activity again, involving new students and objects. Each time the bucket falls take time to discuss, drawing out the value of teamwork or language around numeracy or probability. Consider some of these questions:

This object was the smallest. Does putting it in the bucket make it heavier or lighter? Does it get closer to tipping or not?
Do you think it is likely the bucket will tip when we add this object? Does it get more likely or less likely to tip the more we add?
Is the last item the most important? Is the first item not important (because it doesn’t tip the scales)? Could we tip the scales without it?

Take Action: What is teamwork?

Step 1.

If you have the resources, you can also break the class into small groups to run the activity themselves, facilitating the play as you visit each group.

Step 2.

Students could work together in small groups to build their own seesaw from class objects, e.g. rulers, toilet paper/hand-towel rolls, etc.

Students can use their seesaw to experiment with objects (like erasers, sharpeners and other class items) and tipping points. They can then report back:

which object was the 'heaviest' and the 'lightest',
which object was put on 'first', 'second', 'last', etc,
which objects they predicted would tip their seesaw (if they were right or not, and why).

Step 3.

Discuss the outcomes of your activities with your students

What do you think we were practising?
What else do you think Bluey and her friends could achieve when they work together?
Can you think of a time when your friends or family worked together to make something happen?

Extension Opportunity
In groups challenge your students to work as a team to create a new rhyming song for sitting on a seesaw, or making and using their classroom seesaw!

Reflection

Reflect on this lesson with your students by discussing the question

What do you think it means when people say 'every little bit counts'?

Teamwork - Working as One

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Summary

Lesson guides and printables

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