Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Mehrin and I am so excited to be learning all about identifying living things with you.

Let's begin.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit living things and their environment.

Your lesson outcome today is I can ask and answer yes/no questions to identify and name different things.

Now, I know that learning can sometimes be a little bit challenging, but that's okay because it just means that we are going to work really hard together and we're going to learn lots of fabulous new things.

Let's begin.

So here are your three keywords with the definitions of for today's lesson.

Now, I am going to be referring to these throughout today's lesson.

However, if you find it helpful, you can pause the video here and jot these down.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So our lesson today is split into two parts.

Let's begin with the first part at different types of questions.

So we can explore the world around us in many different ways.

So here we have a picture of a baby touching somebody's hand.

Now, this is a way that babies explore is by touch.

So from the day we're born, we use our senses to see, touch, taste, hear and feel things to learn more about them.

Now, as we grow, we continue to find out more, and this helps us to understand the world.

When we learn to talk, we start to ask questions about how things work and why things happen.

So this child might be saying something like, "Why do I have a shadow?" Here we have children playing in the sand and they may say, "Well, where does sand come from? Why is it grainy? Why is it this colour?" Now let's do a quick check-in of your learning before we continue with our lesson today.

What are some reasons why humans ask questions? Is it because A, they want to understand the world? B, to find out how things work.

Or C, to learn about why things happen? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous, well done, the answer is all of those.

Now, Jun says, "Which of these questions could Jun ask to understand how things work?" So could Jun say, "How much does a tube of toothpaste cost? Which toothpaste cleans teeth the best? And where can I buy toothpaste from?" So which of these questions could you ask to understand how things work? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

B, which toothpaste cleans teeth the best? Now, scientists ask lots of different types of questions to help them to understand the world.

And here we have a picture of a palaeontologist.

Now, palaeontologists may say, "What kind of animal has a skeleton like this?" And they try to find answers to their questions by investigating in different ways.

Now, can you think of any questions that you've asked in science lessons? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Now some questions can be answered with just one word.

So what is the name of this rock? Do you know? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fab.

Well done.

This is a limestone.

Or it might be something like, which part of the body do we use to see objects? Do you know the answer to that? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

It would be the eye, well done.

So some of these questions that we ask can sometimes just be answered.

And some questions must be answered by giving an explanation or a reason.

So for example, how do we move? So you may say muscles are attached to bones in the human skeleton.

They contract or relax to move different parts of the skeleton, and here we have an arm that is bending.

You may have a question like why is glass a suitable material for a window? So you may say glass is smooth and transparent, which means it's see-through.

So glass is smooth and transparent, which allows light to pass into the room and people in the room to look out and see things.

And some questions only require an answer of yes or no.

For example, how would you answer these questions? Are you seven years old? So you may say yes or no depending on how old you are.

Are you alive? Now, that would be a yes.

Now, let's do a quick check-in of your learning so far.

And it says, whose question can be answered with a simple yes or no? Laura says, "What time is dinner time?" Aisha asks, "How long is it until dinnertime?" And Lucas says, "Is it dinnertime?" So which of those could you answer with a simple yes or a no? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done, the answer is Lucas.

Now I want you to work with a partner to think of four questions that you can answer with yes and four questions you can answer with a no.

And I want you to record your questions and their answers.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing this activity.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So here is an example.

It's questions like, do you like dogs? Is it raining outside? Have you got a brother? Can you swim? Are you hungry? Is science your favourite lesson? Do you like dancing? And can you tie your shoelaces? And all of those questions can be answered with a simple yes or a no.

Now we are on to the second part of our learning today, which is answering questions.

Izzy says, "What did you notice about the yes or no questions that were asked?" So let's have just a quick reminder of those questions.

So we had have you got a brother? Can you swim? Are you hungry? Is science your favourite lesson? And do you like dancing? So what do you notice about the yes or no questions that have been asked? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So Jacob says, "I noticed that lots of them started with the same few words." So yes or no questions often begin with the words have or can.

So for example, Jacob's mum might say, "Have you done your homework?" And Jacob could reply with yes or no.

And in this instant, he said no.

Alex says, "Can you come to my house after school?" And Sofia says yes.

So again, if we have a look, those questions begin with have or can.

Now, scientists often ask questions that need to be answered with just a yes or a no.

So this scientist says, "Do mammals have feathers?" So we've got an orca whale.

So no.

Are trees plants? Yes.

So yes or no questions can also begin with do or are.

So now we've got the words can, have, do or are.

Now, let's do a quick check-in of your learning so far.

And it says, which of the question starters would give you a yes or a no answer? A, where, B is, C, do or D, what? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

The answer is is and do.

Now, how would you answer these questions that a scientist might ask? Scientist says, "Are all birds able to fly?" Aisha says no.

Can fossils be formed from both plants and animals? What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Fabulous.

Well done, and it would be yes.

Do all animals have a backbone? Have a go at this question as well before I give you the answer.

I'll give you five seconds.

And Aisha says no.

Now, what other words can you begin yes or no questions with? I want you to have a really good think about it.

I'll give you five seconds, but if you need longer, you can pause the video here and you can test it out and see whether or not you can find any other words that you can begin yes or no questions with.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So scientists often explore new places and discover living things they can't identify straight away.

So they ask yes or no questions like has it got leaves? Does it grow in the ground? Can it produce flowers? And the answers to their yes or no questions may help them to name what the unknown living thing is.

Now, let's do a quick check-in of your learning so far.

True or false, scientists sometimes ask questions that have a yes or a no answer.

Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done, the answer is true.

Now, is it because they ask yes or no questions to help them identify and name unknown things? Or do they ask yes or no questions when they already know the answer? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

The answer is A, they ask yes or no questions to help them identify and name unknown things.

Now, we can use answers to yes or no questions to help us to identify and name unknown things.

So Andeep says, "Can you identify and name my hobby by asking me only yes or no questions?" And Sam says, "Do you need special equipment to do your hobby?" Andeep says no.

Jun says, "Where do you do your hobby?" Now, can Andeep answer that with a yes or no question? He can't because it's not a yes or no question.

And Jun says, "I understand now.

How about is your hobby done inside?" And Andeep says no.

Sam says, "Does your hobby involve dancing?" Andeep says yes.

And Sam asks, "Is your hobby street dancing?" And Andeep says yes.

Now, let's do a quick check-in of your learning.

True or false? All questions can be answered with a yes or a no.

Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done, the answer is false.

Let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is it because A, sometimes you don't know the answer so you can't answer the question or B, some questions need the answer to explain in more detail or give more information than a simple yes or no.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done, the answer is B.

Some questions need the answer to explain in more detail or give more information than a simple yes or no.

Now, Jun says, "I'm not very good at asking yes or no questions.

I wonder how I could learn how to do it." And Sam says, "We could play a game to help you practise so you can identify and name unknown things." What a fabulous idea.

So Jun and Sam's teacher has hidden a piece of science equipment in a box with a lid.

She asks them to identify and name what's in the box by asking questions with only a yes or a no answer.

Now, which questions would you ask to identify what's in her box? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So it might be questions like, does it help us to measure? And the teacher says no.

Have we used it in a lesson before? Yes.

Did we use it when we were finding out about space? And the teacher says no.

Did we learn about it when we were learning about the properties of rocks? And she says yes.

Is it made of plastic and glass? And she says yes.

Are we able to hold it in our hand? Yes.

Can we magnify things with it? Yes.

Is it a hand lens? And she says yes.

So Sam says, "Wow, that took a lot of questions to identify what the piece of equipment in the box was." And when we ask yes or no questions, we need to listen carefully to help us decide what would be a good question to ask next, depending on the answer we just heard.

Now let's do a quick check-in of your learning.

Which sets of questions would help you to identify and name an unknown object using only yes and no answers? Would be A or set B? So have a look at both sets.

You may need to pause the video here just so you can have a good read through them.

And even test out by giving it a yes or a no answer to see which one would fit.

So I'll give you some time to do that now and once you're ready, you can come back.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So it would be set A.

Now, you are going to play identify and name an animal with a partner.

So your instructions are your partner will stick a sticky note with an animal's name on it, on your forehead or on your back.

Now, you're not allowed to look at the sticky note.

You can only ask yes or no questions to identify the animal.

You need to listen carefully to your partner's answers to help you decide the next question that you ask.

And once you think you know what the animal is, you can name it.

So I want you to pause the video here and have a go at playing this game with your partner.

Off you go.

Fabulous.

Well done.

So you may have asked questions like, is it a mammal? Can it fly? Does it swim in the sea? Has it got scales? Is it a reptile? Does it lay its eggs on the beach and is it a turtle? Would've been the last one based off the answers to the previous questions.

Well done.

Now, here is the summary of your learning for today.

And it says, humans ask questions to help them to understand the world, including how things work and why things happen.

Some questions require an answer of only yes or no, and yes or no questions often begin with do, are, is, can or have.

We can use answers to yes or no questions to help us to identify and name unknown things.

Well done for today.

You have done some fantastic learning and I am so proud of you.

Well done.