The whole of this blog centres on a mean trick (and I feel bad about it), which has produced something special, … More
Category: literacy
The Dangling Boy – 1730
Anyone who has had the opportunity to charge small children to thousands of volts will appreciate the skill and showmanship … More
A Kitchen Museum of Electrical History
Since Easter I have been reading about electricity. I think it is the hardest topic to teach. Circuits are … More
Guericke’s Sulphur Sphere
It seems reasonable to suppose that if the Earth has a fitting and appropriate attractive potency it will also have … More
The Versorium Needle
A draft extract from my book using narrative to teach the big ideas of physics: These are the utterly false … More
My Electricity Chapter
I don’t really mind which model for current anyone prefers – rope, hosepipe, cups with marbles etc. They all help … More
Six Big Ideas in Physics
Throughout my 21 years of teaching, physics teachers have been in short supply. There have always been science departments with … More
Definitions
Definitio. I. Quantitas materiæ est mensura ejusdem orta ex illius densitate et magnitudine conjunctim. Definition I The quantity of matter … More
In Praise of “1000 Facts” Books
Unglamorous, but loved by some, I am writing in praise of geeky fact books. I had lots of these as … More
Reading Aloud In Science
I’ve been using Reading Reconsidered (Lemov, Driggs, Woolway) a lot with my year 6 class recently. It is an excellent … More
Reading for Learning 