Modelling and Simulation Lesson Ideas

Lesson plan

This lesson plan incorporates many of the suggested tasks below.

It provides a rich variety of different tasks to suit different learning styles.

Starter exercise

This starter activity forms part of the lesson plan above.

The aim is to spark a conversation about being able to use spreadsheets for modelling through 'what if' questions.

Card sorting exercise

This could be used as a starter/plenary activity or as a short activity during the lesson to check students' understanding of this topic.

The cards will need some preparation before the lesson. It would be better to laminate them if possible to provide a long lasting resource. However, if time is short, they can simply be printed out and cut up.

A good kinesthetic activity

Worksheet 1

Fill in the gaps

Students are given a piece of text and have to fill in the gaps with the correct words.

A useful way of quickly checking understanding and also a permenant revision aid.

Worksheet 2

This worksheet asks students to read a recent news article on how modelling is being used to help determine the possible spread of bird flu.

They are then asked to answer a set of questions.

Worksheet 3

This worksheet asks students to read a recent news article on how modelling is being used to help predict climate change in the future.

They are then asked to answer a set of questions.

Worksheet 4

This worksheet asks students to research recent news stories about modelling and simulation which have been reported on in the news.

Students are asked to read at least three current news stories, answer a set of questions and then report their findings back to the class.

Useful to ensure that students get an idea of the use of modelling and simulation in a real life context