Lesson video

Hi everybody.

It's Miss.

Simkin back for your next science lesson.

I hope that you are having a good day and hopefully this science lesson can make it a little bit better.

We are going to be learning today about an amazing scientist called Marie Curie.

So our lesson question today is: Who is Marie Curie? And this is the lesson agenda were going to be following.

We going to start with our star words, then today I'm going to teach you a bit about background science, so that you can understand Marie Curie's story a bit better.

Then we'll hear Marie Curie's story, and then you'll have the chance to create your own comic strip, and then just at the end of the lesson you can take your exit quiz to see what you have remembered today.

For this lesson you're going to need: paper, a pencil, a coloured pencil, and a ruler.

You might want to get more than one coloured pencil today and maybe even some colouring pens so that you can make your comic strip at the end really colourful.

If you don't have those thing then could you please pause the video and go and get them now.

Great! Lets take a look at our star words for today.

I'm going to say them and then you're going to say them.

Chemistry Physics Radioactivity Lets practise that one again.

Radioactivity.

Good job.

Cancer X-ray Great, so chemistry, physics, and radioactivity are going to come up in our background section, so I'll explain what those mean when we get there.

Cancer is a type of disease where your cells grow to quickly.

It's going to be important to Marie Curie's story.

An x-ray, well you might know what an x-ray is if you've ever broken or fractured one of your bones, or maybe a member of your family has.

An x-ray is like a medical image, a medical picture that can take that shows you the inside of your body.

So if you've ever broken a bone you would've had an x-ray and they would have taken a picture that shows your bone and where the brake or the fracture is.

This is Marie Curie.

She was born in 1867, in Poland.

Before I tell you about her story, here is a little bit of background science for you.

So, Marie Curie was a chemist.

She studied chemistry, and chemistry is the science that deals with the properties of substances or materials, and the transformations that they undergo.

So chemistry is really all about materials, their properties, and how materials can change.

What's chemistry about? Say it to your screen.

Great, materials, their properties, and how they can change.

She was also, she wasn't just one type of scientist, she was at least two types.

She was also a physicist.

Now, a physicist studies physics, and physics is the science of how different parts of the universe interact with each other.

So, for example, magnetism falls into the category of physics because its how magnets and magnetic materials, like metal or those nails in the picture, interact with each other.

How does a metal nail act when a magnet is held near it? It's attracted to the magnet; they are interacting.

And physics is the science that studies those interactions.

How carefully were you listening? Can you please get your pencil and your paper and write down the definition of chemistry and physics for me please, you've got four options to choose from on the screen.

Pause the video and do that for me now please.

Great.

Lets mark our answers.

So you'll need your different coloured pencils for this and you can give yourself a tick if you got it write, if not it doesn't matter you just need to correct your answers please.

So chemistry is the science of substance and materials, and physics is the science of how different parts of the universe interact.

Well done if you got those correct.

The next thing I'm going to each you about is the Nobel Prize.

Have you ever heard of the Nobel Prize before? You might have if you've studied or learnt about any other impressive scientists before.

Let me tell you about the Nobel Prize and how it was started.

So, Alfred Nobel was a famous scientist and he's the man you can see on the medal on the screen, that's Alfred Nobel.

One of the things he is known for is for inventing dynamite, and when he died in his will, so that's like the instructions that you leave for people after you die, he wrote that a big part of his fortune was to be given as prizes to people who done their best for humanity in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.

So he set up five prizes.

There all called the Nobel Prize, but they're in different subjects.

However, not everybody was very pleased with this, and his will was opposed; people argued against it by his relatives and also the authorities in various countries.

Because it was so controversial, people were so taken aback by this idea, it took four years for his instructions, his request, to be followed and for the Nobel Prize to be set up.

But now the Nobel Prize is still around today and it's awarded every year to amazing people who have done amazing things in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, or peace.

So it's an amazing legacy that Alfred Nobel has left.

Got some questions for you.

Number one, who was responsible for starting the Nobel Prize and number two, the story of how the Nobel prize was founded is a strange one, why? Can you remember it and write it down please.

Pause the video and answer these questions now.

Lets mark our answers.

So number one, it was Alfred Nobel who started the Nobel Prize, and number two, you might not have written the exact same wording as me but that's okay.

Lets see if you wrote something similar to this.

Alfred Nobel wrote in his will that he wanted to donate his wealth to starting the Nobel Prize.

After he died, his family and prize awarders refused to do what he requested.

So it took four years before the first Nobel Prize was awarded.

If you wrote something similar to that, well done, give yourself a tick and if you want to add any information to your answer then pause the video and give yourself a chance to add it now.

Great.

Our last bit background science is all about this material called Uranium.

What's it called? Uranium.

Great.

So Uranium is an example of a radioactive material.

Radioactivity was one of our star words.

Radioactivity is a type of energy that's emitted from materials such as Uranium.

So that's what radioactivity is.

It's a type of energy that's emitted.

What's radioactivity? Tell your screen.

Great, we can't actually see this energy, it's like invisible rays.

This energy can have harmful effects on humans.

So for example it can cause burns or it can longer-term damage like radiation sickness or even cancer.

Can you fill in the gaps to finish the definition of radioactivity.

Radioactivity is a type of ______ that is emitted from materials, such as ______.

Pause the video and do that for me now please.

Great, lets check our answers.

Radioactivity is a type of energy that is emitted from materials, such as Uranium.

If you got that correct give yourself a big tick, well done, if not, that's okay, correct your answers for me now.

Now we're going to learn about Marie Curie's story and you will see why that background science was relative.

So, chemistry, physics, the Nobel Prize, radioactivity are all really important parts of Marie Curie's story.

So, as we already learned, Marie Curie was born in Poland.

But when she was older she moved to Paris to live with her sister and when she got there she entered Sorbonne University in Paris where she read physics and mathematics, and she had discovered a love for these subjects and science.

It was in Paris in 1898 where she met Pierre Curie.

Who is the man you can see in the picture next to her.

And they fell in love and they got married, and he was another scientist as well.

So they shared that passion and they did lots of their research together.

Pierre and Marie became research workers at the school of chemistry and physics in Paris, and this is where they began their pioneering work into the invisible rays that were being given off by Uranium.

So they did lots of work on radioactivity.

And during their work they discovered two new materials which were radioactive, which they called Polonium.

After Poland, Marie Curies original country, and Radium.

Marie Curie was celebrated for her scientific achievements and she won, not one, but two Nobel Prizes.

She won one for chemistry and for physics during the course of her life which is incredibly impressive.

It is big achievement to win one Nobel Prize let alone two.

During the first World War, Marie Curie works to develop small mobile x-ray machines that could be used to diagnose injuries near the battlefront.

And she called these machines Petit Curies, which means small Curies.

And with her daughter she set off to the front to help people.

And these machines are quite similar to x-ray machines that we use today.

Sadly, for Mari Curie, she died in 1934.

So she was known to carry test tubes of radioactive Radium around in her pockets of her lab coats.

So remember she was studying radioactivity and that was the material that she discovered Radium.

But she didn't know at the time that radiation was harmful to humans and to her health.

And she actually died of a type of cancer called leukaemia that was caused by the radiation in her research.

Marie Curie has left a lasting legacy, her research is incredibly important.

We now know that radioactive elements can be used to destroy tissue.

And this has opened up ways of treating cancer.

So radiation treatment is now one of the main treatments for cancer.

So, radioactivity can cause harm and can cause cancer, but it can also be used in a way that treats cancer.

And if it wasn't for Marie Curie's research and her life's work we never would have found those treatments for other people.

Okay, so those were the six steps in Marie Curies life.

Can you remember them? Lets see if we can test ourselves now and then we're going to draw our comic strip.

So, number one.

That's where she met her, who did she meet? She met her husband, Pierre Curie.

Then in number two, what did she do in number two? That's when she started her scientific work and she discovered, what did she discover, tell your screen.

Great, she discovered two new materials called Polonium and what was the other one? Radium, great.

Then in number three she won something.

What did she win? Tell your screen.

Great, she won two Nobel Prizes.

Then in number four, I'm going to give you a hint with my hand.

It was an X.

She made, or she invented, these little x-ray machines and she helped wounded soldiers with them during the war.

Then in number our, that's the sad part of our story.

Tell your screen what happened.

Yeah, she died of cancer.

Sorry that was number five.

And then, in number six, the last part of our story we have almost a happy ending because even though Marie Curie died of cancer, what has meant for other people who have cancer in the future? Tell your screen.

Great.

It lead to radiation treatment, which is a treatment for cancer now.

Okay, so those are our six things.

We are going to draw a comic strip.

So for each part of the story, I'd like you to draw a box and then some lines underneath so that you can draw a picture for your comic and then write a sentence about what happened.

So we're going to have six boxes.

Here's an example of my first box.

So you can see I've drawn a picture and I've written a sentence.

Marie Curie was born in Poland in 1867.

She moved to Paris and met her husband Pierre Curie.

So then you can see I've drawn a picture of Pierre and Marie in love and then next to the Eiffel Tower to show their in Paris.

You can also add some colour to you comics and another thing that's really great in comics is a feature of comics is things like this; so speech bubbles and sound effect like WOW or BANG if they're appropriate to your story.

Okay.

So, can I ask you please to start with the first three boxes of your comic.

Pause the video and do that for me now please.

Great.

Okay, and then you can do the next three, so box four, five, and six.

Remember this is where, well what happens in box four? Where have we got to in our story.

That's the x-ray machine and then box five is the sad part where she dies and then box six is the cancer treatments for other people.

So pause your video and do the last three parts of your comic for me now please.

Great.

Well done, you have worked really hard today.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Marie Curie and making your comics and also I hope you're proud of yourself because you learned about really tricky science today.

If you would like to share your work with Oak National, then you can ask your parent or carer to share your work tagging Oak National or hashtag LearnwithOak.

You can also tag @Teach_STEMinism which means that I will be able to see it to.

Don't forget to do your end of lesson quiz before you go today and don't forget to have a fantastic rest of your day.

Bye everybody, see you soon!.