Appendix I – Synopsis of Atom Surprise
Characters:
Yoram – A shy boy about 8 years old. Very insecure, but by no means stupid.
Shira – A very self confident girl, around the same age as Yoram. She knows a lot of science.
Yoram’s mother (voice over only)
Shira’s father (voice over only)
Tsipi Pachmani (voice over only) – the science teacher
Quiz show host (voice over only)
Eitan Zarizi (voice over only) – the sports teacher
Act I – At home, getting ready for school
Scene I – Shira gets ready for school. Her father (makes sure she did all her homework, read all her books, prepared all her school materials and reminds her that she is the best.
Scence II – Yoram gets ready for school. In sharp contrast to Shira and her dad, Yoram and his mother are slightly confused and lack self esteem.
Act II – First day in school; first science class
Scene I – First encounter between the two characters in the science classroom. The differences in self-esteem between the two characters are highlighted.
Scene II – The teacher enters the room (virtually) and starts talking about materials. Her speech becomes gibberish which Shira manages to understand, but Yoram (and the audience) does not.
Scene III – After the teacher exits the class. Yoram reluctantly asks Shira to explain what the teacher said. Shira tries to explain the concepts of matter, volume and mass which the teacher taught in several ways: the first by talking, the second by showing Yoram that he has too big a volume and the third with three bags of varying sizes.
Act III – Second science class
Scene I – The two children enter the science class for the second time. This time Yoram is slightly more self confident and when the teacher enters dares ask the question what material is made of.
Scene II – The teacher tells the story of John Dalton who claimed the existence of atoms. During the story the children enter a fantasy and enact the story being told.
Scene III – After the teacher leaves the children stay in the classroom, Shira is busy with her book and Yoram is busy eating a sandwich. Shira discovers that there are different types of atoms and that Yoram’s sandwich is made of many types of atoms.
Scene IV – A big model of a molecule pops out of Shira’s book together with a magic scroll which reads that the way to the treasure begins with the molecule, yet the children don’t know that what they are holding is a molecule. Yoram is first to find out that the big model is one of a molecule. This starts a chase for the molecule.
Scene V – Shira catches up with Yoram and they both grab hold of the molecule. When they pull too hard, the molecule splits, but only to stick together by some invisible force. They try splitting it in several ways only to discover that the molecule always returns to its original shape.
Scene VI – The magic scroll shakes indicating it has a new message. The message says that the big molecule is the key to a door on the way to the treasure, but they must first solve a riddle and find out what type of material the molecule represents. When the discover it is a molecule of sugar they also find the door by incident.
Scene VII – The molecule is indeed the key to the magic door. Within they find three more molecules and a riddle that prompts them to go `into` each one of the materials and find which one it is, whether it is iron, water or oxygen.
Scene VIII – The children cooperate and go `into` each material. Yoram understand which material they were in by understanding that iron, water and oxygen are each in a separate state of matter, one is a solid, the other a liquid and the third a gas. He understands it before Shira does, which gets him very excited and Shira quite annoyed.
Act IV
Exiting the third material the children magically find themselves in quiz show, in which they compete for the treasure. This is the final station of their magic adventure. Some of the questions they are asked are are related to what was discussed in the play directly and some are not.
Sample questions are : “Is air considered matter?” “Is time considered matter?” “How does a solid turn into a liquid, such as ice into water?”
Yoram wins the quiz show, due to Shira’s arrogance (which leads her to miss a turn) and thanks to his growing self-confidence. The prize is a book from which a real lab-coat emerges. Yoram proudly wears it to discover that there is another lab-coat in the book. When he discovers the second lab-coat he passes it on to Shira, and they both leave the stage dressed as `real` scientists.
Epilogue
Still in their lab-coats, Yoram and Shira go to their Physical Education lesson to find out that even the Physical Education teacher talks about the terms they learnt in science, namely mass and volume.
Appendix II – The pre-play questionnaire
(translated from Hebrew)
Hello there,
You will soon watch a play about science. We are performing a research whose aim is to improve the play and to understand how it teaches.
We would be very grateful if you could answer some short questions before and after the play. The questions are on the topic of matter and also about the content of the play.
You don't have to participate if you don't want to and nothing will happen if you decide to stop in the middle. Don't worry, this is not a test – the questions here are for research purposes only and will not affect your school grade. Please don't write your name or any other identifying detail on the form.
We would be very thankful if you could help us create a better play.
Yours,
Shira and Yoram
Who am I ? (please circle the right answer)
1) I'm a boy / girl
2) I'm in the first / second / third / fourth / fifth / sixth grade
What do I think ? (please circle the correct choice)
3) Water is considered matter correct / incorrect / I don't know
4) Elephant have a big mass correct / incorrect / I don't know
5) The smallest particle constituting matter is called:
atom / molecule / cell / I don't know
6) In air, the particle hardly move correct / incorrect / I don't know
7) A molecule is made of atoms correct / incorrect / I don't know
8) A molecule can be seen without a microscope correct / incorrect / I don't know
9) Which has the bigger mass? (circle your choice)
a balloon a bundle of keys
10) Which has a bigger volume? (circle your choice)
a bundle of keys a basketball
11) Which picture best describes matter in the state of a gas? (circle your choice)
How do you feel
12) When you grow up, what would you like to be ?
(please write a profession you would like to do)
13) What do you think about science? (please circle what you feel)
I like it a lot I like it a bit I don't like it very much I don't like it at all
14) What do you think about learning science? (please circle what you feel)
I like it a lot I like it a bit I don't like it very much I don't like it at all
15) Would you like to know more about what materials are made of? (please circle what you feel)
I already know I don't know, but I would like to know I don't know and I don't want to know
16) Would you like to be a scientist? (please circle what you feel)
I would like to very much I would like to a bit I wouldn't like to wouldn't like to at all I don't know
17) Is learning science difficult? (please circle what you feel)
very difficult slightly difficult quite easy very easy I don't know
18) Do scientists help people? (please circle what you feel)
they always help they sometimes help they usually don't help they never help I don't know
19) Do you like going to plays? (please circle what you feel)
I like it a lot I like it a bit I don't like it very much I don't like it at all I don't know
20) Is it possible to learn from plays? (please circle what you feel)
yes / sometimes / never
Appendix III – The post-play questionnaire
(translated from Hebrew)
Hello again,
After you watched the play "atom surprise", we would be very grateful if you could answer some short questions. These questions are in continuation to those you answered a few days ago. The questions are about the topic of matter and also about the play.
We want to remind you that this is not a test – the questions here are for research purposes only and will not affect your school grade.
The research will help us understand how a play can teach and to improve it. You don't have to participate and nothing will happen if you decide to stop in the middle. Please don't write your name or any other identifying detail on the form.
We would be very thankful if you could help us create a better play.
Yours,
Shira and Yoram
Who am I ? (please circle the right answer)
1) I'm a boy / girl
2) I'm in the first / second / third / fourth / fifth / sixth grade
What do I think ? (please circle the correct choice)
3) Light is considered matter correct / incorrect / I don't know
4) A fly have a big mass correct / incorrect / I don't know
5) The smallest particle constituting matter is called:
atom / molecule / cell / I don't know
6) Molecule are living creatures correct / incorrect / I don't know
7) A molecule of sugar is made of atoms correct / incorrect / I don't know
8) In iron the particles are very close to one another
correct / incorrect / I don't know
9) A molecule can be seen without a microscope correct / incorrect / I don't know
10) Which has the bigger mass? (circle your choice)
a balloon a telephone
11) Which has a bigger volume? (circle your choice)
a tomato a balloon
12) Which picture best describes matter in the state of a gas? (circle your choice)
13) Why does a balloon grow when it is inflated?
Hw do you feel
14) What do you think about science? (please circle what you feel)
I like it a lot I like it a bit I don't like it very much I don't like it at all
15) What do you think about learning science? (please circle what you feel)
I like it a lot I like it a bit I don't like it very much I don't like it at all
16) Would you like to be a scientist? (please circle what you feel)
I would like to very much I would like to a bit I wouldn't like to wouldn't like to at all I don't know
17) Is learning science difficult? (please circle what you feel)
very difficult slightly difficult quite easy very easy I don't know
18) Do scientists help people? (please circle what you feel)
they always help they sometimes help they usually don't help they never help I don't know
What do you think about the play?
19) What was the thing you most liked about the play? (please write your opinion)
20) What was the thing you most disliked about the play? (please write your opinion)
21) How did the play contribute to your knowledge? (please write your opinion)
I learnt a lot in the play I learnt a bit in the play I didn't learn anything in the play
22) Please tell us something that you didn't know before the play and that you know now?
23) Would you like to ask or tell something to Shira or Yoram?
24) Which of the following words best describe what you felt during the play
(you can choose more than one word)
Easy / not recommended / nice / difficult / doesn't teach
Incomprehensible / fun / thrilling / annoying / recommendable
Appendix III – The delayed post-play questionnaire
(translated from Hebrew)
Hello,
Last year you watched the play "atom surprise", we would be very grateful if you could answer some short questions that would help us improve the play. The questionnaire is not a test, the questions here are for research purposes only and will not affect your school grade.
The research will help us understand how the play teaches and to improve it. You don't have to participate and nothing will happen if you decide to stop in the middle. Please don't write your name or any other identifying detail on the form.
We would be very thankful if you could help us create a better play.
Yours,
Shira and Yoram
Who am I ? (please circle the right answer)
1) I'm a boy / girl
2) I'm in the first / second / third / fourth / fifth / sixth grade
3) Did I watch the play "Atom Surprise" last year?
I did watch it / I didn't watch it / I don't remember
What do I think ? (please circle the correct choice)
4) Air is considered matter correct / incorrect / I don't know
5) A fly have a big mass correct / incorrect / I don't know
6) The smallest particle constituting matter is called:
atom / molecule / cell / I don't know
7) Every material is composed of atoms correct / incorrect / I don't know
8) A molecule of water is made of atoms correct / incorrect / I don't know
9) In air the particles are very close to one another
correct / incorrect / I don't know
10) A molecule can be seen without a microscope correct / incorrect / I don't know
11) Which has the bigger mass? (circle your choice)
a balloon a tomato
12) Which has a bigger volume? (circle your choice)