The cannonball was so big it took three men to lift it into the cannon, a match as big as a telegraph pole and five fuses to light the cannon which exploded it. The cannonball flew through the air, narrowly missing the tops of the trees and bounced off the castle wall … it left a dent in the castle grounds and almost broke the castle gates which splintered as the cannonball rolled through. The cannonball rocketed off into outer space and span like a billiard ball, zig – zagging along the path. Then it landed with a ‘SPLASH !’ in the castle moat and floated downstream. After it was beached on the rocks, the cannonball ping – ponged down the hill – and was shot at by the centurions on guard in the high battlements. The cannonball had to duck to dodge the arrows. Like a planet in the universe, spinning on it’s axis, the cannonball’s sparks flew against the midnight sky, leaving a trail of dynamite and gunpowder behind it … The cannonball turned left, then right – swerved around the bend and stopped at the traffic lights. When they lights showed green, off the cannonball set again. The cannonball flipped and crashed around the castle grounds until it finally came to a halt in a puddle beneath the old oak tree where it soaked up the raindrops. It left a big hole in the castle wall … and spots along the path. The cannonball rolled like a big marble down the hillside … and bounced around the rocks and boulders. It left a crater in the side of the garden lawn … big enough to sit in … and knocked over three flowers in the borders.
Activity
Make a collection of ten different round things or balls. Roll them in a race to see which one wins. Discuss why the winning ball won – highlighting scientific concepts of weight, size, velocity, shape, speed and friction.
© Jacqueline Richards 2005
