POLYMERS ON THE FIELD: A DIDACTIC UNIT CONTEXTUALIZED WITH THE THEME OF SOCCER.
Polymers; Soccer; Didactic Unit
Chemistry is a fundamental component in the basic education curriculum, but it is often seen as a complex science, leading to student disinterest in learning this content. By presenting a didactic unit on polymers, contextualized through the theme of soccer, the aim is to discuss the use of polymeric materials in this sport and to show their relationship with students' daily lives. The research adopts a qualitative approach and was applied in 10 lessons over approximately 5 weeks, in the third year of the new high school curriculum at Raimundo Soares State School in Natal-RN. The proposal includes activities such as identifying students' prior knowledge, slide presentations, video screenings, experimental classes, and discussions on the evolution of materials used in soccer as facilitating resources in this process. The proposal aims to contribute to the learning of a relevant topic for basic education students, considering the presence of commercial and sports products made from polymeric materials used in soccer. Preliminary results show that at the beginning of the application, students did not show much interest, especially in the second stage, where there was some resistance to produce and present the product, which was the banner. From the third stage onward, an increase in interest and engagement during classes was noticeable, which was reaffirmed with the development of the final stages of the didactic unit.