3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.

ELS.EN6. Students analyze the dynamic balance between natural and cultural systems.

A.i Identify cause and effect relationships and examine how a system's structure or behavior needs to change to achieve intended outcomes.

Essential Question: 

 How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Big Idea: I want my students to understand that they can use evidence from scientific inquiries to study how objects move so that they improve safety and experiences in the school community.

Learning Target

 I can use evidence of what I observe to discuss the ways that forces are working all around us.

Success Measures

Students will: participate in the activities in which they will try to move objects; make observations using the "I Notice, I Wonder It Reminds Me Of" protocol; students will participate in discussion using evidence.

Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Big Idea (I want my students to understand that…): 

We can use evidence from scientific inquiries to study how objects move so that we improve safety and experiences in the at our school and in our community.

Location: Outdoors, large open space

Time Needed: 60 minutes

Materials Needed: boards of varying lengths, a log section to be used as a fulcrum, box of various balls (size and weight)

Set up ahead of time:  have boards and log sections placed at the end of the open space to be used; basket of balls is placed in the classroom, near the door, for students to access on their way outdoors

Children are prepared and will bring outdoors: Dressed for the weather. 

CONNECT

Circle-Up/Opening

Teacher

Indoors

Forecast what we will be doing

Share the learning target and success measures.

Set behavior expectations.

Students prepare to go outside.

Students grab a ball from the basket on the way out the door.

Students form two lines for "Walk and Talk" discussion--When students get outside, they will talk about the properties of the ball that they have selected using “I Notice..” as a sentence stem to make observations and to describe characteristics of their selected ball. Teacher models making observations with a ball that he/she has selected.

EXPLORE

Inquiry

What inquiry will students be involved in to develop skills/understanding of the learning target?

All

Outdoors

Move to the outdoor open space. Have students stand approximately stand on a line with their partners next to them so that they are at least and arm's length from each other as they face the same direction. 

Part 1

Tell students that they are to throw their balls as far as they possibly can away from the line, across the open space, when given the direction to do so. Students should remain standing on the line after all have thrown their balls.  

With partners, ask students to make observations and ask questions using “I Wonder….” as a sentence stem.  Students should discuss think about what they might do to make the ball go farther in a second throwing trial. Students retrieve their ball. 

On signal, students throw the ball again, trying to throw it as far across the field as possible. Students talk about what they noticed and why.  Conduct a second trial.

Hold a group conversation of their observations. Discuss the forces: Push, Pull and Gravity and Friction. Discuss the properties--weight, size, shape, materials used, surface-- of the balls that were thrown farther and those that were thrown not as far. Discuss differences in the people throwing. Are some students more experienced in throwing balls? Would this account for a difference? Discuss gravity working as a force, the impact of friction (the surface size and the texture) as a factor on the push force needed to move the ball. As students to examine the impact craters where the balls hit the snow as evidence about forces.  What does the depth of the crater tell us?

Students may state that heavier balls take more force to move. Ask students to relate their ideas to pushing their bodies away from the ground by jumping as high as they can. What if we tried to move our bodies upward? Do these ideas apply?  Why are some students able to jump higher? Why can’t we just jump and keep going upward? Why didn’t our balls keep moving forward?

Part 2

Have each pair of students join an other pair so that they are in small groups (4 or so). Tell students that their next challenge is to move a large snowball (or chunk of hardened snow left by snowplows). Tell students up to try to lift, push, and pull the snowball or chunk. Give the students a few minutes to try moving the snowballs encouraging students to make observation using their "I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of..." sentence stems.

Have all students gather around where the boards and logs are. Introduce the use of the board as a lever and the log as a fulcrum. Ask a couple of students to demonstrate the use the a board as a lever, --What do you think will happen to the snowball if we put weight on one side of a board when the end of the board is under the snowball? Ask student groups to move their snowball from Point A to Point B (about 50 feet) using the board as a lever.

Allow student groups to work together to use the "lever." Once at Point B, discuss what they observed.  Ask a couple of students to demonstrate the use the a log, as a fulcrum with the board as a lever to lift the snowball. Ask: How can you lift it? What do you notice about the way the snowball moves when the tools are used? What do you know about forces? What are the ways that we use these tools in our lives?

Formative Assessment

Student behavior and engagement, specifically listening to the use of observable evidence to explain reasons for distances and heights for which these objects have moved.

ENGAGE

Reflection/Synthesis

Formative Assessment: 

Observe students in discussion; Listen to students' analysis of their learning.

Review and Closure

The teacher will review the learning target- I can discuss ways that forces are at work all around us. Instruct students to share with their partner ways that forces are at work all around us.

Learning Targets: I can describe how Newton’s first law affects winter travel and how we can use what we know to create safe conditions.

Success Measures : 

Students can discuss ways to what forces are at work when a car is sliding and stopping.

Students can discuss ways both cars and surfaces reduce or increase friction.

Students can modify surfaces or cars for increased safety.

Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Big Idea (I want my students to understand that…): 

I want my students to understand that they can use evidence from scientific inquiries to study how objects move so that they improve safety and experiences in the school community.

Location: Outdoors, paved area of playground

Time Needed: 45 minutes

Materials Needed: Matchbox and other toy cars/trucks in bins, one toy car per student, science notebook and pencils

Set up ahead of time:  

Children are prepared and will bring outdoors: Dressed for the weather and bring science notebook and pencils

CONNECT

Circle-Up/Opening

Teacher

Indoors

Begin with discussion of safety belts/harnesses in vehicles and why they are used. Has anyone ever had a seatbelt tighten while they were a passenger in a car? What was the car doing? What was your body doing? Review Newtons’ Law of Inertia: Objects in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by another force. Objects at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by another force. 

Forecast what we will be doing:

Conduct an investigation of Newton’s Laws

Participate in  a class discussion

Apply learning from investigation and class discussion to promote safety on outdoor surfaces at school.

Share the Learning Target-I can describe how Newton’s first law affects winter travel and how we can use what we know to create safe conditions.

Set behavior expectations.

Each student will select a toy car/truck from the bin on the way out the door and will bring it outdoors. In two lines, have students "Walk and Talk" about what they observe about the toy vehicle's characteristics, think about how these characteristics may impact how the vehicle moves.

EXPLORE

Inquiry

What inquiry will students be involved in to develop skills/understanding of the learning target?

All

Outdoors

Have students line up next to their partners, facing across an open paved area. Tell students that they are going to push their cars, trying to get it to move across the surface, as far as possible. Ask students to discuss possibilities with their partners. After a few minutes, bring group back to a discuss as a whole. Will the car stay in motion? Why or why not? 

Demonstrate how to push a car across the surface upon which the class is standing. Discuss observations (model different ways to observe--touch the surface, touch the wheels, smell the wheels, listen to the car moving across the surface).

Instruct students to select 4 different textured surfaces around the area that they would like to push and let their cars roll. Students should create a space in their science notebook to record observations, questions, and connections (It Reminds Me Of...) for each surface tested. All sufficient time for students to explore surfaces.

Come together for a discussion of what they observed about the surfaces and the cars on these surfaces and how they relate to inertia.

Bring together (small group discussion) and then share a few with the whole group.

Which surface was the most dangerous? How might we modify if (sand, gravel)

What might students do to create a surface that provides more friction or modifications to the car? Allow students to make a modification and observe what happened as a result.

Safety concerns include icy roads, side walks, using what they know about the surfaces and the cars that travel across because of the force of inertia (objects in motion remain in motion, unless acted upon by a force) at work.

Formative Assessment

Student behavior and engagement, specifically looking for students using the sentences stems of "I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of...," student observations in their science journals.

ENGAGE

Reflection/Synthesis

On the way into the building, look for areas where surfaces for pedestrian traffic to modify. Lead the students on a tour the school grounds observing surfaces related to what may be a safety concern due to what they know about inertia.

Ask how students are growing their understanding and can answer the Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Formative Assessment: 

Observe students in discussion; Students recognize surfaces, how Newton’s Law may be be at work during slips or falls; students offer suggestions to make the area more safe.

Review and Closure

Review the learning target- I can describe how Newton’s first law affects winter travel and how we can use what we know to create safe conditions.

Learning Targets (As a result of this experience outdoors, the student will know and be able to do): 

I can conduct investigations in order to describe the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration.

Success Measures (The student will know they are successful if they can): 

Observe and describe the relationship among movements, forces, and mass while conducting trials of an investigation; students will participate so that all members of the team are actively involved and can also describe these relationships; students will be able to describe, using evidence from the investigation.

Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Big Idea (I want my students to understand that…): We can use evidence from scientific inquiries to study how objects move so that we improve safety and experiences in the at our school and in our community.

Location: Indoors and Outdoors on snow-covered area

Time Needed: 45 minutes

Materials Needed: Timing device for the teacher (could use the stopwatch function on a cellphone), clipboard, and chart with teams listed and spaces to record time for Trials 1, 2, 3, sleds of various types, traffic cones to mark the starting and finish lines, post-it notes, pencils

Set up ahead of time:  Place equipment outdoors near the open area in which the sled trials will be conducted

Children are prepared and will bring outdoors: Dressed for the learning in a snow-covered area. 

CONNECT

Circle-Up/Opening

Teacher

Indoors

Forecast what we will be doing:

Conduct an investigation of Newton’s Laws using sleds over the course of 3 trials.

Reflect on our learning through a brief writing task,

Participate in  a class discussion, to create a rule, or Law about mass, force, and acceleration.

Share the Learning Target-I can conduct investigations in order to describe the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration.

Divide into groups of three

Set behavior expectations.

Go outdoors.

EXPLORE

Inquiry

What inquiry will students be involved in to develop skills/understanding of the learning target?

All

Outdoors

Cones are set up to mark the start and finish lines.

With one sled per group of three, one student will be the mass and will sit in the sled at the starting line, one will be the runner who will move the sled with the student inside. The third member of the group (timer) will be at the finish line with the teacher who has a stopwatch.

Trial 1. The sleds with the runner and mass should line up at the start line. At the count of 3, the students should move the sled with the mass (student) across the space and over the finish line as quickly as possible. The teacher will call out times and the timer will listen so that the teacher can then record times on the chart.

After each trial, the teacher will ask students to turn and talk with team using "I Noticed, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of..." The teacher may prompt "Was it easier to pull or push?" "What did you notice about the snow depth after Trial 3 (thinking about reduced friction), "What did you notice about the way you moved your body to get a greater distance with each move?" "What do you wonder?" "What makes you think that?"

The timer now becomes the runner, the runner becomes the mass, and the mass becomes the timer.

Repeat this process for Trials 2 and 3.

Put sleds and cones away.

Formative Assessment

Student behavior and engagement; listen to conversations,  specifically listening for students using  "I Noticed, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of..." to discuss forces, motion, friction.

 ENGAGE

Reflection/Synthesis

The teacher asks students to think and do a quick jot of what they about what they observed, how they levered their bodies to move, how moving students of different sizes and weights changed, how pulling or pushing changed the movement, etc.

The teacher puts the Trial Data (recorded while in the field) under the document camera for students to analyze. Briefly discuss what students are noticing. Students should use their notes to help them add to the class discussion.

View Newton's  Second Law beginning at 1:07 and show it with the sound off. The students could then view using "I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of" strategy.

Have the students turn and talk about the relationship between: mass, force, and acceleration.

The teacher then leads the students by asking, "How can we take all that we noticed to make it into ONE Summary Statement?"

Students will probably say something on the order of it takes more force to move a heavier student (mass) and the more force that is given, the faster and farther the sled can go.

Reveal Newton's Second Law of Motion: Objects will move farther and faster when they are pushed harder.

Ask how students are growing their understanding and can answer the Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives? Examples, design of engines can give more forces to move cars; design of wheelchairs that are lighter, but have powerful motors can make movement better for those people who need them, etc.

Formative Assessment: 

Student responses to questions, listening for their describing observations made through different senses. 

Collect student post-it notes.

Review and Closure

Review the learning target- I can conduct investigations in order to describe the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration.

Learning Targets (As a result of this experience outdoors, the student will know and be able to do): 

I can use what I know about forces, engineering and design to improve results over multiple trials.

Success Measures (The student will know they are successful if they can): 

Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Big Idea (I want my students to understand that…): We can use evidence from scientific inquiries to study how objects move so that we improve safety and experiences in the at our school and in our community.

Location: Indoors and Outdoors on snow-covered area

Time Needed: 45 minutes

Materials Needed: Timing device for the teacher (could use the stopwatch function on a cellphone), clipboard, and chart with teams listed and spaces to record time for Trials 1, 2, 3, sleds of various types (one per student), plastic indoor hockey sticks, traffic cones to mark the starting and finish lines, post-it notes, pencils

Set up ahead of time:  Place equipment outdoors near the open area in which the sled trials will be conducted

Children are prepared and will bring outdoors: Dressed for the learning in a snow-covered area. 

Circle-Up/Opening

Indoors

Talk about actions and reactions in a general sense. For example, if my younger brother plays his music too loud (action), my reaction might be to close doors between us to muffle the sound, or I might react by asking him to please turn his music down. Forces work in pairs with actions and reactions.

Forecast what we will be doing:

Conduct an investigation of Newton’s Laws using sleds over the course of 3 trials while we think about the actions working on the sled and mass (us) and how the sled and mass react.

Reflect on our learning through a brief writing task,

Participate in a class discussion, to create a rule, or Law about action and reaction and discuss other examples from real life.

Set behavior expectations.

Go outdoors.

Inquiry

What inquiry will students be involved in to develop skills and understanding of the learning target?

Outdoors

Equipment is placed outdoors. Cones are set up to mark the start and finish lines.

Students each select a sled and line up side by side at the start line with sufficient space between each other. Students may move their sled across the snowy area to the finish line in any way using their arms or legs. The only rule is that they must stay in the sled at all times.

Teacher asks the students to observe what how they are moving their body parts (action) and observe the reaction, or the movement of the sled.

Trial 1. At the count of 3, the students should move the sled with the mass (student) across the space and over the finish line as quickly as possible. The teacher will call out times and each students should listen for his/her time.

After the first trial, the teacher will ask students to think about and then share what they noticed, reminding them to use protocol of "I Noticed, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of..." The teacher may prompt "How many pushed the sled with their legs?" "If you pushed back with your legs, what direction did the sled move?" (Forward) "Some of you used your arms to pull back while your sled moved forward. Discuss how the action and reaction are opposite.  The teacher might ask, "What happens with the amount of force applied? If you pushed a little bit?" (The sled only move forward a short distance.)

Ask students to think about how they might be able to improve their pushes or pulls.  What would happen if they had longer arms? Show students the hockey stick.  How could the hockey stick serve as a way to lengthen their arms? (Students could use 2 sticks, one in each hand, to jab into the snow to move it forward as an example. "What else could you do to make the action and reaction greater?"

Conduct Trials 2 and 3, pausing to reflect on the effectiveness of each modification and what the action and reaction relationships are.

Put sleds and cones away.

Formative Assessment

Student behavior and engagement; listen to conversations,  specifically listening for students using  "I Noticed, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of..." as well as their plans to improve their time.

The teacher asks students to think and do a quick jot on a post-it note of what they about what they observed, how the design process changed the actions and reactions.

Students should place their post-it note on the chart tablet and come to the meeting area of the room. The teacher will read each post-it and group students ideas.

The teacher then leads the students by asking, "How can we take all that we noticed to make it into ONE Summary Statement?"

Students will probably say that I have to push backward with a lot of force (action) to move my sled a greater distance forward with each push. If I push with little force, the sled will only move a short distance.

The teacher might talk about ways that we can get more force. For example, as a swimmer, I can push my feet off the pool wall to move my body farther forward in the water. If a rabbit pushes down with a lot of force, it will jump upward (opposite direction).

Reveal Newton's Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. 

Ask how students are growing their understanding and can answer the Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives? 

Formative Assessment: 

Student responses to questions, listening for their describing observations made through different senses. 

Collect student post-it notes.

Listen to discussion.

Learning Targets (As a result of this experience outdoors, the student will know and be able to do): 

I can describe how an orienteering compass is impacted by Earth’s magnetic force and how I can use this force to move in different directions.

Success Measures (The student will know they are successful if they can): Observations of students. Do they move in the correct direction while walking through the steps? Students can discuss what happens to the compass needle when they (students) turn their bodies and walk in the direction of travel arrow.

Essential Question: How can our understanding of force and motion be used to improve our lives?

Big Idea (I want my students to understand that…):We can use evidence from scientific inquiries to study how objects move so that we improve safety and experiences in the at our school and in our community.

Location: Indoors and Outdoors on playground

Time Needed: 45 minutes

Materials Needed: Class set of orienteering compasses (one per student), Shapes Compass Course handout,  (1 per student pair), globe

Set up ahead of time: Print copies of Shapes Compass Course handout. Become familiar with how to use an orienteering compass by viewing: Compass 101: How to Use a Baseplate Compass 

Children are prepared and will bring outdoors: Dressed for the weather; pencils and clipboards (1 per student pair)

CONNECT

Circle-Up/Opening

Teacher

Indoors

Briefly review what we have learned about forces and motion, pushes and pulls, gravity, friction and Newton's Laws of Motion. Share with students that today we will be learning about magnetic force by using orienteering compasses.

Show students what the compasses look like.

Forecast what we will be doing:

Conduct an investigation using the compasses, describe patterns of how the needle moves, and think about how this knowledge can help us in our lives, and

Reflect on our learning through a discussion.

Share the learning target: I can describe how an orienteering compass is impacted by Earth’s magnetic force and how I can use this force to move in different directions. 

Divide into groups of two.

Part 1

Review compass rose and compass directions 

Introduce the compass  and ask for student input on how a compass can be used and when it may be useful to have one.

Go over safe and careful use of a compass, hold it flat in palm of hand with the direction of travel arrow pointing away from us.

Parts of a compass: base plate, bezel, direction arrow, magnetic needle, "shed"

Students should observe the magnetic needle as they move in different directions, forward, back, side to side in a circle. Students should notice that the red end of the magnetic needle always points in the same direction regardless of how and where they move.

Share that the red end of the magnetic needle always points toward the magnetic north pole. Show where magnetic north is on a globe.

We can use a compass to help us move north. We can do that in a couple of ways--We can move in the direction of the red magnetic needle.  Have the students practice this.  

We can also move North by setting a bearing of N.  

Demonstrate gently turning the bezel so that the N is directly over the white marker line.  Keeping the base plate level to the ground and the Direction arrow pointing straight away from you (usually from your navel), turn your body (not the compass) so that the "Red" of the magnetic needle is exactly in "The Shed."  You should now be facing North.  Take two steps in the North direct.

Go over these steps with the students while they try them.

Together with the students, set a bearing of S, using the steps above. Have the students use their understanding of the compass rose to predict where they will be facing.   

Have students set a bearing of W, using the steps without assistance if possible.

Share with students that they can set a bearing using degrees--the numbers on the bezel. 

Have students set the bearing to 280, and follow the process.  What direction are they facing? Mostly, but not quite West.

Ask students what they notice about where the red magnetic needle points. (It will always point in the same direction). The teacher can share that this is magnetic north. The teacher can show where magnetic north is on a classroom globe.

Go over behavior expectations for outdoors.

Students should pair up with partner. Each pair needs a pencil, Shapes Compass Course handout, and clipboard

EXPLORE

Inquiry

What inquiry will students be involved in to develop skills/understanding of the learning target?

All

Outdoors

Ask students to determine the degree readings for N, S, E, W, using the markings provided. Do the same for SW, NW, NE, and SE.

Part 2

Demonstrate how to use and follow a series of compass directions using the Shapes Compass Course. Allow students complete the course. Offer assistance as needed.

Formative Assessment

Student behavior and engagement, observe students using compasses correctly; which students are helping others; are they facing in the correct direction?

Listen to student contributions to the conversation.

ENGAGE

Reflection/Synthesis

Formative Assessment: 

Listen to student contributions to the conversation. 

Accuracy of shapes recorded on handouts.

Review and Closure

Review the learning target- I can describe how an orienteering compass is impacted by Earth’s magnetic force and how I can use this force to move in different directions.