Give it a Push!

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  General Lesson Plan

• Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?

  
  

  Students will be able to demonstrate a push or a pull on objects in their environment.

  Students will be able to describe other forces that cause a push and a pull.

  Students will be able to record and compare measurement data during an investigation.

  Students will analyze data and write to explain their investigation results in a science notebook.

• Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

  
  

  Students should have some prior understanding of:

  • position terms. (on top, below, next to)
  • measurement using non-standard units.
  • main idea and details.
  • working with a partner.
  • how to estimate.
  • how to use a science notebook.
  • how to order numbers from least to greatest.
  • how to compare and contrast.

• Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

  
  

  Teaching and Guided Practice:

  • How do objects move and change position? (pushes and pulls)
  • What is a push? (a forward moving motion against an object)
  • What is a pull?( a backward moving motion on an object)
  • What other ways can objects move? (zig-zag, forward, backward, around, spins)
  • What objects need a little bit of force to move them? (pencil, paper, a book, scissors)
  • What objects need a lot of force to move them? (chair, bookcase, desk, table, bookcase)
  • What other forces can move objects? (wind, water, animals)

  Independent Practice:

  • Which force made your toy move farther? (answers will vary)
  • Why do you think it made it move farther? (possible answer: it was blowing harder)
  • Why did student's 1 toy move farther than student's 2 toy? (possible answers: it is more round, isn't as heavy or as big, blew harder)

• Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?

  
  

  Day 1 - in a meeting area (i.e. carpet)

  1. Today we are learning about how objects move and change position.
  2. Place a few objects of different sizes in front of the class. (ex. box, pointer, marker, chair) How can these objects move or change their position? (possible answers-we can move it, the wind, push, pull)
  3. Objects move and change their position when a force is placed on the object. A force is a push or a pull that puts an object in motion or changes it position.
  4. Using a Venn Diagram on chart paper, have students list items that we can push, pull, or push and pull. (A venn diagram is used for comparing two of more things. It has two or more circles overlapping. Each circle describes things that are different about the things you are comparing and the overlapping parts are where you talk about how they are the same. This is a Teacher Pay Teachers document which requires a free account.)
  5. Create a list of ways objects move on a new piece of chart paper. When objects are in motion we can move them in different ways. What ways can you move an object? (possible answers:up, down, sideways, around, zig-zag)
  6. People are not the only things that make objects move. What other forces can move objects? Make a list on a 3rd piece of chart paper. (possible answers: people, animals, wind, water, machines)
  7. Read the story And Everyone Shouted "Pull": A First Look at Forces and Motion by Claire Llewellyn. Is there any more information that we learned that we can add to our chart papers about what we can push and pull, how things move, what other forces move objects?

• Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?

  
  

  Day 1 - at their desk and around the classroom

  1. Let's practice changing the position of objects in our classroom. Choose an item out of your crayon box. How did you just change the object's position? What did you do to it? (possible answers: I pushed open my crayon box, pulled out an item, pushed it down on my desk) Which ways did you move your object? (up, down, circular, push, pull) Students may refer back to the list of ways objects move to help with their answer.
  2. Force comes in different amounts. You can use a lot of force, you can use a little force. When you took the object out of your crayon box, do you think you used a little bit of force or a lot of force? (little) What other items around the room do you think would take a little bit of force? (pencil, paper, book) What items around the room do you think take more force to move? (desk, chair, bookcase)
  3. On a 4th sheet of chart paper, make a t-chart to list items that take a little bit of force and a lot of force. Go to the BBC website (hyperlink) for an interactive experiment on pushes and pulls.
  4. Let's continue to practice changing the position of other objects in the room using force. Ask student to choose an item in the room. Change its position by moving it in different ways and explaining what way they moved the object and how much force it took. They may refer back to the charts that were made as a class. Repeat this with 2-3 more objects.
  5. Take out your science notebook, turn to the next clean page, number the page, and give it the title of "Force". You are going to draw and label 4 pictures. One item that you can push, one item that you can pull, one item that needs a little bit of force to move, and one item that needs a lot of force to move.(For other options, you can use a piece of paper.)

  Homework Assignment - bring in a toy that can roll and is no bigger than your fist (example: toy car, toy truck, ball). Make sure to bring in extra toy cars or balls for those who forget to bring in their own.

• Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the lesson?

  
  

  Day 2 - on the floor - no carpet

  Toy Race

  Set Up -

  1. Create 2 tracks for your race items. Tape 2 yard sticks (1&1) to the ground parallel to each other about 4-5" apart depending on the size toys students bring in.
  2. Create a starting line.
  3. Lay Unifix cubes or something similar alongside the outside of the right side of the track. The Unifix cubes will be your non-standard measuring tool. You could number them for students who have difficulty counting.
  4. Place class into two groups. You may want to group them by students who can be independent and students who need assistance.

  Rules -

  1. Students place their toy on the starting line.
  2. Using the different types of force provided, test how far your object moves. (blow with your mouth, blow dryer, spray bottle, fan)
  3. All forces must stay at the starting line and may not move forward.
  4. Object must stay within the wall of the track.
  5. Students who are watching and waiting must sit one foot back from the sides of the track.

  Directions -

  1. Students sit along side of the track waiting for their turn.
  2. A student places their toy on the starting line.
  3. Record on their ToyRaceDataSheet.pdf their estimate of how far they think the toy will move.
  4. One "force" producing item at a time, the student turns on the item to see how far their toy moves.
  5. The student records the distance in Unifix cubes on their ToyRaceDataSheet.pdf.
  6. Repeat with each student.
  7. After all students are done, the students go back to their sheet to answer if their estimates were correct (circle the happy or sad face).

  Analyzing Data -

  1. After the experiment, recording their data, and seeing if their estimates were correct bring the class to the carpet for a group discussion.
  2. Which type of force made your toy move farther? (answers will vary) Why do you think that tool made it move farther? (possible answers: it was blowing harder, it had more force)
  3. Place two students' data up on a document camera. (If no document camera is available then write the two students' data on the board.)
  4. Why did student's 1 toy move farther than student's 2 toy? (possible answers: it is more round, isn't as heavy or as big, blew harder)

  Science Notebook -

  1. Take out your science notebook, turn to the next clean page, number the page, and give it the title of "Toy Race - measuring force".
  2. Using the data from your experiment, order the items that produced the force from the least amount of force to greatest amount of force. Write at least 4 sentences to describe the results of your investigation. You will be comparing the different items that produced the force and amount of force you use. On the next clean page, glue your data sheet in.
  3. Use Primary Science Notebook Rubric to assess.

• Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?

  
  

  Day 3 - at their desk - assessments

  1. Today you're going to sort object by push and pull.
  2. Pass out Pushes and Pulls worksheet. Students needs scissors and stick glue.
  3. PushesandPullsQuiz.pdf

• Summative Assessment

  
  

  Use the attached Primary Science Notebook Rubric to assess the children on their learning of the concepts and project. Children will also be assessed on their level of participation during the project. The participation can be measured through the completion of the Toy Race Data Sheet. Student science notebooks will be used to assess concept knowledge. Students should be able to order their force items from least to greatest. The students need to write 4 or more sentences to compare their data and how force affected the toy.

  Students will take a quiz on Pushes and Pulls and complete a cut and paste sorting activity (Pushes and Pulls worksheet).

  PushesandPullsQuiz.pdf

  Primary Science Notebook Rubric

  Pushes and Pulls worksheet

• Formative Assessment

  
  

  The teacher will use student notebooks, discussions, and observations of students to assess progress and understanding of concepts. Students should be able to articulate that items move with a push or pull, that more force is needed for heavier items, and that less force is used for lighter items.

• Feedback to Students

  
  

  Teaching and Guided Practice:

  • How do objects move and change position? (pushes and pulls)
  • What is a push? (a forward moving motion against an object)
  • What is a pull?( a backward moving motion on an object)
  • What other ways can objects move? (zig-zag, forward, backward, around, spins)
  • What objects need a little bit of force to move? (pencil, paper, a book, scissors)
  • What objects need a lot of force to move? (chair, bookcase, desk, table, bookcase)
  • What other forces can move objects? (wind, water, animals)

  Independent Practice:

  • Which type of force made your toy move farther? (answers will vary)
  • Why do you think it moved farther? (possible answers: it was blowing harder, it had more force)
  • Why did student's 1 toy move farther than student's 2 toy? (possible answers: it is more round, isn't as heavy or as big, blew harder)

  The teacher should be rotating around to the groups making sure students are following the directions and rules for the investigation.