NCDPI – AIG Instructional Resource: Background Information
Resource Title: Graphing Motion: A day in the life of ...
Subject Area/Grade Level (s): Science/7
Time Frame: 2 class periods (120 minutes)
Common Core/Essential Standard Addressed:
ES 7.P.1.4 Interpret distance versus time graphs for constant speed and variable motion.
Additional Standards Addressed:
CC ELA W.7.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and
well-structured event sequences.
CC Math 8.EE.5 Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional
relationships represented in different ways.
Brief Description of Lesson/Task/Activity: Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on the motion of objects. In
this task, students assume the role of a xenobiologist and explain the motion of a fictional organism over given time period. Students will then
trade narratives and graphs and are challenged to identify the graph based on the information provided in the fictional narrative. Students will
critique the accuracy of each other’s graph-based narratives. The interdisciplinary and writing aspects of this lesson allow students to build
meaningful connections among curricula while promoting creativity and 21st Century Skills.
Type of Differentiation for AIGs (include all that apply):
Adaptations for AIGs:
Content
x Process
Enrichment
x Extension
Acceleration
x Product
Explanation of How Resource is Appropriate for AIGs: AIG students in the middle grades often are advanced in mathematical reasoning skills.
As a result, they quickly grasp the concept of line slope in relation to speed and position. To challenge these students, it is necessary to engage
them in novel ways to examine graphs. Explanatory writing is essential in advanced courses (AP sciences, etc.), so any opportunity to develop
this skill is beneficial to AIG students. Self and peer assessment using defined criteria also further develops the metacognitive and
evaluative/evidentiary reasoning abilities of these students.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project
Needed Resources/Materials:
 2 Position-Time graphs with teacher-prepared narrative statements
 Graph Paper for student use in creating graphs and writing fictional narratives
 Index cards for student narratives
 Rubric for self/peer assessment
Sources: The Science Education for Public Understanding Program’s “Motion and Forces” module contains an example on which this
engagement activity is based. In that instance, students are traveling by car to/from school.
TEACHER NOTES: Some prerequisite knowledge/skills are required. Students should have previously demonstrated success at interpreting
distance-time graphs and calculating the speed of an object using either the speed formula (s=d/t) or the formula to determine the slope of a
line (m=y2-y1/x2-x1) aka “rise over run.” Students should also understand the differences between distance-time graphs and position-time
graphs prior to the end of the engagement activity.
NCDPI AIG Curriculum Resource Outline
STAGE ONE: ENGAGE
DAY ONE:
Provide AIG students with the two position-time graphs. Explain that each graph represents a student’s movement as he or she goes to science
class. Challenge students to identify which graph is which based on the provided narrative statements that describe the students’ locations,
speeds, and speed changes at different time periods. Students should label the different line segments with the corresponding letter of each
narrative. One statement for each graph uses that fictional student’s name to allow students to state their final conclusions.
See final page for graphs and narratives.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project
STAGE TWO: ELABORATE
Project the position-time graphs in such a manner for all students to view. Ask volunteers to identify the line segments for each of the narrative
statements that they have chosen. As students respond, encourage them to explain their reasoning for their choices by referring directly to the
graph and/or narrative evidence. The teacher should note and address any misconceptions or errors in reasoning before students move to the
next step.
Explain to students that they will be completing a RAFT activity. They will be assuming the Role of a xenobiologist, a scientist who studies alien
life. The Audience for the activity will be other xenobiologists (their classmates). The Format will be a “Field Notes” narrative and a graph “key.”
The Topic will be recording and explaining the motion of the alien organism.
As students begin to organize their ideas, the teacher may want to pose the following guiding questions:
 “What does this organism look like and how does it move—does it walk on legs, swim, or fly? This has no bearing on the graph, but
gives students a starting point for their narratives.
 “What would this organism encounter that would cause it to slow down? Why?”
 “What would this organism encounter that would cause it to speed up? Why?”
 “What would cause this organism to stop moving entirely? Why?”
 “What would cause this organism to leave its home? Why?”
 “What would cause this organism to return to its home? Why?”
Some students may choose to write their narratives first, including information about the organism’s distance traveled, speed, speed changes,
and position changes and why these changes occurred, and then create the graph points accordingly. Other students may prefer to plot an
interesting-looking graph first and then write the narrative explanation. Either process is acceptable to create the final product—a narrative
describing the organism’s motion and an accompanying “key” graph.
Provide students with a rubric to self-assess their narratives and graphs to promote success. Important rubric elements for the narrative and
graph include:
 At least three significant changes in the organism’s speed with appropriate accompanying explanations
 At least one significant change in the organism’s straight-line direction (ie leaving its home, returning home) with appropriate
accompanying explanations
 -At least three speed calculations, which should represent instantaneous speed, a constant speed for a segment, and an average speed
for the entire period that the organism is being observed
 Both the X- and Y-axis are labeled appropriately
 Graph increments remain consistent and are correctly labeled along each axis
 The graph is appropriately sized for easy interpretation by the reader.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project
STAGE THREE: EVALUATE
DAY TWO:
Provide each student graph and narrative with unique matching identifiers before collection. After collection, redistribute the narratives in such
a manner as to prevent a student from receiving back his/her own work and place the graphs in an easily viewed area. Depending on the
number of students participating (cluster/whole class/etc.), groups of four may be swapped to narrow the number of graph choices viewed at
once or students may gallery-walk the potential graphs.
Depending on teacher preference, students should provide written or verbal reasoning for their graph choices to allow for teacher assessment
of student understanding. Students should also assess their peers using the same rubric as was used earlier for self-assessment. Peer
assessments may be used by the teacher to determine student understanding (of both the assessor and creator) or may be a used in peer-topeer discussions for continuous improvement.
TEACHER NOTES: A modification to shorten the length of time for this lesson to one class (60 minutes) would be to provide existing graphs for
students to use for their narratives.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project
A. This student takes 1 minute to travel 20 meters after stopping
at his locker.
F. This student travels at a speed of 60 m/min to avoid being caught
by the morning tardy bell.
B. This student takes 0.5 minutes to travel 20 meters from the front
doors of the school to his locker
G. This student spends 0.5 minutes stopped at his locker 20 meters
from the front door.
C. This student remains stopped at his locker for 2 minutes as he finds
all of his materials for science class.
H. This student travels 20 meters in 1 minute to return to his locker.
D. This student takes 1 minute to travel 20 meters from the front
doors of the school to his locker.
I. 1 minute after leaving his locker, Mike realizes that he has forgotten
his science notebook and stops moving towards class.
E. This student travels 20 meters in 1.5 minutes as the hall begins to
get crowded after he has been to his locker.
J. Jamal travels at a speed of 40 m/min to avoid being caught by the
morning tardy bell.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
AIG ~ IRP Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project