Unit/Lesson Plan Title: Forces and Motions
Primary Subject
Science
Integrated Subjects
Math, Reading, Writing
Grade Level
3rd
Length of Unit
Approximately 2-3 weeks
Research Sources
Elementary Science with Vernier by Marti Moore, David
Carter, Barbara Anderson, and Tara Windle
Lesson modified from www.uen.org/core
Lesson modifies from www.georgiastandards.org/
NC Common Core
Unit Summary
Students will compare how fast objects travel. In addition,
students will explain how the direction or speed of a
moving object will change when they push or pull the
object.
All items in bold are available as supporting
documents attached to this lesson plan.
Key Vocabulary
acceleration
force
friction
gravity
speed
velocity
path
resistance
straight
curve
surface
NC Essential Standards
For Science
Essential Standards:
3.P.1 Understand motion and factors that affect motion.
Clarifying Objective:
3.P.1.1 Students know that when a force acts on an object
it will result in a change of speed and/or direction.
3.P.1.2 Students know that speed can vary. Students know
that varying the speed of a moving object will affect the
time it takes for the object to travel a particular distance.
Common Core Standards 3.NTBT.2 Fluently add and subtract within 1000 using
For Mathematics
strategies and algorithms based on place value, properties
of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and
subtraction.
3.MD.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar
graph to represent a data set with several categories.
Solve one- and two-step “how many more” and “how many
less” problems using information presented in scaled bar
graphs. For example, draw a bar graph in which each
square in the bar graph might represent 5 pets.
3.MD.4 Generate measurement data by measuring
lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an
inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the
horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units whole
numbers, halves, or quarters.
Common Core Standards 3.RL.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate
for ELA & Literacy
understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as
the basis for the answers.
3.RI.7 Use information gained from illustrations
(e.g.,maps, photographs) and the words in a text to
demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when,
why, and how key events occur).
3.RI.9 Compare and contrast the most important points
and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
3.W.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce
writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific
expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3
above.)
3.W.8 Recall information from experiences or gather
information from print and digital sources; take brief notes
on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
3.SL.1.a Engage effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with
diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on
othersʼ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied
required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and
other information known about the topic to explore ideas
under discussion.
3.SL.1.c Ask questions to check understanding of
information presented, stay on topic, and link their
comments to the remarks of others.
Essential Questions
Lesson 1: How is a push describe? How is a pull
describe?
Lesson 2: How do forces cause changes in speed or
direction of objects?
Lesson 3: What surfaces make moving things easier?
Lesson 4: What surfaces make moving things easier?:
Part 2
Lesson 5: What type of material on the sole of a shoe will
require more force to move the shoe across the ground??
Lesson 6: How do pushes and Pulls Work Together?
Lesson 7: Post Assessment
Materials & Resources
5 washers
4 1/4" X 5 1/2" piece of paper
Music for “Here We Go Round the Mulberry
Bush”
Magazines,
Catalogues
Scissors
Glue
Butcher paper
Crayons
Markers
Pencils
Science notebooks
Tennis balls
basketball
sand
dirt
cardboard
carpet
Push and Pull by Patricia J. Murphy or any other
push and pull book.
Different types of tennis shoes with different
soles.
Push and Pull by Marcia Freeman or any other
push and pull book.
Vernier Lab Quest
Vernier Dual-Range Force Sensor
2 - 2 Liter plastic soda bottles (per pair)
2 - Plastic six-pack soda can holder (per pair)
2 - 8 Foot lengths of cord (per pair)
•
Decorating materials (if desired)
Materials Cont.
2 - Plastic six pack soda can holder (per pair)
2 - 8 Foot lengths of cord (per pair)
Decorating materials (optional)
Scissors
Safety Requirements
The students will wear goggles when cutting the
bottoms off of the soda bottles and cutting the sixpack holder rings apart. The teacher will also
supervise all students when they are using the
scissors. The teacher will also reinforce all safety
rules.
Activities/Procedures
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
•Evaluate
Lesson 1
EQ: How is a push described? How is a pulled described?
Pre-Assessment to assess prior knowledge (PreAssessment)
Th teacher will begin the lesson by placing the paper on
the edge of a table or countertop with most of the paper off
the surface (see pic 1) Then the teacher will stack the
washers on top of the paper. The teacher will hold onto
the loose edge of the paper and quickly pull down on the
paper. The students will write what happens to the stack of
washers. The students will then brainstorm activities that
they do in their lives that require a push and/or a pull. The
teacher will then define force as a push or a pull. The
teacher will then have the class to play Charades. The
teacher will call on students to take turns acting out an
activity that involves some kind of a force - either a push or
a pull. The rest of the class guesses what action was
portrayed and then tells whether the force used was a
push or a pull.
After each dramatization, use the action portrayed as new
words for the song, “Here We Go Round the Mulberry
Bush.” Each time the students come to the last phrase in
the song, end with the words “with a push or a pull in the
morning.” For example: “This is the way we put up the flag,
put up the flag, put up the flag. This is the way we put up
the flag, with a push or a pull in the morning.” The students
will also complete the finding forces practice by the end
of the unit with an adult at home
Exit Slip. The students will demonstrate their knowledge
on the provided exit slip by answering the following
question: Name 2 outside activities that would require a
push and name 2 outside activities that would require a
pull.
Activities/Procedures
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
•Evaluate
Lesson 2:
EQ: How do forces cause changes in speed or direction of
objects?
The teacher will begin the lesson by telling the students
that the class will be taking a walk around the school. The
students will need their science notebook and a pencil.
The teacher will then tell the students that they will record
at least 10 action they observe. Each student should
record at least 10 actions. After the walk, return to the
class room, the teacher will remind students students that
all the actions they observed were caused by a push or a
pull or a combination of pushing and pulling. The students
will then read their actions and classify the actions as a
push or pull or a push/pull combination. The teacher will
record some student observations on the board. Discuss
those items as a class. The teacher will then have the
students to mention the motionless things they observed.
The teacher will ask the students why the objects were not
moving. The teacher will discuss with the students the idea
that objects at rest will not move unless a force is applied
to them. The teacher will then have the students get into
groups of four. Each group will need have magazines,
glue, scissors, markers, and a large sheet of construction
paper. The students will divide the paper into four
sections. Label the sections: PUSH, PULL, PUSH AND
PULL, and REST. The students will need to look through
the magazines, catalogues, and cut out different activities.
Glue each activity under the correct section of the butcher
paper. They should have at least three objects in each
category.
Exit Slip. The students will demonstrate their knowledge
on the provided exit slip by writing the type of force each of
the following activities would be:
1. Shooting a basketball
2. Typing on a laptop
3. Tug of War
4. Kicking a soccer ball
Activities/Procedures
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
•Evaluate
Lesson 3:Moving Objects Follow a Path
EQ: What surface makes moving things easier?
The teacher will begin the lesson by making room in the
classroom, hall, or the gym. The teacher will then and roll
a basketball across the floor in a straight path. The
teacher will call on a students to tell what happened. The
teacher will the roll the ball using the same amount of
force. After the third roll, the teacher will write the words
path, resistance, surface, friction, straight, curve on the
board as future vocabulary words. The teacher will the use
four corners vocabulary activity with the students.
The teacher will the repeat the above demonstration on a
different surface. The students will draw an illustration and
write a summary using the vocabulary words to describe
what they saw from the two different surfaces when the
ball was pushed. The students must use complete
sentences, correct punctuation, and grammar.
The teacher will use the picture rubric to assess the
students drawing of the demonstration.
Activities/Procedures
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
•Evaluate
Lesson 4: Moving Objects Follow a Path: Part 2
EQ: What surface makes things easier to move?
The will begin the lesson by reading Push and Pull by
Patricia J. Murphy to review pushes and pulls. The teacher
will then put the students into teams 4. The students will
be are given objects that roll. Each group is given the
challenge to roll their items one at a time across various
surfaces using the same amount of force for each item.
The teacher will have the students to predict on which
surface the balls will travel the furthest on. The students
will repeat each trial 3 times, measure the length rolled
each time, recording the findings in the science journals
and graphing the trails in a bar. The teacher will then
discuss the findings as a group.
The teacher will use the bar graph rubric to assess the
students trails.
Activities/Procedures
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
•Evaluate
Lesson 5: What a Drag!
EQ: What type of material on the sole of a shoe will require
more force to move the shoe across the ground?
The teacher will begin the lesson by reading Push and Pull
by Marcia Freeman to review pushes and pulls.
Lesson 29 from Elementary Science with Vernier:
What a Drag!
Students will work in small groups to conduct an
experiment using different type of sole. The students
attach a loop of string to different pairs shoes. The string
will allow the student to drag the shoe across the a flat
surface. The students will measure the weight each pair of
the shoes by using the Force sensor. The student will
record the weight and the type of shoe in the table. (see
page 29-2). The students will measure the force by the
hooking the sensor to the string of the shoe. Before
collecting the date, the students will practice using the
Force Sensor by dragging the shoe across the surface.
Once the students are comfortable, the students will began
collecting the data. The students will copy and complete
recording the all the data needed to complete the table.
The teacher will be sure that the students put the table in
their science notebook.
Assessment: The teacher will assess the students
knowledge by having the students to analyze their data by
completing questions 1-3 on page 29-4.
Activities/Procedures
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
•Evaluate
Lesson 6: Zoom Balls: How Pushes and Pulls Work
Together.
EQ: How do pushes and pulls work together?
The teacher will began the lesson by telling the students T
that sometimes when using a simple tool or doing an
activity, both forces of push and pull need to be used at the
same time. The teacher will make a list with the class
when simple tools use both forces. The teacher will also
make a list with the class which activities require push and
pull. After making the list, the teacher will ask the students
why both forces are needed for the activities mentioned.
The teacher will then tell the students that sometimes the
opposite forces are needed to make a tool work properly.
The teacher will them introduce the students to Zoom Balls
( see pic 2) The teacher will show the students the
following steps:
1. Cut the bottoms off of the soda bottles. (Any size
works.)
2. Push the bottles together, end to end, so they form a
football shape.
3. Decorate (optional).
4. Thread the two cords through the necks.
5. Cut the six-pack holder rings apart to form four two-loop
handles.
6. Tie a set of handles to the end of each cord.
The teacher will them divide the students into pairs. The
teacher will then give each pair a Zoom Ball. The teacher
will instruct each player holds onto the two handles and
moves away from the other player until the strings are
tight. Slide the Zoom Ball to one end. The teacher will
remind students that If they are the player closest to the
zoom ball they will need to pull their hands apart to send
the zoom ball to their partner. The teacher will also remind
the student that in order to receive the zoom ball, they will
need to keep their hands together. The student will need to
observe what happens to the Zoom Ball and discuss their
observations with their partner.
Assessment: The students will complete an exit slip to
illustrate and label the different kinds of forces being used:
A pulling force, a pushing force,a pushing and a pulling
force.
•Activities/Procedures Lesson 7:
•Essential Question
•Explore/Engage
EQ: What have you learned about forces and motion?
•Explain
•Elaborate (Inquiry)
Post Assessment (Pre-Assessment)
•Evaluate
Students will complete the post assessment to show what
they have learned throughout the unit on forces and
motion.
Accommodations for
The pretest and post test will be read aloud to students
Differentiated Instruction requiring read aloud.
Students will work in collaborative groups.
Groups will be kept small so that all students are able to
participate in group work.
Utilize the EC and the ESOL teachers.
Cross-Curricular
Integration
Math-Students will be adding and subtracting numbers,
drawing scaled bar graphs to represent data collected,
measuring with ruler, and generating measured data.
ELA- Students will ask and answer questions relating to
the text to demonstrate knowledge, use info from
illustrations and graphs to demonstrate understanding,
write opinion pieces and provide support of their opinions,
recall information from experiences and sort informational
evidence, and collaborate with partners in discussions.
Assessments
•Performance-based
•Formative
•Summative
Created By
E-Mail
Supporting Documents
Lesson 1
Pre-assessment, Questioning and Answering, Exit Slip:
Students will demonstrate knowledge of forces and motion
on a provided exit slip
Lesson 2
Investigation observations and discuss observations,
creation of collage, Exit Question: Demonstrate
knowledge of different type of forces.
Lesson 3
Four Corner Vocabulary, Think-Pair-Share: discuss
observations, Exit question: Demonstrate knowledge of
different types of forces.
Lesson 4
Create a bar graph to display data that was collected from
the experiment, discuss observations
Lesson 5
Investigation observations, discuss observations, observe
discussions, Writing activity: what type of sole would you
recommend for PE Class. Support your opinions with
what you learned from the experiment.
Lesson 6
Investigation observations, observation of partner
discussion.
Lesson 7
Post Assessment
Terrance Crawford crawfordtn@rss.k12.nc.us
Pre-Assessment
Post-Assessment
Lesson 29 from Elementary Science with Vernier
Pic1
Pic 2
Bar Graph Rubric
Picture Rubric
Four Corners Vocabulary
Exit Slips