FORCE AND GRAVITY
Read & Apply
Reading Passage, Interactive Notebook Activity,
& Writing Prompt
Product Use
As a science AND reading teacher, I know first hand that reading information text and comprehending what the text says is
DIFFICULT for most students! That is why I wrote & designed these “Read and Apply” daily lessons. The passages for each topic are
small, not overwhelming, and breaks the concept down as simply as possible. Students can read these silently (although that is
typically most difficult for them to comprehend), as partners, groups, or as a whole class. I highly recommend having students use
highlighters to highlight important vocabulary and concepts. It’s important that they do not highlight the ENTIRE passage (as some
students will) ! They should also define words or write question in the margins.
Along with each passage, I have included an “apply” activity for students to apply what they have learned in the reading passage,
helping them to comprehend what they have read. I have also included a short writing prompt for students to practice their writing
skills along with knowledge of content. You could use these as homework assignments, center activities, or partner work. These are
fantastic for differentiation if you use a textbook or other reading material. Personally, as a 7th grade science teacher, I would pull
lower level readers and complete these with them. It helped them build confidence in their reading abilities and opened the door for
participation and overall success. Even if you already have a text, these are a GREAT supplement that students could do
independently or with a partner.
USING IN INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS (or not!)
If you plan to use these in interactive notebooks, have students glue in the reading passage on the left side and the apply activity
& writing prompt on the right side. That way ALL the information is there for them to re-read, study, and refer to! If you are not
using “official” interactive notebooks, the pages can still be glued to a sheet of paper in a binder, notebook, or piece of
construction paper. You could paste the passage on one side of a piece of construction paper and do the activity on the other.
Considering the content & design of this product, it would be best to use with grades 4-6, but would be a GREAT supplement to an
upper grades reading intervention class or 7-8 special education. This would also be a great tool to use for differentiation if you
have students in your regular science class that really struggle comprehending the textbook reading
©Jess%Smith,%2016%
Be sure students
“lay out” their
apply before gluing
to be sure they
have even spacing!
Encourage
students to take
notes in the margin
and highlight as
they read.
Make this your own! Remember this is only
an example. Have students use certain
colors, label in certain ways, and include
whatever information you want! Have them
add additional information or illustrations
to the extra space on the page.
Force and Gravity
As you sit in your chair with your feet on the floor, how are you
staying in your chair and how are your feet are staying on the floor? As you
sit, you are exerting a force on the chair and floor while the chair and floor are
exerting a force back on you! A force is a push or pull on an object and objects
exert forces on each other. Different forces have different strengths and
directions. Standing on the ground, you put out a force on the ground equal to
your weight in a downward direction. Force is measured in units called newtons
(N) and named after the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton.
There are many different types of forces that affect objects in a
variety of ways. Sometimes a force can set an object into motion. For example,
picking up a baseball and throwing it sets it into motion. Other times a force
can change a moving object’s speed and direction like when you fly a kite. Your
force on the string and the force of the wind change the kite’s speed and
direction. Forces could also change the shape of an object. For example, if you
squeeze a stuffed animal, the force changes the shape of the animal until you
let go.
One of the more familiar forces that effects our daily lives is gravity.
Gravity is the force of attraction between objects that have mass. Mass is
the amount of matter in an object. Gravity is the reason when you drop a
book, it falls to the ground instead of floating off into space. Both the book
and the floor have mass (ALL objects have mass) and gravity acts between all
objects. Gravity can have different strengths depending on the amount of
mass in the object and the distance between them.
The greater the mass of either object, the stronger the gravity
between them. For example, dropping a bowling ball from a 7 foot ladder will
have a stronger gravitational force than dropping a tennis ball. Additionally,
the closer together the objects, the stronger the gravitational force. The
farther apart the objects, the weaker the force. It is also important to not
confuse mass with weight. Your body has the same mass on Earth as it does on
the moon, but you weigh about 6 times more on Earth than you would on the
moon.
Force and Gravity
As you sit in your chair with your feet on the floor, how are you
staying in your chair and how are your feet are staying on the floor? As you
sit, you are exerting a force on the chair and floor while the chair and floor are
exerting a force back on you! A force is a push or pull on an object and objects
exert forces on each other. Different forces have different strengths and
directions. Standing on the ground, you put out a force on the ground equal to
your weight in a downward direction. Force is measured in units called newtons
(N) and named after the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton.
There are many different types of forces that affect objects in a
variety of ways. Sometimes a force can set an object into motion. For example,
picking up a baseball and throwing it sets it into motion. Other times a force
can change a moving object’s speed and direction like when you fly a kite. Your
force on the string and the force of the wind change the kite’s speed and
direction. Forces could also change the shape of an object. For example, if you
squeeze a stuffed animal, the force changes the shape of the animal until you
let go.
One of the more familiar forces that effects our daily lives is gravity.
Gravity is the force of attraction between objects that have mass. Mass is
the amount of matter in an object. Gravity is the reason when you drop a
book, it falls to the ground instead of floating off into space. Both the book
and the floor have mass (ALL objects have mass) and gravity acts between all
objects. Gravity can have different strengths depending on the amount of
mass in the object and the distance between them.
The greater the mass of either object, the stronger the gravity
between them. For example, dropping a bowling ball from a 7 foot ladder will
have a stronger gravitational force than dropping a tennis ball. Additionally,
the closer together the objects, the stronger the gravitational force. The
farther apart the objects, the weaker the force. It is also important to not
confuse mass with weight. Your body has the same mass on Earth as it does on
the moon, but you weigh about 6 times more on Earth than you would on the
moon.
©Jess Smith, 2016
4
GRAVITY
F ORC E
IS….
Depends
On…
5 Facts or Examples of FORCE
©Jess%Smith,%2016%
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EXAMPLE
Under the flap, identify the
forces of gravity in the
picture below:
Explain the what force is and use real life examples to support your explanation.
Instructions:
Space out and glue down the flip flaps below. Cut along the dotted lines and fold up along the solid lines. Under the FORCE flip
flaps, write or draw information/facts/examples of or about force that you learned from the passage. Next, complete the
sentence starters under the flaps on the GRAVITY foldable. Finish the last foldable using bullet points or a list. Last, respond to
writing prompt and add any other information your teacher instructs.
5%
CREDITS
Teachers
Clipart
Glitter Meets Glue
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The Painted Crow
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©J.Smith,%2015%