What Makes Things Move?

PA Core

• S3.A.2.1 Apply skills necessary to conduct an experiment or design a solution to solve a problem.
• S3.C.3.1 Observe and identify changes in an object’s motion.

NGSS

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

• Why is it important to be able to describe where something is located (position)?
• How can you tell when something has moved (motion)?

• Previous Knowledge needed:

• Positional Words

• Knowledge Gained throughout lesson:

• push, pull, force, friction, gravity

• Observations
• Questioning
• Plan
• Communicate
• Predict
• Compare
• Drawing Conclusions
• Record, Reflect

• Arrange specific objects (ex: cell phone, coffee mug) in different locations in the classroom. Create a class list of position words on your whiteboard with the students (ex: top, above, bottom, next to, under, below, between, under, next to, in front). Select an object and describe where it is. Can the students guess the object you are describing just by your positional words? Do this several times with your other objects.

•  Take your students outside with their clipboards, pencils, and observation record sheet. This outdoor activity works best when there is another grade at recess for the students to observe. Students should be allowed to observe from different areas and should record everything that they see moving while outdoors. (Examples of observations: swings moving, balls kicked, trucks driving on the road behind the playground, acorns falling from the tree, etc.) Give the students their directions and time them for about 2 minutes. After students have recorded their answers, call the group back together and discuss the things they have seen. How were the objects put into motion? Push, pull, gravity? Remind students, a push is a force that moves things away. A pull is a force that moves things closer. Gravity is a force that pulls down on everything on Earth. Have the students label their record sheets. P for push/pull and G for gravity.

• Move your class back into the classroom and group students in groups of 3-4 students. Give students a box of items. Each box should contain the same items and can include things like: toy car, a block, a tennis ball, a dictionary, and a string. Allow students to brainstorm within their groups on a question they could ask about their objects and how they move. Examples of questions that may come up with are:

• How do you make things go farther?
• How do you make things go faster?
• Is it easier to push or pull a toy car?
• What will happen to the object if it is moved on different kinds of surfaces?
• Which surface will the object move further on (the cement, the grass, the rocks, the tar, the mulch)?
• What happens if I give more of a push (more force) to the car?

• After students have brainstormed, discuss the possible questions as a class. Together, decide on one question to investigate within individual groups. Have students record their question and their hypothesis on their record sheet. Allow the students to experiment and find their conclusion, reminding them to record as they go. Remember that any inquiry at the primary level can be guided and not all of it needs to be completed by the student independently.

• Visit the following link to allow students to explore an online simulation of forces and the way they act upon objects.
• https://www.oercommons.org/courses/forces-and-motion-basics/view

• Pair students in mixed ability groups.

• Pair students in mixed ability groups.

• Student Record Sheets
• Teacher Observation

• n/a

• Clipboards
• Copy of Record Sheets (2) for each student
• Pencils
• Objects such as toy car, a block, a tennis ball, a dictionary, and a string for each group of 3-4 students
• Laptops/Chromebooks/iPads/Tablets for each student