Instructors Manual

Changing Forces
A 5th Grade Unit for Force and Motion through Experimentation and Design
Matthew R. Straus
Student ID: 000402973
Mentored by Marty DeWindt
December 14, 2014
Instructional Design Production |1
Table of Contents
Unit Overview ..................................................................................................... 2
Instructional problem and unit overview ................................................................................. 2
Instructional goal ............................................................................................................................... 3
Audience ............................................................................................................... 4
Instructional setting .......................................................................................................................... 4
Audience ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Content area ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Plan of instruction summary ......................................................................... 5

Delivery Approach ............................................................................................................................. 6
Length and instructional sequence ........................................................................................... 10
Planning schematic ......................................................................................................................... 11
Summary of Lessons ....................................................................................................................... 12
Materials needed ............................................................................................................................. 14
Task/Goal analysis .......................................................................................................................... 17
Performance objectives for each task and sub-task ........................................................... 18
School, District, and State Standards ........................................................................................ 19
Lesson Plan #1: Friction ............................................................................... 23

Lesson Plan #2: Force Balance ................................................................... 33
Lesson Plan #3: Pulleys ................................................................................ 40
Lesson Plan #4: Levers.................................................................................. 50
Lesson Plan #5: Inclined Planes ................................................................ 60
Lesson Plan #6: Simple Machines Survey ............................................... 67
Lesson Plan #7: Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure .......... 75
Lesson Plan #8: Data Collection................................................................. 85
Lesson Plan #9: Conclusion ......................................................................... 91
Assessment Plan ........................................................................................... 100
Formative Assessments ............................................................................................................... 100
Summative Assessments (Pre, Mid, and Post tests) .......................................................... 102
Unit Overview
Instructional problem and unit overview
I have identified that there is an instructional problem in my classroom. The
students must learn about Force and Motion, Simple Machines, and Experimental Design,
and yet seem to have very little grasp of these concepts right now. The instructional
problem is very unique in that the students have a lot of conceptual understanding but
theyve never been able to articulate these concepts or use them to learn other concepts.
Thus, the instructional problem is squarely in the realm of cognitivism: students need to
learn how to learn about the world around them and need to learn how to articulate
concepts they are experiencing so that they can apply in other contexts and continue a
scientific exploration of the world around them.
The current conditions of this instructional problem are that the students dont
know that they have prior experience from which to scaffold from, and they have not
been given the cognitive chance to learn these concepts with a teacher. Most students
come into fifth grade with an intuitive understanding of the way force and motion works
in the world: if you push something forward, it will move forward until you stop pushing
it, for example. Students even have an intuitive understanding of friction, one of the
hardest abstract concepts to grasp, because they know that a playground ball, for
example, will roll more easily on a smooth surface than on grass. However, no teacher
has scaffolded this learning and added vocabulary or structure that would help students
articulate these ideas. This is to be expected, of course, because these concepts arent
taught before fifth grade; however, it speaks to the interesting situation where the
students probably already have a strong conceptual understanding without realizing it.

The desired conditions of this instructional problem include that the students are
able to clearly explain how force and motion operate, how simple machines work, and
how to use an experimental design to test things. As mentioned above, these are concepts
that the students are probably using daily and already understand to a fair degree; thus the
desired conditions are much more about teaching the students in a structured way so that
they have vocabulary and articulation behind the concepts. Additionally, the students
should be able to readily apply the scientific method at the end of this unit so that they
can continue to learn how to better explain the world around them; that is, the learning
should be very cognitive and teach the students how to learn and how to articulate, not
just what the learning or articulation is.
Instructional goal
My instructional goal is that at the end of my instructional unit, these fifth grade
students will be able to draw at least 3 simple machines with 100% accuracy when
requested and explain how they work using proper terminology, will each score at least 3
points higher on the Force and Motion and Experimental Design assessment I created,
and will be able to write an experiment using the scientific method and experimental
design with at least 80% accuracy. This will demonstrate that students have a fair
understanding of three of the simple machines and their functions, but it will more
importantly demonstrate that students have learned to talk about these machines using
scientific vocabulary. Also, this goal will prove that students have grasped the concepts
and are able to answer questions about them. Finally, this goal guarantees that students
have learned the proper thinking required to set up and execute their own experiments so
that they can continue their cognitive explorations of the world around them.
Audience
Instructional setting
The instructional setting in which I will be describing is a public charter
elementary school in Durham, North Carolina. The school is very teacher-centric,
allowing teachers to make their own curricular choices rather than having teachers
locked in to specific textbooks or courses of study. Very little technology is present
in the instructional setting other than an overhead projector, although more is
available for rental through the school library. Lunch is eaten in the classroom every
day, and all subjects are taught in the same space.
Audience
The audience is a class of 24 fifth grade students. A majority of these students
come from lower-income families and have grown up in poverty. The students are
predominantly black and white, with a few exceptions; the students are
predominantly Christian, with a few exceptions. Many of the parents of these
students are not engaged with their education or their growth, so teachers must go
out of their ways to get through to the students without partners to reinforce the
learning at home. About half of the students have Individualized Education Plans
(IEPs) on file for different learning disorders or modifications needed in the
classroom.
Content area
The content area being taught is fifth grade content. This includes everything
within the Common Core State Standards and North Carolinas additions for fifth
grade. As an elementary teacher in this school, a teacher is responsible for teaching
all subjects, including Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science.
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This school also believes in the project-based learning model of cognitivism, so
teachers are required to use larger, multi-part, exploration-based projects to help
students better understand the concepts being taught.
Plan of instruction summary

The unit will be a set of 9 in-person, classroom-based lessons that teach Force and
Motion, then apply these concepts to Simple Machines, then teach Experimental Design,
with the students completing their own experiment as the culmination of the unit. The
Force and Motion lessons will encourage students to put vocabulary and understanding to
concepts that theyve already interacted with since theyve had consciousness. This will
then create the underpinnings for being able to learn each of the Simple Machines. In
order to see how forces apply, we will start with a lesson on some of the more basic
simple machines, then follow this learning with increasingly more complicated simple
machines. At each stage, the learning will continue to be scaffolded by prior learning,
ensuring that the students understand the machines.
Finally, Experimental Design will be taught in stages as students develop their
own experiments on Force and Motion and Simple Machines. The students will already
have familiarity with the stages of experimental design, as they will be alluded to and
called out as vocabulary during Simple Machines lessons. After this foundation is built,
we will start with teaching experiment set-up, including Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials,
and Procedure. The students will be given time to work through these concepts for their
own experiment, with teacher guidance and approval. Students will then learn to collect
data in tabular and graphical form, once again at their own rates with teacher guidance
and approval. Finally, Conclusions will be taught in a formulaic way to ensure that all

students can understand the components of a good conclusion, while the more accelerated
students can alter for their own style.
Delivery Approach
These lessons and the overall unit lean very heavily on the cognitivism school of
thought. As these are science subjects, students often learn best by exploring on their own
and constructing new knowledge based on already established knowledge. Therefore, for
inclined planes, for example, students will experiment and arrive at their own conclusions
about how force works on inclined planes. Another important aspect of the cognitivist
approach is that learning is focused on how to learn rather than what to learn. For the
unit overall, then, their experimental design project is entirely about exploring something
they are interested in, with the learning being focused on how to set up and execute a
well-run experiment rather than on what the results are.
The lessons also account for a wide variety of learning styles. All are cognizant of
the ARCS model, recognizing the need for attention-getting at the beginning of a lesson,
relevance to the students lives to be proven, and then confidence and satisfaction to be
developed over the course of the lesson. The lessons also make use of multiple
intelligences to ensure that students with different learning styles can benefit from
instruction; in the Pulleys lesson alone, there is learning that plays to linguistic, logicalmathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalist intelligences, allowing all sorts of
students to be successful.
Because of these design choices, the lessons all have components that allow for
differentiation to ensure that learning reaches all of the diverse populations of students.
First and most obviously, there are the cues for multiple learning styles; while some
students will struggle with some types of learning over others, by playing to multiple
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intelligences, its easier to reach diverse populations of students. However, even further,
every lesson has a section (at the end of each lesson plan) with notes on how to
differentiate the lesson to reach every student in the class.
One key example of this is taken from Lesson #4 on Levers:
For the more accelerated learners in the class, I can differentiate to allow more
challenges. The students know that they can pick up the challenge sheets as soon as they are
done with the main experiment. The challenges are very similar to the main experiment, so
they will be able to work through them in their groups; nevertheless, if they happen to get
through all of that, they get to a more abstract mathematical challenge related to levers and
understanding the principles therein.
For the slower learners in the class, I can make sure to spend more time making
sure they get through the main experiment. I expect every group to get through the main
experiment during class time; however, some may need help. I can monitor when groups
finish the main experiment by paying attention to who has turned it in and who has gotten
the challenge sheet. As time passes, I can spend more time facilitating the experiment in the
groups who still havent turned it in.
Another key example of the differentiation can be seen in Lesson #6 on Simple Machines
Survey:
To help the slower students in my class, I will emphasize that labeling it correctly
isnt as important as getting the drawing and drawing what force arrows are going on. I
expect everyone in my class to be able to accomplish this.
To differentiate for the advanced students in my class, I will ask questions as we
walk, challenging students to keep their eyes open and observe what other simple machines
they see in the world around them.

One specific type of student with an IEP that I would like to draw attention to is
the type of student who has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These students may have particular difficulty staying
focused outside of the classroom where distractions are frequent and persistent. To account
for this, I will try to stand next to those students with ADD/ADHD when we pause to
draw a simple machine. If they get distracted, I will remind them to stay focused or place a
hand on their shoulders to refocus attention. This may not be needed, however, as certain
students may find their impulsivity at bay due to the constant movement during the lesson.
With these modifications, I will be able to reach all learners in the class and take account
of special needs or alterations in instruction.
The materials required are all household materials that can be found in a
department store, but usually are on hand in schools. Additionally, each group of 2-4
students will need one Knex car set from which they can build a standard car out of
Knex. This car will then be used in many of the experiments.
My data-gathering plan is a way to gauge the knowledge my students have
surrounding the topics of mechanics and experimental design.
There will be two data collection or assessment instruments used as pre- and posttests. For my first data collection/assessment instrument, I will hand out a blank sheet of
paper to each of the students and ask them to take out a pencil. I will then give the
following instructions: "I am going to give you 60 seconds to draw what you think
"simple machines" are. I want you to give the answer you think a 6th grader would give.
It's okay if you don't know exactly or you do are not sure, just try your best or make your
best guess. Go!" I will then set the timer for 60 seconds. With these instructions those
that know will give decent answers and those that are not as familiar will demonstrate
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this. Following the 60 seconds of drawing, I will then explain to the class that I will be
pulling them out one by one during independent work. They will go out into the hallway
with me, and they will explain their picture by starting with the words "I think simple
machines are..." Thus, the product that will result from my pre-assessment will be an
interview and drawing from each student explaining their best guess and picture about
their thoughts on simple machines. This will be helpful in determining where the
students stand and what myths or false-facts they believe when I go to plan what lessons I
need to teach to transmit the critical knowledge. I also am happy with this pre-assessment
because it gives the students a chance to see their progress if they are able to view their
picture after the unit.
My second data collection/assessment instrument will be a multiple-choice pretest that I hand out as the independent work while I am interviewing students. This will
have ten questions about force, motion, and experimental design. The questions will
include questions such as:
Which of the following is NOT a step in experimental design?
a. Procedure
b. Hypothesis
c. Conclusion
d. Apotheosis
e. Purpose
Friction is a force that acts _________ motion.
a. against
b. with
c. across
d. above
e. below
Additionally, there will be formative assessments given as part of every lesson.
These will ensure that students have grasped the point of the lesson and are accurately
I n s t r u c t i o n a l D e s i g n P r o d u c t i o n | 10
applying the learning. For example, lesson 4 deals with Levers as a simple machine and
will have the following formative assessment:
The experiment with levers will have an exit slip being used as a formative assessment. While the
lab itself will give students a good understanding of levers and how they function, the discussion
afterward will apply levers to real life. To ensure that this connection happens, the exit slip will ask
for three places in everyday life that the students see levers at work. If students are unable to come up
with examples, then I clearly will need to go back and make levers more applied and less abstract; if
they are able to name places, they have succeeded in attaining the useful big idea of the lesson.
Length and instructional sequence

The length of the instructional unit will be nine days of science lessons. Each
science lesson will take approximately 75 minutes, for a total of just over 11 hours
of instruction. The sequence of the instruction starts with basic principles of force
and motion which will set up learning on the simple machines. Throughout these
pieces, the elements of experimentation are referred to but not yet formally
introduced. After the simple machines lessons are firmly established, the full
scientific design process is introduced in a series of lessons designed to help
students develop their own experiment about force, motion, and simple machines,
thus tying all of the learning together.
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Planning schematic
Please see attached Powerpoint slide for higher-quality version.
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Summary of Lessons
Lesson Plan #1: Friction is about how friction acts as a force which opposes
motion. Students will experiment with different materials and learn how friction can
vary in its effect.
Lesson Plan #2: Force Balance takes students through an understanding of
force as a vector. Students balance different forces, including friction, to see forces at
equilibrium and understand how these vectors can add and subtract. This will help
students understand the overall picture of forces on a system.
Lesson Plan #3: Pulleys is the first of the simple machine lessons. This lesson
has a brief introduction to simple machines which sets the stage for the following
lessons. Next, it includes rotations for the students where each station teaches
different aspects about pulleys, including the concept, the mechanics, the math, and
the applications. This gives a good set-up to the future lessons on simple machines
by teaching an easy-to-understand simple machine up front.
Lesson Plan #4: Levers covers the second simple machine to be introduced to
the students, the levers. Students will perform an experiment which helps them
understand lever arms and how different weights create different forces. Embedded
in this experiment is a conscious foreshadowing of the elements of an experiment,
using the proper vocabulary to give students an early introduction of what is to
come. Students will also pull in what they know about equilibrium in order to fully
understand the results of the experiment.
Lesson Plan #5: Inclined Planes is another experiment-driven lesson where
students will again get a strong introduction to the elements of scientific design. In
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this experiment, students learn how different inclined planes change the force on
objects by measuring speeds of cars rolling off of different inclined planes. This
gives a strong foundation for the third simple machine introduced to the students.
Lesson Plan #6: Simple Machines Survey is the final lesson about simple
machines. It covers all of the remaining simple machines by introducing what they
are and then by asking students to identify these simple machines being applied in
everyday life. This is accomplished by taking students on a small field-trip around
the school to observe these simple machines. At the end of this lesson, students will
be able to recognize all of the simple machines and their applications.
Lesson Plan #7: Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure is the first lesson
that is explicitly covering the experimental design process. In this lesson, the
beginning of the scientific method is covered in depth with Experiment Man, a
mascot that every student can rally behind. He encourages the students to come up
with their own experimental question about force, motion, and simple machines and
then design an experiment around that question. At the end of the lesson, students
will have completed through the procedure writing portion of the experimental
design, with teacher supervision to ensure the experiments are being set up well.
Lesson Plan #8: Data Collection is the second lesson that covers the
experimental design process. In this lesson, students will meet Experiment Man
again and learn about different data collection methods. Students will then be
encouraged to collect the data for their experiment, and then they will need to
display the data in both tabular and graphical formats with teacher support.
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Lesson Plan #9: Conclusion is the conclusion of the unit and requires
students to write the conclusions to their experiments. Experiment Man will
appear for one last time and explain how to write a good conclusion, and then the
students will write their conclusions on their own using guided questioning. At this
point, students will know and understand the full experimental method, having
worked through their own scientific question concerning force and motion.
Materials needed
Lesson Plan #1: Friction
Science Journals
Knex Vehicles
String/Bookend/Paperclip/Weight Set
Tables
Towel
2 x 1 piece of carpeting
2 x 1 piece of sandpaper
2 x 1 piece of felt
Timer
Lesson Plan #2: Force Balance

Science Journals
ELMO projector
Two Vehicles Assembled Beforehand
Two vehicle tracks
Three Strings
Three Bookends
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Six Paperclips
Sandpaper
60 small washers
Lesson Plan #3: Pulleys

Science Journals
Computers
Pulley System with Platform, Pulley, Rope and Weights
Pulley Math Sheet
Pulley Websites Sheet
Pulley websites
Bill Nye the Science Guys YouTube video on Simple Machines

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7tGosXM58)
Timer
Posted Instructions at each station
Lesson Plan #4: Levers

Science Journals
Yardstick for each partner pair
Yardstick Balances/Fulcrums for each partner pair
Lever Worksheet
Lever Exit Slip
Four paperclip hooks for each partner pair
Forty small washers for each partner pair
Lever Powerpoint with picture
Lesson Plan #5: Inclined Planes

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Science Journals
Wooden Boards for every partner pair
ELMO projector
Smooth Rubber Balls for every partner pair
Textbooks
Stopwatches for every partner pair
Styrofoam Cups for each partner pair
Scissors
Metersticks
Lesson Plan #6: Simple Machines Survey

Seesaw
ELMO projector
Sidewalk
Marbles
Screw
Automobile Jack
Car
Axe
Hammer
Flagpole
Projector
Wheel and Axle Movie Maker movie
Simple Machines at Work! Worksheet
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Clipboards
Lesson Plan #7: Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure

Science Journals
Protein Powder in Water
Red Cape with a big E on it
Worksheet (attached)
Lesson Plan #8: Data Collection

Science Journals
Experiment from the day before (Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure)
All science materials from the kit.
Cape
Slide with bad table, slide with okay table, slide with excellent data table
Lesson Plan #9: Conclusion

Science Journals
Device for use of Google Docs
Experiment from the week before
Cape
Task/Goal analysis
One instructional goal is that at the end of my instructional unit, these fifth grade students
will be able to draw at least 3 simple machines with 100% accuracy when requested and
explain how they work using proper terminology. This will demonstrate that students
have a fair understanding of three of the simple machines and their functions, but it will
more importantly demonstrate that students have learned to talk about these machines
using scientific vocabulary.
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Another instructional goal is that at the end of my instructional unit, these fifth
grade students will each score at least 3 points higher on the Force and Motion and
Experimental Design assessment I created, and the class average will be raised to at least
6 out of 10. These will both prove that students have grasped the concepts and are able to
answer questions about them.
A final instructional goal is that at the end of my instructional unit, these fifth
grade students will be able to write an experiment using the scientific method and
experimental design with at least 80% accuracy. This is the most important goal as this
will prove that students have learned the proper thinking required to set up and execute
their own experiments so that they can continue their cognitive explorations of the world
around them.
Performance objectives for each task and sub-task

Lesson #1: Students will be able to explain at least one example with 100% accuracy of
how different road conditions create different amounts of friction by filling out an exit
slip correctly.
Lesson #2: Students will be able to find total force with 100% accuracy in one dimension
for at least one system, given an exit slip with 2 systems to evaluate.
Lesson #3: Students will be able to draw a system with 100% accuracy to lift an object
using at least one pulley in the diagram as a homework assignment.
Lesson #4: Students will be able to identify at least one lever in their daily lives with
100% accuracy on an exit slip; students will also be able to take data for 80% of trials
properly in a given experiment by following directions.
Lesson #5: Students will be able to fill out an experimental design worksheet during
class work time, correctly identifying their experiments Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials,
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Data, Graph and Conclusion during class time working with a partner with 100%
accuracy.
Lesson #6: Students will be able to identify one example of simple machines in their own
lives, draw it as a diagram with 100% accuracy, and correctly label at least one force on
the machine on an exit slip during class time.
Lesson #7: Students will be able to write a testable purpose, a hypothesis, a list of
required materials, and a procedure for a laboratory experiment with 75% accuracy and
teacher coaching during class work time with teacher supervision.
Lesson #8: Students will be able to collect data and display it in both a table and a graph,
each with 80% accuracy during class work time with teacher supervision.
Lesson #9: Students will be able to write a conclusion with at least 4 well-written
sentences for their experiments during class work time, graded to be accurate for at least
75% of statements.
School, District, and State Standards

Unit Topic: Force and Motion (Friction, Inertia, Momentum, Simple Machines),
Experimental Design
Conceptual Lens: Design and Test
Big Ideas/Generalizations:
Environment can affect an object.
Careful design promotes efficiency.
The physical world shapes human experience.
Experimentation explores questions.
Essential Questions:
How does the physical environment affect an object?
How can one apply what is known about the physical world to help in everyday life?
How can one use experimentation appropriately?
DC Standard Course of Study Science:
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Science Competency Goal 4: The learner will conduct investigations and use appropriate technologies to build
an understanding of forces and motion in technological designs.
4.05 Determine factors that affect motion including:
Force
Friction.
Inertia.
Momentum
4.06 Build and use a model to solve a mechanical design problem.
Devise a test for the model.

Evaluate the results of test.
4.07 Determine how people use simple machines to solve problems.

DC Standard Course of Study English/Reading:
3.06 Conduct research (with assistance) from a variety of sources for assigned or selfselected projects.
4.02 Use oral and written language to:
Present and support arguments.

Formulate hypotheses.
Influence the thinking of others.
4.03 Make oral and written presentation to inform or persuade selecting vocabulary for
impact.
4.05 Use a variety of preliminary strategies to plan and organize the writing and speaking task
considering purpose, audience, and timeline.
DC Standard Course of Study Mathematics:
4.01 Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including stem-and-leaf plots) to solve
problems.
Common Core/Essential Standards:
P.1 Understand force, motion and the relationship between them
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P.1.1 Explain how factors such as gravity, friction, and change in mass affect the motion of
objects.
P.1.2 Infer the motion of objects in terms of how far they travel in a certain amount of time
and the direction in which they travel.
P.1.3 Illustrate the motion of an object using a graph to show a change in position over a
period of time.
P.1.4 Predict the effect of a given force or a change in mass on the motion of an object.
SL.5.4. Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using
appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak
clearly at an understandable pace.
SL.5.5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in
presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
W.5.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
W.5.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.5.5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.5.6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet,
to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others;
demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a
single sitting.
W.5.7. Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through
investigation of different aspects of a topic.
W.5.8. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from
print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work,
and provide a list of sources.
W.5.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
RI.5.1. Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.
RI.5.2. Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by
key details; summarize the text.
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RI.5.3. Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events,
ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in
the text.
RI.5.7. Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability
to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
RI.5.9. Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak
about the subject knowledgeably.
5.MD.2. Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2,
1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving
information presented in line plots. For example, given different measurements of liquid in
identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker would contain if the total amount in
all the beakers were redistributed equally.
Key Skills:
Interpersonal Skills Eye Contact in Presentations, Working in Teams
Oral Communication Skills Vocal Delivery
Written Communication Skills Choosing Appropriate Words, Transactional
Writing for Communication of Ideas, Technical Writing in the Sciences
Scientific Inquiry Skills Scientific Experiment Design, Choosing Questions for
Inquiry, Hypothesizing, Drawing Conclusions
Organizational Skills Using Tabular Expressions to See Data, Using Graphical
Expression to See Data
Analysis Skills Determining Cause and Effect, Drawing Trends from Data
Critical Skills Deductive Reasoning
Critical Content:
Friction
Inertia/Momentum
Simple Machines
Pulley
Lever
Inclined Plane
Scientific Method
Hypothesis
Conclusion
Line Graphing
Chart Representation
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Lesson Plan #1: Friction

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Big Ideas

Essential Questions
How does the physical environment affect an objects motion?

How can one apply what is known about the physical world to help understand
everyday life?
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to explain at least one example with 100% accuracy of how different
road conditions create different amounts of friction by filling out an exit slip correctly.
DCSCS Objective
Objective 4.05
Determine factors that affect motion including:
Force
Friction.
Inertia.
Momentum
Common Core/Essential Standards

5.P.1 Understand force, motion and the relationship between them
5.P.1.1 Explain how factors such as gravity, friction, and change in mass affect the motion of objects.
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Critical Content
Definitions
Terrain: The surface that the vehicle travels on
Friction: A force between two objects that opposes motion.
Skills
Interpreting a blueprint design
Collecting data in tabular form
Materials
Science Journals
Knex Vehicles
String/Bookend/Paperclip/Weight Set
Tables
Towel
2 x 1 piece of carpeting
2 x 1 piece of sandpaper
2 x 1 piece of felt
Timer
Warm-Up (Attached)
Worksheet (Attached)
Exit Slip (Attached)
Introduction
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Alright, everyone please go to your seats and take out your science notebooks. Eyes
on me in 321In the past couple of days, we have looked at force and motion of our
standard vehicles. Im passing out a quick warm-up to make sure you remember the things
weve learned from the last couple of days, but you cant use your notes. Just write down
what you remember. Ill set the timer for 1 minute. [Wait 1 minute while Wednesday WarmUp is completed.] Okay, time! Im now going to come around and collect them, if you would
please pass it to the person wearing the most red at your table. Okay, Im going to read some
of the answers out loud, and I want you to raise your hand if you agree with what I read.
[Read some answers, making sure you page through all of the sheets to get a quick snapshot
of where everyone stands currently. See how the class responds to each answer, right or
wrong.] Okay so many of you know that momentum is the tendency for something to keep
moving, but how come things stop? If we pushed a vehicle with a little push, it would move
but then it would come to a stop. Why? [Friction.]
Objective
Today, we are going to explore the concept of friction and see if we cant come up
with a good definition of friction. [Write friction on the board and underline it.]
Presentation and Engagement
Does anyone know what the word terrain means? [Student answer.] Right, its the
surface a vehicle travels on. Your job today is going to be trying to understand the different
effects of terrain on your vehicles.
Okay we are going to do a quick warm-up activity. Start rubbing your hands
together. [Model this.] What happens? [Hands get hot.] Right, so youre all warmed up now?
Sorry I know that was a bad joke, but why did your hands get warm? [Student Answers.]
There is friction between your two hands. Friction is turning the energy of movement into
25
what kind of energy? [Heat energy.] Do you create more heat energy or less heat energy
when your hands move faster? [More.] Can you explain that at all? [More energy is lost to
friction when something moves faster.]
Does everyone remember the procedure from the force lab the last two days? What
were the steps in setting up? [Build vehicle, hook up paperclip/string/bookend apparatus.]
Exactly. I will set the timer and give you 5 minutes to follow the blueprints in your student
book. Please send one representative from your group to go get your tub of parts. Begin!
[Set timer for 5 minutes.]
Today we are going to look at your vehicles friction on different types of terrain and
see how different speeds work on different terrains. What I am passing out now is a sheet
thats very similar to the sheet we have used in the past couple of days to record forces. Im
going to give each group a different terrain to use. This group is going to get Sandpaper.
This group is going to get Felt. This group is going to get the Rug. This group is going to get
the fluffy towel. Finally, the last group just has the table.
I want you to set up your station so that the terrain is along the area where your car
will travel. That way the car will only travel along the terrain which I have assigned you.
When we begin this experiment, your group will have 4 minutes at each set-up with your
vehicle. You will have to have two trials at each station. Can someone look at the worksheet
and tell me how many washers should go on at each station? [4 and 16.] Excellent. I will set
the timer for 4 minutes. You will start at the station in front of you. When you hear the timer
beep, I want you to rotate around the classroom to the next station with your vehicle in this
direction. [Point to indicate where groups are going at each rotation.]
Check for Understanding
26
So does anyone have any questions about the procedure? [Take questions about the
procedure.] Alright then, does anyone have any hypotheses? What is a hypothesis again?
Right, its a guess about what will happen in our scientific experiment. So any hypotheses?
[Take a few. Each time one is stated, ask students to raise their hand if they agree. You can
even make a chart on the board of which terrain is hypothesized to be the most friction or
least friction.] And does everyone remember what sort of words we can use to describe the
motion of the vehicle? This is just like our other force labs that weve been doing. [Take
student responses. Correct answers include how fast the vehicle starts, if it stops, if it moves
steadily or speeds up, if it moves smoothly or bounces, etc.]
Student Practice/Modeling
Alright, I think its about time to get started experimenting. You will have 4 minutes
at each station, so work quickly and efficiently as a group. Please remember our safety rules
for the science and please remember to work quietly. If you finish early at a station, please
think about the challenge question at the bottom. Are there any questions? [Take questions.]
Alright, get started! [Set the timer for 4 minutes.]
[Walk around the class and manage behavior. Ensure that students are on task and
arent interrupting one another. It may also be important to redirect students who stray from
the task. If this is the case, they should be reminded that part of the challenge today was
working quickly to be able to test all of the terrains. For students who seem to be working at
a quicker rate, ask open-ended questions, such as: What is happening as the wheels move
over this terrain? If you could shrink to a microscopic size, what would the wheels look like
on this terrain? What would the terrain look like?]
Connections and Closure
27
Okay, class, I need you seated with your eyes on me in 321please stop
touching the equipment. So on which terrains would your vehicle not move? [Student
responses.] Were there any that wouldnt move even with 16 washers? [Student responses.]
Why do you think the fluffy towel is like that?
So which terrains and washers would move to the end of the track? Why do you
think the table was the only one? Right, there was less friction. So for all of the force we are
putting into the cars, what is the friction doing? [Taking away from that force.] So lets go
back to our definition on the board. Does anyone have a good definition for friction now?
[A force that takes away from the motion of an object.]
What disadvantages might friction have? [Student responses.] Is friction the same on
every vehicle and terrain? [Student responses.] So do you think you would want a car with a
lot of friction or a little friction? [Student responses.] What might be some advantages of
friction? [Student responses.] What would happen if we didnt have friction at all? [Student
responses.]
Assessment
Okay, class. You did an excellent job combining what you knew about force and
momentum to talk about friction today. Now if you look up on the board, I pulled up a
short clip of a car on ice. On your way out today, your ticket to get out of the classroom is to
write a short couple of sentences explaining why its different for your parents to drive in
different types of weather. Just give a few examples of how weather changes the driving
experience for your parents. Any questions? Okay, I am passing out the exit slips. After you
write your 3 sentences, you may start packing up for dismissal.
Differentiation
28
For the students who are academically advanced, the challenge question and the
open-ended questions I will ask as I walk around will help to encourage deeper thinking and
more analysis of the physical principles.
For the students who are slower or who have difficulty following directions, I will
make sure to spend time walking to their groups and helping them get through the
experiment and processing what they are seeing.
29
Wednesday Warm-Up
Name ___________________
Date _______________
Force is
Momentum is
An Objects Motion is Changed By
Name ___________________
Date _______________
Wednesday Warm-Up
Force is
Momentum is
An Objects Motion is Changed By
30
Friction Experiment Data Sheet

Terrain
Washers
Description of Motion
Name________________
Date____________
Speed (1 being the
slowest, 5 being the
fastest)
4
Table
16
4
Felt
16
4
Rug
16
4
Sandpaper
16
4
Fluffy Towel
16
Challenge Question: In the space below, brainstorm ways in which friction would be
useful.
31
Exit Slip
Name_________________
Date_____________
How does weather change the driving conditions for your parents? Use our science
vocabulary like force, momentum, inertia, and friction!
1)
2)
3)
Name_________________
Date_____________
Exit Slip
1)
2)
3)
Name_________________
Date_____________
Exit Slip
1)
2)
3)
32
Lesson Plan #2: Force Balance

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to find total force with 100% accuracy in one dimension for at least one
system, given an exit slip with 2 systems to evaluate.
Essential Questions
How can one use experimentation to answer questions?
DCSCS Objective
4.05 Determine factors that affect motion including:
Force

5.P.1.4 Predict the effect of a given force or a change in mass on the motion of an object.
Critical Content
Skills
Organizational Skills Using Graphical Expressions to See Data
Scientific Inquiry Skills Scientific Experiment Design

33
Materials
Science Journals
ELMO projector
Two Vehicles Assembled Beforehand
Two vehicle tracks
Three Strings
Three Bookends
Six Paperclips
Sandpaper
60 small washers
Setup
Assemble the two vehicles on the tracks so that students seated will be able to see
the vehicles move along the tracks. Attach the string-bookend-paperclip weight systems to
the front of both cars, and attach another system to the back of one of the cars.
Introduction
Alright would everyone please join me on the carpet with their science journal and a
pencil? I need you seated with your eyes on me in 3, 2, 1. Today we are going to look at
multiple forces at the same time. Can someone remind me of the definition of the word
force? [Ask for student responses.] Right, Force is the push or pull on an object. But what
happens if theres a push and a pull on an object? Any ideas? [Take ideas.]
Okay can I have a volunteer? Okay come up to this table with me. Class, the two of
us are going to arm wrestle. Who is going to win? [Everyone says me.] Why? So what youre
saying is my force is going to be greater than his force, so our hands will move that way
34
(pointing)? Isnt this like a push and pull on our hands? So whichever one is stronger will
win. [Do the arm wrestle and let the student win easily.] Okay please have a seat.
Objective
Today, we are going to explore this push and pull and see if we cant quantify it.
So as you can see, Ive got tracks set up at the front of the room. So Im going to
put 10 washers on the front side of this car, and 4 washers on the back side. Whats going to
happen? [Student responses.] But do you know how much it will move in that direction?
[Student responses.]
Okay, open your science journals. Please look up at the ELMO projector. On the
screen you can see my science journal. I used a blue colored pencil to shade 10 squares on
the graph paper. Underneath it, I then used a red colored pencil to shade 4 squares. It was 10
in one direction, 4 in the opposite. Everyone please take a moment to do this. [Give a few
minutes.]
Now that we have that step done, let me explain a bit more. We are going to add
washers to the front of this second vehicle until the two cars move together at the same time
and speed. When they do, well be able to know more about the vehicles forces. So I want
hypotheses. Can someone remind me what a hypothesis is? Right, its a guess about the
results of a scientific test. So under your shaded boxes, write a hypothesis for how many
washers we will need to put on the front of the second car to get the cars to move together.
Can someone please bring their notebook to the projector so we can see it? Okay
good! She has the blocks shaded here, and she has her hypothesis here! Why did you choose
that as your hypothesis? [Student response.]
35
Presentation/Engagement
Okay so can I have a volunteer to help me with the demonstration? Okay hold both
cars evenly and Ill set up the washers. Okay let them go! Did 1 washer work, class? Okay
then lets try 2! Okay, that still didnt work. A good scientist might refine their hypothesis.
Would anyone like to refine his or her hypothesis? [Take student responses. Keep testing
and refining hypotheses until the class notices that 6 washers makes them even.]
Okay lets go back to my science journal, and Im going to use a green colored pencil
to shade six blocks underneath the blue. Wow, it looks like they line up. Does anyone have
any ideas? [Take responses.] I agreeI think that if theres ten in one direction, and four in
another direction, it must be a subtraction problem10 4 = 6! Take a second to write a
Conclusion under your hypothesis. Our conclusion in this case was 6.
[At this point, gauge understanding by providing another example.] What if we did
this with 8 washers on one side, and 1 on the other side? How many washers would we put
on the other car so the forces were the same? Write your work in your science journal. Im
going to come around and look at it. Okay, it seems that most of you have 7 washers. Lets
test it. [At this point, the teacher should know who will need additional help moving forward
and who has grasped the concept.]
So now that we have an idea of how this works, why dont we try it again with
different numbers. Im going to give you each 3 minutes. In your science journal, I want you
to shade in how many we will put on one side of the first car, shade in how many we will put
on the second side of the first car, and make a hypothesis for what the second car will need.
These directions are up on the whiteboard if you forget.
36
Does anyone have any questions about the procedure? So whats the first step? And
the second? And the third? Then what should you do? Right, sit quietly in your seat. You
may begin.
Students write silently and hypothesize. Okay turn to your partner and share what
youve come up with. Ill give you two minutes to do this.
Okay, does anyone think they have a good one to try? Okay come on up! Put your
notebook on the ELMO and explain to us your prediction. Ill set it up meanwhile. Okay,
thanks for explaining, now hold the cars, I will drop the weights and then you can let them
go! Was she right, class?
Okay, another volunteer? [Repeat the last paragraph.]
And one final volunteer. [Repeat.]
[Look around the class and manage behavior as necessary. Ensure that students are
on task and arent interrupting one another. It may also be important to redirect students
who stray from the task.]
So it seems that we have a pretty good idea of how this whole balancing forces thing
works. So what would happen if the first car had 4 washers on both sides? How about 16
washers on both sides? Right, nothing would happen because the forces would be balanced!
Okay, so what if I put two strings with two washers each on the back, and 10 washers on the
front. What then? Turn to the person sitting next to you and discuss quietly. [Meanwhile, set
up sandpaper on the one-sided vehicle with 10 washers on the end. On the double sided
vehicle, make it 10 washers on one end and 2 washers on the other end.] Okay what did you
37
come up with? Right, it doesnt matter that its two different strings because the force is still
in that direction.
Assessment
Okay, time for a challenge. If you look at the tracks, I have set up sandpaper with a
10 washer weight on this vehicle, and a 10 washer weight against a 2 washer weight on this
vehicle. If I release them, they move together. So Im passing out an exit slip. You need to
answer two questions as well as you can. First, what is the total force on the two-sided
vehicle? Second, what is the total force on the one-sided vehicle? Finally, where did the lost
force go? An answer of I dont know is not acceptable; make your best hypothesis here.
You may hand these to me on the way out, please take a few minutes to think and then pack
up for the day.
38
Balanced Forces Exit Slip
Name ___________________
Date _______________
The total force on the vehicle on the different terrain is

The total force on the vehicle that is on the table is
Where does the lost force go in the vehicle that is on the different terrain?
Name ___________________
Date _______________
________________________________________________________________________
Name ___________________
Date _______________

39
Lesson Plan #3: Pulleys

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to draw a system with 100% accuracy to lift an object using at least one
pulley in the diagram as a homework assignment.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective
Critical Content
Definitions
Simple Machine: A device that helps people do work
Pulley: A wheel with a rope; a simple machine to help lift things.
Skills
Organizational Skills Using Tabular Expressions to See Data
Materials
40
Science Journals
Pulley System with Platform, Pulley, Rope and Weights
Computers
Pictures of Real Life Pulleys
Pulley Math Sheet
Pulley Websites Sheet
Bill Nye the Science Guys YouTube video on Simple Machines

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7tGosXM58)
Timer
Posted Instructions at each station
Introduction
pen? I need you seated with your eyes on me in 3, 2, 1. Today we are going to look at ways
we could lift things that are much heavier than ourselves. So a question: Who thinks they
could lift me above their head? [Wait for hand raising.] Why not? [Student Responses.]
Right! Im way too heavy. Alone, you cant lift me above your head. Maybe if you all worked
together, but sometimes you dont have teams like that, or you dont want to have to get a
ton of people to lift something. How about if you wanted to get me from the bottom to the
top of a cliff. Would you want to drag me up a really steep hill? Or would it be much nicer to
walk a long flat sloping surface? [Draw on whiteboard to show distinction. Ask for student
responses.] For the next few days, we are going to be talking about Simple Machines. Does
anyone know what a simple machine is? Right, its a device that helps a person do work.
There are a bunch of types of simple machines.
41
Objective
Today, we are going to explore the pulley and see how it can help us do work. [Show
the first picture of a pulley on the projector.]
Does anyone know what a pulley is? Right, its basically just a wheel with a rope over
it. Does anyone already know what a pulley system does for us? Well a system of pulleys can
make it a lot easier to lift something. Has anyone ever seen pulleys before? Where have you
seen them? [Take student responses.]
So today we are going to be working in a few stations with different tasks in each
station. I have instructions posted at each station so that you can just go back to those if you
have a question about what you should be doing.
Station group 1 is going to be working at the back two computer tables looking at
pulleys and filling out a worksheet about where pulleys are used. I have left copies of the
worksheets on the counter by those tables that you can pick up when you go work there.
Please go to the website Ive assigned each of you on the class website. When you are
finished at this station, please put your worksheets on the stool.
Station group 2 is going to be working at the front two tables on a worksheet to help
you understand how pulleys cut down the amount of force you need to lift something. The
worksheet is on this table here, marked with the sign Station Group 2. You can also leave
your worksheets on the stool.
Station group 3 will be working with me on the tile here. We will be going through a
demonstration of pulleys and trying them out for ourselves.
42
Station group 4 will watch this video on the computers. I have set up Bill Nyes
Simple Machines video and watch it to learn more about what simple machines are and how
they are used.
So class, how should the pictures at the back table look when a group leaves that
rotation? Right, they should be set up how you found them. And the video at the front?
Right, same thing. What should you do if youre working on the pulley math and you get
stuck? Id like you to always ask 2 friends first before raising your hand for help. Once you
have asked two others, then you can find Lindsey or me for help.
Alright, when we split up, I want As group to go to station 1, Bs group to go to
station 2, Cs group to go to station 3, and Ds group to go to station 4.
So does anyone have any questions about the stations? [Take questions about the
procedure.] Okay, can someone tell me what station 1 is? What are the directions? [Bring up
on powerpoint slide.] Okay how about station 2? Station 3? Station 4? Good job. Remember
to raise your hand quietly if you have a question. You will work in low voices at each station
for 10 minutes before we rotate. [Set timer.]
At station 1, students are looking at websites and answering questions on the
attached worksheet. At station 2, students are following through the math worksheet and
working together to answer questions. At station 4, they will be silently watching with
headphones.
At station 3, I will show them a pulley system that a fellow teacher built. I will ask
the students to begin sketching the two pulley system. Meanwhile, I will have each student
taking a turn at trying to pull up the block in the one pulley system, the two pulley system,
43
and the three pulley system. They will recognize that they get easier as there are more
pulleys. After, I will ask everyone to pause drawing and watch as I pull the strings with equal
force an equal distance. What they will observe is that the block on the single pulley system
goes the highest while the block on the triple pulley system doesnt. I will then help them
understand the distance/force trade-off in pulleys.
Okay, class, I need you seated on the rug with your eyes on me in 321please
pass your papers to the front so I can collect them. So where can we see pulleys in every day
life? [Student responses.] Why do we use pulleys in these places? [Student responses.]
Who remembers what the definition of simple machine was? So why does a pulley
system fit the definition of a simple machine? [Student responses.] Other than a simple
wheel and a rope, what else could be used as a pulley? [Student responses.] We have only
talked about pulleys being used to lift objects today, but how about lowering objects? Why
can they be helpful there too? [Student responses.]
Why do you think humans needed a pulley? Why did someone invent the pulley?
How do you think life was different before the pulley was invented? [Student responses.]
Assessment
Okay, class. You did an excellent job today with your pulley stations. Now for
homework I have written an assignment on the board under your homework. In your
Science Journals, draw a design for a human-powered elevator. Show me what it looks like,
44
what it uses to lift the people in the elevator up, and how the human force is used. Does
anyone have any questions about this? Ill be checking for it tomorrow at the start of science.
Differentiation
The groups are carefully selected so that slower students are in groups with faster
students. The faster students can therefore help the slower students get through the pulley
websites worksheet and the pulley math worksheet. I can have more one-on-one coaching in
my small group lecture to help them understand what pulleys do. There will also be a
specialist in the room to help with the students who have IEPs to have help with math; she
will sit with the students and help those who need it during that station. Finally, there are
plenty of challenge questions on the pulley math worksheet; I dont expect most of the
students to get there, but if they do, they will be challenged appropriately.
45
Pulley Websites
Name ___________________
Date _______________
Use the websites to answer the following questions about pulleys.

1. List every device you see that uses a pulley.
2. List every type of rope or string you see in the pulley systems.
3. List every material that these pulleys are made out of.
4. List every color that these pulleys are.
5. Circle one of your responses to number 1, one of your responses to number 2, one
of your responses to number 3, and one of your responses to number 4. On the
back, draw a pulley system that has the circled characteristics.
6. If you have additional time, choose four more characteristics to circle and then draw.
46
Links to pulley websites:
http://tryengineering.org/lesson-plans/pulleys-and-force
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/40941-how-a-pulley-works/
https://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_sim
ple/cub_simple_lesson05.xml
http://www.brainpop.com/technology/simplemachines/pulley/preview.weml
47
Name and Date ________________________
Pulley Math!
Force to Lift a
Box Straight Up
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Force to Lift a
Box with One
Pulley
10
20
30
40
Force to Lift a
Box with Two
Pulleys
5
10
20
25
30
60
70
80
40
100
Force to Lift a
Box with Three
Pulleys
3.333
6.666
10
13.333
16.666
23.333
26.666
50
1. Look at the table above. As you go across from one column to the next
column, what is changing? Or, what is changing between columns 2, 3,
and 4?
2. Look at the column called Force to Lift a Box with One Pulley. Try to
find a pattern as the numbers go up. Fill in the missing two boxes.
3. Compare the first column (Force to Lift a Box Straight Up) with the
second column (Force to Lift a Box with One Pulley). What is the
difference between the numbers in each column?
4. How much force is saved when you use one pulley?
5. Look at the column called Force to Lift a Box with Two Pulleys. Try
to find a pattern as the numbers go up. Fill in the missing three boxes.
third column (Force to Lift a Box with Two Pulleys). What is the
difference between the numbers in each column?
48
7. Look at the column called Force to Lift a Box with Three Pulleys. Try
to find a pattern as the numbers go up. Fill in the missing three boxes.
fourth column (Force to Lift a Box with Three Pulleys). What is the
difference between the numbers in each column? (More questions on
the back.)
9. If I had a box that took 200 Force to lift without a pulley, it would take
________ Force to lift it with one pulley, _________ Force to lift it
with 2 pulleys, and ________ Force to lift it with 3 pulleys. Show your
work below.
10. If I had a box that took 6 Force to lift without a pulley, it would take
________ Force to lift it with one pulley, _________ Force to lift it
with 2 pulleys, and ________ Force to lift it with 3 pulleys. Show your
work below.
Challenge Question: Add another column to the right side of the table called
Force to Lift a Box with Four Pulleys. Fill in all the numbers in that column.
Extra Challenge Question: If I have a box that takes 250 Force to lift with 5
pulleys, how much does it take to lift it with 1 pulley?
Super Challenge Question: My box can be lifted without pullies with a force of
F. I have a system of P pullies. If I use all of those pullies to lift the box, how
much force will I have to use? Your answer will use the variables F and P.
49
Lesson Plan #4: Levers

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to identify at least one lever in their daily lives with 100% accuracy on
an exit slip; students will also be able to take data for 80% of trials properly in a given
experiment by following directions.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective
Critical Content
Definitions
Lever: A simple machine that helps lift objects.
Fulcrum: Balancing point of a lever.
Skills
50
Materials
Science Journals
Yardstick for each partner pair
Yardstick Balances/Fulcrums for each partner pair
Lever Worksheet
Lever Exit Slip
Four paperclip hooks for each partner pair
Forty small washers for each partner pair
Lever Powerpoint with pictures from:

o http://curzob.tripod.com/eldorot/bilder4/26-pull_lever_outside.jpg
o http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/35900/35944/lever_35944_lg.gif
o http://www.abcteach.com/free/s/scissors1brgb.jpg
o http://www.dididunphy.com/IMGsee3.jpg
Introduction
pen? I need you seated with your eyes on me in 3, 2, 1. So today we are going to talk about
another simple machine. To see which one we are going to talk about, I am going to show
you some pictures on a powerpoint. I need you to give me a thumbs up as soon as you know
which simple machine we are going to talk about. BUT! There is to be no talking. Just
silently give me a thumbs up when you have it. [Start slowly clicking through the pictures on
the powerpoint.] Okay, were going to whisper the answer together on the count of three. 1,
2, 3Levers!
Objective
51
Today, we are going to explore the lever and see how it can help us.
Does anyone know what a lever is? Right, its basically just a stick with something to
balance that stick on. Does anyone know what that balance thing is? Right, its the fulcrum.
So today we are going to be working through an experiment. Does anyone know the
parts of an experiment? Right, theres purpose, hypothesis, procedure, data collection, and
then conclusion. To make it easier, Ive got a worksheet for you that will walk you through
everything.
So can someone read to me what the purpose of this experiment is? Right, it says
that the purpose is to find out how many washers it will take to balance the yardstick with 4
washers on one end. Where are we going to put washers on the other side? Right, 9 inches
from the center. So up here Ive got a demonstration of the set up. As you see, Ive got 4
washers on a paperclip at one end of the yardstick at the 0 inches line. I am balancing the
yardstick at the 18 inches line. So at what line do I need to balance the other ones? Right, I
need to balance them at the 27 inches line. So Ill put a paperclip there to mark it.
Now, as with all experiments, we need to first form a hypothesis. Whats a
hypothesis again? Right, its a guess from prior knowledge about what might happen. So in
the space on your sheet, please write how many washers you think we will need to balance it.
Okay, take a second to please share your response with a person sitting near you. So what
did your partner say? [Take some responses.]
Okay, now lets read through the procedure together with a little popcorn reading.
What is a procedure again? Right, its the steps in the experiment. Why dont you go first?
[Read each step sequentially as a class.]
52
So as youll see, next comes the data collection. There are instructions to help you fill
it out as you go. In fact, as this experiment goes on, youll get used to it. Finally, once you get
to the end of the data collection, there is a conclusion. Whats a conclusion in a scientific
paper? Right, its where the results of the experiment can be found.
If you finish early, there are some challenge questions on a separate sheet. Turn in
your experiment sheet and grab the challenge sheet from the front table. Try those out and
see if you can experimentally determine the right answer!
So does anyone have any questions about the experiment? [Take questions about the
procedure.] Okay, can someone summarize the procedure again? [Take a volunteer.] And
can someone talk about what you should do when youre done? [Take a volunteer.] Okay, if
you have any questions, raise your hand quietly and Ill come over and answer them.
The students break into their partner groups and go to their experiment stations
where the equipment is already set up. They will follow the worksheet.
Okay, class, I need you seated on the rug with your eyes on me in 321
So how close were your hypotheses? Did anyone get it exactly? [Student responses.]
If I were to give you another experiment now, would you be able to make a better
hypothesis? Why? [Student Responses.]
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Please pass your challenge papers to the front so I can collect them. So where can we
see levers in every day life? [Student responses.] Why do we use levers in these places?
Who remembers what the definition of simple machine was? So why does a lever
system fit the definition of a simple machine? [Student responses.]
Assessment
Okay, class. You did an excellent job today with your lever experiments. Im passing
out an exit slip now. Answer the question and enjoy your afternoons!
Differentiation
challenges. The students know that they can pick up the challenge sheets as soon as they are
done with the main experiment. The challenges are very similar to the main experiment, so
they will be able to work through them in their groups; nevertheless, if they happen to get
through all of that, they get to a more abstract mathematical challenge related to levers and
understanding the principles therein.
For the slower learners in the class, I can make sure to spend more time making sure
they get through the main experiment. I expect every group to get through the main
finish the main experiment by paying attention to who has turned it in and who has gotten
the challenge sheet. As time passes, I can spend more time facilitating the experiment in the
groups who still havent turned it in.
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Lever Exit Slip
Name ___________________
Date _______________
List three things in your every day life that act as levers.
1.
2.
3.
Name ___________________
Date _______________
Lever Exit Slip
1.
2.
3.
Name ___________________
Date _______________
Lever Exit Slip
1.
2.
3.
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Name and Date ________________________
Lever Experiment
Purpose: Find out how many washers it will take at the 27 inches mark to
balance the yardstick when there are 4 washers at the 0 inches mark.
Hypothesis: I think it will take _______ washers at the 27 inches mark to
balance the yardstick when there are 4 washers at the 0 inches mark.
Procedure:
1. Put the yardstick on the fulcrum so that the 18 inches mark touches the
fulcrum.
2. Take 2 paperclips. Bend them into hooks as shown in the
demonstration.
3. Place one hook at the 0 inches mark. Place the other hook at the 27
inches mark.
4. Place 4 washers on the hook at the 0 inches mark.
5. Record your observations in the table.
6. Place 1 washer on the hook at the 27 inches mark.
7. Record your observations.
8. Continue adding washers, one at a time, to the 27 inches mark hook.
Make sure to record your observations every time you add a washer.
9. Stop after you add the 12 washer to the 27 inches mark hook.
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Data Collection:
Washers
at the 0
inches
mark
4
Washers
at the 27
inches
mark
0
10
11
12
Which side is
heavier?
How close is it to balancing?

(1 =Not at all,
5 = Perfectly Balanced)
Conclusion: In conclusion, if there are ___ washers at the ________ hook,

then there needs to be ___ washers at the ________ hook to balance the lever.
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Name and Date _______________

Challenge Questions
1. If there are 8 washers at the 0 inches mark, how many washers will need
to be at the 27 inches mark to balance the lever?
Hypothesis:
Actual:
Hypothesis:
Actual:
Hypothesis:
Actual:
4. If there is 1 washer at the 0 inches mark, how many washers will need to
be at the 20 inches mark to balance the lever?
Hypothesis:
Actual:
5. If there is 1 washer at the 0 inches mark, how many washers will need to
be at the 19 inches mark to balance the lever?
Hypothesis:
Actual:
Hypothesis:
Actual:
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7. Fill in the following table with your results from the experiment and the
questions above.
Column
A
Challenge
Problem
Number
Column
B
Column
C
Number
Number Distance
of
of
from 0 washers
Washers
to
at
at 0
fulcrum second
location
Column Column Column

D
E
F
Distance
from
second Col. A x Col. C x
location Col. B Col. D
to
fulcrum
Experiment
1
2
3
4
5
6
8. What do you notice about Column E and Column F? What do you think
the mathematical formula is for figuring out the weights needed for a
lever arm?
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Lesson Plan #5: Inclined Planes

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
All students will be able to fill out an experimental design worksheet, correctly identifying
their experiments Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Data, Graph and Conclusion during class
time working with a partner with 100% accuracy.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective
Critical Content
Definitions
Inclined Planes: Flat surfaces at an angle to help lift or lower things; a type of simple
machine.
Skills
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Materials
Science Journals
Wooden Boards for every partner pair
Smooth Rubber Balls for every partner pair
Textbooks
Stopwatches for every partner pair
Styrofoam Cups for each partner pair
Scissors
Metersticks
Introduction
I need you on the carpet with your science journals and a pencil in 321Has
anyone ever seen a soap box car derby? [Student responses.] Do those cars have engines?
How do they move? [Student responses.] Right! They are moving because they are downhill.
As you may remember from earlier this week, downhill and uphill bits of terrain are
called inclined planes. [Write this term on the board.] Inclined planes are another simple
machine because they make it easier to take something up or down hill.
Objective
Today, we are going to explore the inclined plane.
So do you remember the lever lab we did yesterday? Today we are going to do a
similar experiment with inclined planes. If you look around the room, I have set up boards
on textbooks. There is a small ball at each station as well, and a cup with a piece cut out.
This is all youll need for the experiment, so pay attention as we go through the parts of the
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experiment as a review. What comes first? [Student responses.] Right, the purpose. So here is
todays purpose. [Show purpose on ELMO projector.] Can someone please read it to me?
Okay, so basically we want to know how far the cup will move when we roll a ball down the
ramp and it enters the cup through the whole.
So what comes next in an experiment? [Student responses.] Right, the hypothesis.
Everyone take a minute and think to yourself what your hypothesis is. Okay, now turn to the
person sitting next to your and share. Okay, eyes back on me. What did your partner think?
What is after the hypothesis? Right, the materials and procedure. So who can name
one thing we will need for this lab? And another? Another? [Student responses.] Okay, lets
now popcorn read the procedure around the room. [Student responses.] Does anyone have
any questions about the procedure? [Student responses.]
What comes next? Data collection! So what do I have in this column? [Student
responses.] And what do you need to fill in in the other column? [Student responses.]
Now take notice: this experiment has an added step that the last experiment didnt
have. I want you to make a line graph of your data. Youve been working hard on making
graphs in math, so this shouldnt be difficult at all. I have graph paper on the front table for
when you get to this step. What are the parts of a good line graph again? [Write these on the
board as they say them: X-axis labeled, Y-axis labeled, Title, Points carefully made, line
carefully drawn.]
And then finally, you have your conclusion. There are just two fill-in-the-blanks for
the conclusion, but make sure your answers agree with your partner. Talk it over if you arent
sure. If you finish early, there is a new type of challenge problem at the bottom. I think youll
have a lot of fun with the creativity involved!
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procedure.] Okay, can someone summarize the procedure again? [Take a volunteer.] And
can someone talk about what you should do when youre done? [Take a volunteer.] Okay, if
you have any questions first ask your partner. After you ask your partner if you still dont
know the answer, raise your hand quietly and Ill come over and answer it.
[The students break into their partner groups and go to their experiment stations
where the equipment is already set up. The teacher, for easier classroom management,
should already have partner groups carefully assigned. For supremely easy management, the
teacher can have each partner-pairs names written on a post-it note on a pair of worksheets
to hand out when the lecture portion ends; then the teacher just reads the names and hands
over t They will follow the worksheet.]
So how close were your hypotheses? [Student responses.] If I were to give you
another experiment now, would you be able to make a better hypothesis? Why? [Student
Responses.]
Please pass your papers in to the front so I can collect them. So where can we see
inclined planes in every day life? [Student responses.] Why do we use inclined planes in these
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places? [Student responses.] Imagine what life would be like without inclined planes. Would
it be possible to get around?
Who remembers what the definition of simple machine was? So why does an
inclined plane fit the definition of a simple machine? [Student responses.] Okay, class. You
did an excellent job today with your experiments. Enjoy your afternoons!
Assessment
[This time the assessment piece will be the experiments they turn in. I want to see
that they put thought into completing it. I will check off each part of the experiment and
give a grade out of 6. Anyone scoring below a 6 will be asked to fix it for homework on the
following day once it is returned.]
Differentiation
challenges. The students know that they can start the challenge as soon as they are done with
the main experiment. The challenge forces them to think about the experiment in a new way
and use creativity; nevertheless, if they happen to get through planning it, I would have them
start experimenting and following their own procedures.
For the slower learners in the class, I can make sure to spend more time making sure
they get through the main experiment. I expect every group to get through the main
finish the main experiment by paying attention to who has stopped rolling the balls. As time
passes, I can spend more time facilitating the experiment in the groups who still havent
finished.
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Name and Date ________________________
Inclined Plane Experiment

Purpose: Find out how far the cup will move when the inclined plane grows in
height.
Hypothesis: I think the cup will move ____________________ because
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
Materials: For this lab, I will need:
Procedure:
10. Put textbooks under the board so the board is at a height of 10 cm.
11. Place the cup upside down exactly at the base of the board so that the
ball rolling down the board will go into the hole in the cup.
12. Place the meterstick on the side of the cup so that the base of the board
is at the 0 cm mark.
13. Release the ball from the top of the ramp being careful not to give it any
push.
14. Measure how far the front of the cup moved and record in your data
table.
15. Increase the height of the ramp by 10 cm.
16. Repeat steps 2 through 6 until your data table is complete.
65
Data Collection:
Height of Ramp (in centimeters) Distance Cup Moved (in centimeters)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Graph: Attach a line graph to this sheet. The Height of the Ramp should be
the x-axis and the Distance the Cup Moves should be the y-axis.
Conclusion: In conclusion, as the ramp gets higher, the cup moves
___________ (more or less). This means that the higher ramp gives the ball
___________ (more or less) force by the time it gets to the bottom.
Extra Challenge: Design an experiment that would test whether it takes more
or less force to move up a steeper inclined plane. Talk it over with your group
members, and try to write the same steps of the experiment like you see on this
sheet.
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Lesson Plan #6: Simple Machines Survey

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to identify one example of simple machines in their own lives, draw it
as a diagram with 100% accuracy, and correctly label at least one force on the machine.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective
Critical Content
Definitions
Simple Machine: A device that helps people use force
Pulley: A wheel with a rope; a simple machine to help lift things.
Wheel/Axle: A wheel with a rod; a simple machine to help overcome friction.
Lever: A rod with a fulcrum; a simple machine to help lift things.
Screw: A rod with rivets; a simple machine to change rotational force into linear
force.
Inclined Plane: A ramp; a simple machine to help lift things.

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Wedge: A triangle-shaped block; a simple machine to help split things.
Skills
Analysis Skills Determining Cause and Effect
Materials
Seesaw
Sidewalk
Marbles
Screw
Automobile Jack
Car
Axe
Hammer
Flagpole
Projector
Wheel and Axle Movie Maker movie
Simple Machines at Work! Worksheet
Clipboards
Introduction
Alright would everyone please join me on the carpet with a pencil? I need you seated
with your eyes on me in 3, 2, 1. Today we are going to look at all of the rest of the simple
machines. Can someone remind me of what a simple machine is? [Student Response.] Right!
Its something that helps us use force. Can you name all six? Turn to the person sitting next
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to you and see how many you can name. [Give a minute.] Okay, eyes back on me in 3, 2, 1.
So what did you come up with? [Student Responses. Make a list on the board.]
Objective
Today, we are going to see real life examples of all of the simple machines and see
how they work.
So we are about to go on a walking field trip around the school to see some simple
machines. I have set up or made accessible some simple machines in use by people at this
very school, and we are going to observe how they work. [Start passing out clipboards while
talking.] I have clipboards for each of you with pencils already in them and the worksheet
already attached. It is your responsibility to keep the clipboards, worksheets, and pencils with
you and to bring them back to the classroom at the end.
So at the top of your worksheet, weve got some definitions of each of the simple
machines. Please follow along with me on your worksheet as I work up here on the ELMO
Projector.
So can someone read the first definition? [Student reads.] What word goes in the
blank? Come on, weve already talked about Pulleys. [Student response.] Right, its force.
[Continue going through this. The kids will get excited when they realize that the missing
word in all of the blanks is force.] Okay, so does everyone have these definitions written
down?
Our first step on this adventure is right here, where you get to see a video I made!
For those of you who arent familiar with Movie Maker, it allows you to make your own
movie. So I made a movie about a simple machine and I think you will enjoy. Please watch
69
up at the board. [Show Movie Maker video from class website.] Was everyone able to fill in
something on their worksheet for the In Classroom example? [Choose a student to share.]
Okay, so we are going to go on our walk with the following instructions. For every
number, we will stop and I will announce that I am demonstrating a simple machine. You
will draw the object, make arrows for where I put the force and where the force goes, and
then label that simple machine.
Let me do an example. Ive got this thing here. (Show the screw). This is object #1.
Im going to turn a tool to make it go into wood. Look! Now its holding these two pieces of
wood together. Draw the object. When youre done with that, make an arrow for the
direction of the force. It was circular wasnt it? [Draw this up on the ELMO Projector for
the students to follow.] And what did that force do? It made it move this way right? [Draw
the second force arrow.] Cool! So what type of simple machine do you think this is? Right!
Its a screw, so well write screw. Why is it a screw? [Student Response.] Right, it turns a
circular force into a linear force.
Does anyone have any questions about what were doing? [Answer questions.] Im
not as concerned that you correctly label the simple machines, but I do care that you have
good drawings with good force arrows. Lets get moving. Remember our moves for quiet
feet and no voices when we move around the school. Also, walk on the right side of the
hallways.
Walk to the following pre-assembled demonstrations.
Object #2: Seesaw demonstrate a lever.
70
Object #3: Have wood set up with a hammer and an axe. Show what happens with the
hammer, then show the axe splitting the wood. Qualify that the axe is the simple machine
that were concerned with.
Object #4: Car demonstrate an axel and wheel.
Object #5: Car Jack lift the car to demonstrate a lever AND a screw; it depends what the
kids see/observe/draw.
Object #6: Sidewalk Place a marble on a titled sidewalk tile and state that the sidewalk is
the simple machine. This demonstrates the inclined plane.
Object #7: Flagpole raise and lower the flag and point out the pulley system.
[Look around the class and manage behavior as necessary during the walk. Ensure
that students are on task and arent talking or disturbing one another. It may also be
important to redirect students who stray from the task or who get distracted easily.]
What did you get for #2? Does someone want to share his or her drawing? [Students
share. Continue this with all of the numbers as time permits.] Who remembers what the
definition of simple machine was? [Student responses.]
How might you be able to use simple machines to your advantage? Where can you
see them being used in your life? [Student responses.] What do you think life was like before
these simple machines existed? [Student responses.] How can we better design things using
simple machines? [Student responses.]
Assessment
71
Okay, class. You did an excellent job today with our walk. Now at the bottom youll
see #8 and #9. I want you to draw two more examples of simple machinesthey can be
anything, as long as they are examplesand draw where their forces act, and label what you
drew and what kind of simple machines they are. This is your exit slip out the door.
Differentiation
To help the slower students in my class, I will emphasize that labeling it correctly
isnt as important as getting the drawing and drawing what force arrows are going on. I
expect everyone in my class to be able to accomplish this.
To differentiate for the advanced students in my class, I will ask questions as we
walk, challenging students to keep their eyes open and observe what other simple machines
they see in the world around them.
One specific type of student with an IEP that I would like to draw attention to is the
type of student who has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These students may have particular difficulty staying
focused outside of the classroom where distractions are frequent and persistent. To account
for this, I will try to stand next to those students with ADD/ADHD when we pause to draw
a simple machine. If they get distracted, I will remind them to stay focused or place a hand
on their shoulders to refocus attention. This may not be needed, however, as certain
students may find their impulsivity at bay due to the constant movement during the lesson.
72
Simple Machines at Work!
Name ___________________
Date _______________
Pulley: A wheel with a rope; a simple machine to help lift things by making a downward
_______ be redirected to become an upward __________.
Wheel/Axle: A wheel with a rod; a simple machine to help overcome frictional _________.
Lever: A rod with a fulcrum; a simple machine to help lift things by making a downward
________ be redirected and sometimes redistributed to become an upward ________.
Screw: A rod with rivets; a simple machine to change rotational _______ into linear ______.
Inclined Plane: A ramp; a simple machine to help lift things by spreading the ________ over
a longer, sloping distance.
Wedge: A triangle-shaped block; a simple machine to help split things by making a
downward ___________ be redirected to become two sideways ___________.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
73
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Lesson Plan #7: Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Note: This lesson has a week after it for the students to complete their write-ups. Students will spend time
each day thinking about it and getting it teacher-approved. Thus, the lesson itself really isnt packed into a
day, like its written.
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to write a testable purpose, a hypothesis, a list of required materials,
and a procedure for a laboratory experiment with 75% accuracy and teacher coaching.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective


5.P.1.2 Infer the motion of objects in terms of how far they travel in a certain amount of time and the
direction in which they travel.
5.P.1.3 Illustrate the motion of an object using a graph to show a change in position over a period of time.
75
Critical Content
Concepts
Purpose: a testable question for an experiment
Hypothesis: a guess about the purpose based on prior knowledge
Materials: a list of necessary things for the experiment
Procedure: a careful ordered list of the steps to take to complete an experiment
Skills

Materials
Science Journals
Protein Powder in Water
Red Cape with a big E on it
Worksheet (attached)
Introduction
I need you down on the carpet with nothing but your science journals. Eyes on me
in 123Okay, so heres this substance. [Show the protein powder dissolved in the
water. Make sure to overuse the protein powder so it is thicky, goopy and gritty.] I think Im
going to drink it. Anyone see something wrong with that? [Student responses.] So I
shouldnt just drink it? I dont know what it is butit cant hurt me right? [Student
responses.] Wait it can hurt me? So what should I do? I should find out if it can hurt me?
76
Well, this sounds like a job for [put on the cape] Experiment Man! I need to make
hypotheses and appropriately test them using a carefully written experiment! Off we go!
Objective
Today, we are going to write some experiments of our own, and investigate things
that each of us want to investigate.
So weve been doing a lot of experiments so far, right? Look back at the bulletin
board behind you to get a reminder of some of the things weve gone through. So what
experiments have we done so far? [As students give responses, make a list on the board.]
Okay, I think Ive covered pretty much all of it. Lets go to the Powerpoint. [Project the
Powerpoint slide with all of the experiments weve done so far.]
So what was the first part of every experiment that weve done? Right, there was a
question that we were trying to answer. Does anyone know the name of that part of the
experiment? Well, its called the purpose. [Change to the next Powerpoint slide.] So lets read
this slide together. Can I have a volunteer to read it? Okay, lets take a minute to write this
definition in our science journals. So what was the purpose in the first experiment we did,
with the weights over the side of the table? Turn to your partner and share what you think
the purpose is. [Set timer for one minute.] Okay, what did you think the purpose was? Good,
that sounds about right. Did anyone word it differently?
Okay, take another minute with your partner. Pick another experiment from the list
on the board, and tell them what the purpose was. [Set it for one minute. Take some
volunteers afterwards to share.]
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Awesome. So what comes after the purpose? Ill give you a hint: Lindsey and I have
been using this word A LOT to talk about making guesses based on prior knowledge. Right!
Hypothesis! [Change to the hypothesis slide.] Take a second to write this in your science
journal. How does the hypothesis relate to the purpose? [Student responses.]
Okay, lets say our purpose is to determine the melting point of gold. Quick, make a
hypothesis to your partner and make sure to explain why. [Set the timer for one minute.]
Okay, what did your partner say? And what was their reason? And you? Lets do one more.
How many students would need to be opposite me on a seesaw to lift me? Remember to
describe why. Go! [Set the timer for one minute. Share some responses.] Does anyone have
any questions about purposes or hypotheses?
Does anyone remember the next step in an experiment? We havent really talked
about it, but the next step is Materials. [Change the slide.] This is a list of all of the things
you need for your experiment. Take a second to write this in your science journal. Can you
list all 10 things we needed for the two cars with forces on both sides? [Give 15 seconds of
thinking time.] Lets see how many we can list as a class. Raise your hand to participate.
[Make the list.]
What comes after the Materials? How about the Procedure! [Change slides.] Write
this definition in your science journals. So remember those lists of directions in each
experiment? That is what the procedure section contains.
Everyone please take a minute to work with your partner and come up with a
procedure for planting seeds. Make sure to number your steps and use careful word choice
78
and vocabulary. [Set timer for 1 minute.] Okay, what was your first step? Second? [Continue
and ensure that every group got a procedure.]
So, today we will be writing our own experiments. We will write all of the steps
weve already gone over today. So lets say I want to test how far a rubber band will go if you
stretch it to different distances. So whats the first step in the experiment writing? [Student
Response.] Right, the purpose. So what is my purpose in this experiment? [Student
Response.] Okay, lets say its seeing how far you need to stretch the rubber band to shoot it
5 meters. Whats the next step? [Student Response.] Right, the hypothesis. Turn to your
partner and make a hypothesis. [Student Response.] Okay, I like those. What materials will I
need? [Student Response.] Okay and finally, whats the last step? [Student Response.] Right,
the procedure. Heres my possible procedure. [Change the slide.] Note that my procedure is
numbered, is very specific, and lists everything that needs to be done for the setup, the
testing, and the recording of results. Does anyone have any questions?
And now lets return to Experiment Man! What do I, Experiment Man, need to do
to be able to drink this substance? Turn to the person sitting next to you and go through
what you could do to experiment. [Give three minutes.] Okay, what is your purpose?
[Student responses.] Hypothesis? Materials? Procedure? [Student Resposnes.] Did everyone
need the same materials and procedure? Of course notthere are many ways to test the
same things, thats where your creativity comes in! Lets all say goodbye to Experiment Man
for now, but I promise hell be back before long.
Okay, at your seats you will find a worksheet that you will fill out. It has a spot for
your purpose, hypothesis, materials, and procedure. In between each step, there is a spot for
79
a teacher signature. You may not move on to the next step until you get either Lindseys or
my signature. And we are here to help! Ask us if you need help.
Im going to set the timer for 3 minutes. Take that time to stay here on the rug and
think about what you want to explore. What science questions do you still have about force
and motion? What do you still want to find out? What testing do you still want to do? When
the timer rings, you may return to your seat quietly and begin working. [Set timer for three
minutes.] If you are still struggling to come up with an idea for an experiment, Experiment
Man left behind some index cards with some possible experiment ideas! [Leave index cards
on front table. Additional ideas include: Lever with fulcrum not in center, Inclined planes
with different terrains, Forces in two dimensions, Transfer of Momentum between two
rolling balls at different speeds, Levers with three weights, Four pulley systems, How the
wedge works, etc.]
who stray from the task. When a student comes for a signature, make sure their purpose is
testable, their hypothesis is explained, and their procedure is specific. When their procedure
is approved, collect their worksheet and ask them to pick a Force/Motion book from the
book display and try to find information related to their experiment.]
Okay class, weve got about 5 minutes left in the day. Try to be finishing up in the
next two minutes.
Okay class, were at the final 3 minutes. If you havent finished, we will finish
tomorrow during Writing.
80
Whats the next step after the procedure? Right! We do it! Tomorrow, we will be
performing our experiments and collecting our data. Are you excited?
So why do you think scientists use the scientific method? Why doesnt everyone just
write experiments in their own way? What do we gain by having the same process every
time? Why do you think we write this down instead of just jumping in with the equipment
and trying to figure stuff out?
Great job today guys.
Assessment
[Overnight, read the worksheets more carefully. Write comments and make
corrections to help clarity, conventions, spelling, and vocabulary. These can be revised later
in the quarter as part of the final unit project. Take note of who is using proper vocabulary,
who has a well-reasoned hypothesis, and who writes a clear procedure.]
Differentiation
The differentiation in this lesson will take place in the brief conferences between
student and teacher when a student comes for a signature.
For the high-achieving students, teachers should refuse to sign unless there is a
higher level of thought. Purposes should be questions that really interest them and take a
higher degree of thinking to set up an experiment. Hypotheses should be well-reasoned and
well-explained; good science vocabulary should be used when explaining why they are
guessing what they are guessing. Materials lists should be extra complete and detailed with
numbers and amounts and careful thought. Procedures should be highly detailed and very
easy to follow.
For the less-achieving student, teachers should work with them to make sure they
have a purpose. For those that really need help, teachers should suggest ideas that might
81
work for testable experiments. Teachers should be more lenient on hypothesis explanations
and materials. Teachers do need, however, to stress the importance of a good procedure to
make the experiment run more smoothly.
82
__________ s Experiment
Date: _______________
Purpose: I want to find out
Teacher Initials: ________
Hypothesis: I think that
I think this will be the result because
Materials: For this experiment I will need:
83
Procedure: The steps I will follow during my experiment are:
84
Lesson Plan #8: Data Collection

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Note: This lesson follows a week after the previous lesson. Students have spent the last week writing their
experiments and getting their purposes, hypotheses, materials, and procedures teacher-approved. They will then
have a week following this lesson to create their table, get it teacher-approved, and perform their experiments.
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to collect data and display it in both a table and a graph, each with 80%
accuracy.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective

(Math) 4.01 Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including stem-and-leaf plots) to solve problems.
5.MD.2. Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8).
Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots. For
example, given different measurements of liquid in identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker
would contain if the total amount in all the beakers were redistributed equally.
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Critical Content
Tools
Tables
Line Plots
Bar Graphs
Pie Charts
Histograms
Stem-and-Leaf Plots
Skills


Materials
Science Journals
Experiment from the day before (Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure)

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All science materials from the kit.
Cape
Introduction
I need you down on the carpet with nothing but your bodies and eyes on me in
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Alright, so last week we decided what question we wanted to answer. What did we
call that step in our scientific process? Right, the Purpose. Then, what did we do next? Right,
we made a hypothesis. What is a Hypothesis? Right, its a guess answer to the purpose
question based on prior knowledge. What did we do next? We wrote the procedure. If you
havent finished that from yesterday, there will be a little bit of independent work time once
we get started with todays activity. So what would come next? Youve written the purpose,
youve given it your best hypothesis, and youve settled on a way to go about testing it by
writing a procedure. Right! We do the experiment! I think that its time for a return
of.Experiment Man! [Put on the cape.]
Objective
This week, we are going to run our experiments and collect all of our data in both a
table and a graph.
Well kids, Ive done the experiments on the gloopy substance from last week and I
think Ive got some data to collect. Let me show you some tables. So lets look at this first
one. Please turn to your partner and explain what you see. Okay eyes back on me, what did
you see? [Student responses.] Right! Its very hard to understand because of the lack of good
columns and rows and explanations of what were looking at. Lets look at this next slide.
Turn to your partner and tell them what you see. Try to explain the table to them. Okay, eyes
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back up here, what did you see? [Student responses.] Okay so this one is better. It sounds
like you know what data I was recording where, but it sounds like my descriptions were
weak, and my numbers didnt make sense because I never explained what the numbers were
measuring.
Now lets take a look at this last slide. Explain this one to your partner. Okay eyes
back on me. What did you see? [Student responses.] Right! I think this is an EXCELLENT
data table, one very worthy of Experiment Man!
Okay, so what are some things we know about scientific data tables? [Write the
responses on the white board.] Okay. Sounds good. Im passing out a sheet with Data Table
on one side and Data Graph on the other side. Today, your first task is going to be to make
a data table. So what headings are you going to use for the columns? Why dont we
brainstorm some ideas that might be relevant. [Put these under a separate heading on the
white board.] Looks good, looks good. Once you have made a table, you need to bring it up
to Lindsey or me to get our signature. You may only start experimenting once you have a signature
from Lindsey or me! No exceptions.
After you collect all of your data, you are going to turn this sheet over, and youre
going to draw a graph. Why do we use graphs? Right, they help us see data more easily. So I
know in math weve been looking at different ways to show data. What are some of the ways
weve seen in math so far? [Write these on the board. Prompt if they miss one.] Stem and
Leaf (with median and range and mode and mean), Line Plot, Bar Graph, Histogram, Pie
Chart. You must choose one of these. Make sure to decide before you come up to Lindsey
or me because well ask what your plan is.
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Here are some of Experiment Mans graphs! Which ones do you think are helpful
and why? [Student responses.] So do you think Experiment Man can use these graphs to
make a statement about the data? What statement? [Student responses.]
process.] Okay, can someone summarize the first step again? [Take a volunteer.] And can
someone talk about what you should do when youre done with that step? [Take a
volunteer.] Then what do you do? [Student response.] And then how do you finish today?
[Student response.] Okay, if you have any questions, raise your hand quietly and Ill come
over and answer them.
The students break off individually and work at their seats. Teachers scan the room
and try to help struggling students with this abstract task.
who stray from the task. When a student comes for a signature, make sure that the table will
help answer the purpose and that it can be represented in a graph. Ask how theyll know the
answer to their question.]
Okay class, weve got about 5 minutes left in the day. What graph did you use? How
many other people used that graph? [Ask multiple students.] Did anyone run into
difficulties? What would you want to remember for next time?
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Why do we collect data in data tables? [Student responses.] And why does a graph
help? [Student responses.] Did anyone realize afterward that a different table might have
helped them more? [Student responses.] So maybe being more careful when were designing
our experiments will help us be more efficient when carrying them out.
So what will be our next step after the data? Right, the conclusion.
Assessment
So with the few minutes we have remaining, open up your science journal, label the
area as Conclusion and add the date, and please write 2-3 sentences explaining what you
learned from your experiment today. Make sure to use your data to write these
conclusionsI should see some descriptions or numbers from your data in your conclusion.
I will read these tonight and give you comments and then next week we will have a
conclusion writing workshop and one final visit from Experiment Man!
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Lesson Plan #9: Conclusion

5th Grade
- Matthew R. Straus
Note: This lesson follows a week after the previous lesson. Students have spent the last week running their
experiments and collecting their data and making their graphs. They will then have a week following this
lesson to draft their conclusion and get it teacher-approved.
Big Ideas
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to write a conclusion with at least 4 well-written sentences for their
experiments, graded to be accurate for at least 75% of statements.
Essential Questions
DCSCS Objective


Critical Content
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Concepts
Conclusion The summary results of an experiment.
Skills


Materials
Science Journals
Experiment from the week before
Google Docs and Computers
Cape
Introduction
I need you down on the carpet with nothing but yourselves. Eyes on me in
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Alright, so yesterday we experimented! By now you should have been able to get
some results written up and some concluding thoughts down in your journals. Last night I
looked at your concluding thoughts and Ive written comments back to you in your science
journals. While I pass these out, take a second to turn to your neighbor and share how your
experiment went. [Pass out notebooks, set timer for two minutes.] Now that youve had a
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chance to share, we can move on to writing our conclusions. But we want to hear how our
black goopy sludge turned out, so we need to invite back our friend. What was his name
again? [Students cheer!] Experiment Man!
Objective
Today, we are going to write conclusions to our experiments.
What makes a good conclusion? Turn to your neighbor and take a minute to share
your answer. So what did you come up with? [Student responses. Use these responses to
guide discussion. Make sure that you hit on all of the following points, though, whether or
not they come up with them.] Experiment Man has his conclusion information up on the
board so we can go through it together.
[Show questions on white board.] What happened: Describe what happened. What is
the answer to your purpose question? Take a minute and think to yourself. Lets read what
Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read the slide aloud.] Now tell your neighbor.
Anyone want to share with the class? [As you call on people, take note of who you are
calling on. Make sure all students share at least once during this portion of the lesson. Keep
track using a clipboard.]
Why do you think it happened: Why do you think you got the result you did. Can
you explain it? Take a minute and think to yourself. Lets read what Experiment Man has.
[Ask a student to read aloud.] Now tell your neighbor. Anyone want to share with the class?
What went well in the experiment: How was the experiment exactly like you thought
it would be? What went smoothly? What did you have no problems with? Take a minute and
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think to yourself. Lets read what Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read aloud.] Now
tell your neighbor. Anyone want to share with the class? [Student responses.]
What didnt go well in the experiment: What didnt go well in your experiment?
What did you forget about when you were writing your procedure? Take a minute and think
to yourself. Lets read what Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read aloud.] Now tell
your neighbor. Anyone want to share with the class? [Student responses.]
What you would change next time: Based on what didnt go well, what would you
change next time? How could you make your experiment go more smoothly? Take a minute
and think to yourself. Lets read what Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read aloud.]
Now tell your neighbor. Anyone want to share with the class? [Student responses.]
New questions that this experiment has prompted: What new questions do you
have? What would you test next if we were going to do another related experiment? Take a
minute and think to yourself. Lets read what Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read
aloud.] Now tell your neighbor. Anyone want to share with the class? [Student responses.]
How this might relate to your Rube Goldberg: How can you use what you learned in
your Rube Goldberg projects? Take a minute and think to yourself. Lets read what
Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read aloud.] Now tell your neighbor. Anyone want to
share with the class? [Student responses.]
How you can use what you learned in real life: How does what you learned apply to
real life? Can you think of an example of this happening in real life? Take a minute and think
to yourself. Lets read what Experiment Man has. [Ask a student to read aloud.] Now tell
your neighbor. Anyone want to share with the class? [Student responses.]
There! Youve done it! Youve just concluded your experiments. You were able to
have conversations with your neighbor that totally concluded everything youve done the last
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couple of days. And Experiment Man has his conclusion written! Now were going to write
everything you just said down on Google Docs. At your computers in your Drive you will
find a sheet with all of these questions written down and a requirement for how long each
part should be. Today you will be writing your conclusions, and then after you get a teacher
approval through Google Docs on your conclusion write-up, you can add in all of your other
steps for the full experiment for the final quarter project.
Does anyone have any questions? Can everyone give me a thumbs-up if they feel
good about writing their conclusions? Okay, those of you who dont have your thumbs up,
stay here and talk with me, those who feel good can return to their seats and get working.
[Work to clear up confusion and direct those students who need to stay behind for more talk
about conclusion writing.]
The students break off individually and work at their computers. Teachers scan the
room or the Google Drive and watch students type and try to help struggling students with
this task.
who stray from the task. When a student asks for approval, make sure that the conclusion is
deep and reflective enough.]
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Okay class, weve got about 5 minutes left in the day. So quick, as a class, what are
the steps in a scientific experiment? [Student responses.] Good, and why do we use scientific
experiments? [Student responses.]
So if youre trying to figure out why something works or doesnt work in your Rube
Goldberg project, what could you do? [Student responses.] How can experiments help in
other parts of our lives? [Student responses.] Why do we need to keep, me, Experiment
Man!, around for the rest of our lives? [Student responses.]
Experiment Man is leaving for now, but remember, hes always a part of you. Say
goodbye. [Class tears up and says goodbye, remorsefully, wanting Experiment Man to stay in
their lives.]
Assessment
Alright, please make sure that you have saved on the Google Drive. Im going to
review them, and Google will make sure you dont lose them. Thanks! Good reflecting
today! [Assess how well each student has reflected. For those that need more help or need
revisions, write comments on the conclusions and ask them to fix it for their final
submission with the final project.]
Differentiation
For the advanced students who can write very easily, they can quickly progress
through the assignment and move on to writing their final drafts on the computers. This will
keep them busy while the other students can receive attention from the teachers. These
students can also be encouraged to write more than just whats being asked, or to write a
more coherent couple of paragraphs that tie these questions together. See below for another
advanced differentiation.
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For the slower students who have more difficulty writing, teachers can focus energy
on helping them write straight to the questions. The questions are written pointedly enough
that all students should be able to follow, they just might need prompting on how to get
started.
For the few who have specific IEPs on file, they can start with the typing machines
rather than writing their written responses. This avoids handwriting or difficulty processing
written language from getting in the way of expression of ideas.
Specifically for different learning styles, students will be allowed to present their final
conclusion as a video, a voice recording, a powerpoint, a series of drawings, or a written
document. However, I think writing technically, with the vocabulary, is very important and
so I will require a written draft before a creative final product. This will also allow very
advanced students to try to present their conclusions in other ways beyond just additional
writing or stronger paragraphs.
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________ s Conclusion
What happened? What is the answer to your purpose question? (at least 3
sentences)
Why do you think that happened? (at least 2 sentences)
What went well in your experiment? (at least 2 things written in complete
sentences)
What didnt go well in your experiment? (at least 2 things written in complete
sentences)
What changes would you make next time? (at least 2 changes written in
complete sentences)
(More on the back)

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How will this help with your Rube Goldberg project? (at least 3 sentences)
How does your result apply to real life? (at least 3 ways it applies to real life in
complete sentences)
What questions might you want to explore later based on the results of this lab?
(at least 2 questions in complete sentences)
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Assessment Plan
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment Following Lesson #1
This formative assessment is an exit slip to see if students were using science
vocabulary appropriately to talk about vehicles in motion. The question asked students to list
ways in which their parents adjust for different types of weather when driving. If students do
not do well using appropriate science vocabulary, I need to do a better job using that
vocabulary and modeling it during future lessons of the unit.
This formative assessment is an exit slip to see if students understand the concepts
of the last two lessons by asking them to explain a phenomenon they will be seeing at the
end of the lesson. They will need to use both friction and force balance to explain what is
going on. If this piece is not here for the majority of the students, an extra day might be
added where we discuss some of these principles and actively tie these things together
through discussion; a student must have decent deductive reasoning skills to accurately fill
out this exit slip.
This lesson is about understanding how pulleys operate and being able to see their
applications in daily life. For the formative assessment, students are asked to draw in their
science journals a design for a human-powered elevator. This will be used to inform me if
students understand how pulleys can be used in daily life. If it is clear when checking the
drawings that students have an impractical understanding of pulleys, I will reteach the
material to those students so that they will be able to use pulleys in their summative
assessment performance task.
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The experiment with levers will have an exit slip being used as a formative
assessment. While the lab itself will give students a good understanding of levers and how
they function, the discussion afterward will apply levers to real life. To ensure that this
connection happens, the exit slip will ask for three places in everyday life that the students
see levers at work. If students are unable to come up with examples, then I clearly will need
to go back and make levers more applied and less abstract; if they are able to name places,
they have succeeded in attaining the useful big idea of the lesson.
This lesson is about inclined planes and is the last lesson before the summative
assessment is introduced. Because of that, the formative assessment for this lesson will be a
pop quiz covering the science content and vocabulary, since all of it will have already been
taught. Since students will need to apply these concepts in their Rube Goldberg Machine
Projects, it is important to see at this point who still needs help grasping a concept. This
formative assessment will let me know who will need individual coaching during certain
stages of the project work.
Formative Assessment Following Lesson #6 Midpoint Assessment
Since this lesson deals with simple machines in every day life, I will ask the students
to draw two more examples of simple machinesthey can be anything, as long as they are
examplesand draw where their forces act, and label what they drew and what kind of
simple machines they are. This will be an exit slip out of the door. This will serve as my midpoint assessment. At this point, I will be able to see the gains in understanding forces of
motion and friction, as well as the gains of applicability to real life.
Formative Assessment Following Lessons #7, 8, and 9
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In these three lessons, students will learn the components of the scientific method
and learn how to write them for their own experiments. The formative assessment for each
day will include having one of the teachers initial each component as it is written before the
next step is taken. This will allow the teacher a brief time to conference with each student
and assess if he or she understands the scientific method. It will also allow for differentiation
where some students who need help refining the procedure can get that help but other
students who are advanced can be challenged to make their conclusion more reasoned, for
example.
Summative Assessments (Pre, Mid, and Post tests)

Discussion of Data Collection Instruments Used
My data-gathering plan is a way to gauge the knowledge my students have
surrounding the topics of mechanics and experimental design.
For my first data collection instrument, I will hand out a blank sheet of paper to
each of the students and ask them to take out a pencil. I will then give the following
instructions: "I am going to give you 60 seconds to draw what you think "simple
machines" are. I want you to give the answer you think a 6th grader would give. It's okay
if you don't know exactly or you do are not sure, just try your best or make your best
guess. Go!" I will then set the timer for 60 seconds. With these instructions those that
know will give decent answers and those that are not as familiar will demonstrate this.
Following the 60 seconds of drawing, I will then explain to the class that I will be pulling
them out one by one during independent work. They will go out into the hallway with
me, and they will explain their picture by starting with the words "I think simple
machines are..." Thus, the product that will result from my pre-assessment will be an
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interview and drawing from each student explaining their best guess and picture about
their thoughts on simple machines. This will be helpful in determining where the
students stand and what myths or false-facts they believe when I go to plan what lessons I
need to teach to transmit the critical knowledge. I also am happy with this pre-assessment
because it gives the students a chance to see their progress if they are able to view their
picture after the unit.
Discussion of Sources of Data
The respondents to my data collection instruments will be my fifth grade students.
I will be able to capture each individual students responses qualitatively (through the
drawing and interview) and quantitatively (by scoring the knowledge and elements).
Frequency of testing
The data instrument, the picture and oral description, will be evaluated
before Lesson #1 as a pre-test, and after Lesson #9 as a post-test.
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Changing Forces

Student ID: 000402973

Mentored by Marty DeWindt

December 14, 2014

Instructional Design Production |1

Plan of instruction summary ......................................................................... 5

Lesson Plan #1: Friction ............................................................................... 23

Instructional Design Production |2

Instructional Design Production |3

Instructional Design Production |4

Instructional Design Production |5

Plan of instruction summary

Instructional Design Production |6

Instructional Design Production |7

Instructional Design Production |8

Instructional Design Production |9

Length and instructional sequence

Lesson Plan #2: Force Balance

Two Vehicles Assembled Beforehand

Two vehicle tracks

Lesson Plan #3: Pulleys

Pulley System with Platform, Pulley, Rope and Weights

Pulley Math Sheet

Pulley Websites Sheet

Bill Nye the Science Guys YouTube video on Simple Machines

Posted Instructions at each station

Lesson Plan #4: Levers

Yardstick for each partner pair

Yardstick Balances/Fulcrums for each partner pair

Lever Exit Slip

Four paperclip hooks for each partner pair

Forty small washers for each partner pair

Lever Powerpoint with picture

Lesson Plan #5: Inclined Planes

Wooden Boards for every partner pair

Smooth Rubber Balls for every partner pair

Stopwatches for every partner pair

Styrofoam Cups for each partner pair

Lesson Plan #6: Simple Machines Survey

Wheel and Axle Movie Maker movie

Simple Machines at Work! Worksheet

Lesson Plan #7: Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure

Protein Powder in Water

Red Cape with a big E on it

Lesson Plan #8: Data Collection

Experiment from the day before (Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure)

All science materials from the kit.

Lesson Plan #9: Conclusion

Device for use of Google Docs

Experiment from the week before

Performance objectives for each task and sub-task

School, District, and State Standards

4.06 Build and use a model to solve a mechanical design problem.

Devise a test for the model.

4.07 Determine how people use simple machines to solve problems.

Present and support arguments.

Lesson Plan #1: Friction

Environment can affect an object.

How does the physical environment affect an objects motion?

Common Core/Essential Standards

Terrain: The surface that the vehicle travels on

Friction: A force between two objects that opposes motion.

Interpreting a blueprint design

Conclusion: In conclusion, if there are _ washers at the ______ hook,