Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Scientific Process - A well designed investigation involves the use of a written plan that identifies the materials to be used, the procedure to follow, and the variables. A plan needs to be followed to make sure all steps in an investigation are completed.

• Complete data makes it possible to explain the results of an investigation and compare it with the prediction.

• A written plan must be followed in the correct sequence to make sure it is done the same way each time. (Replication of results.) An investigation should be done more than once to make sure data is accurate.

• Movement - Objects move as a result of force such as pushing, pulling, or gravity. The amount and location of the mass affects how the object in a system rolls.

• As the amount of energy in a system changes, the outcome also changes.

• Objects are in balance when they are part of a stable system. The position, location, direction, and stability of the object will change as the result of an outside force.

• Models make it possible to represent events or objects that cannot be duplicated.

• Safety - There are many safety rules to follow when doing an investigation to keep yourself and others safe.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• Scientific Process - What common vocabulary should be used when conducting an investigation?

• Why are predictions an important part of the scientific process? How can we make better predictions?

• Why should we follow a plan when conducting an investigation? What tools are available to gather data when conducting an investigation?

• How does data help us explain our investigation? What are some of the ways we can collect data?

• How can we communicate the results of our investigation to others? How can we make sure an investigation is done the same way each time? 

• Movement - How do objects move? How are objects able to roll? How do changes in energy input affect the outcome? How do objects and counterweights interact in a simple system to achieve balance? What happens to the object when it experiences an outside force?

• Technology - How can you utilize technology to gain knowledge and, communicate information? What careers use science and technology? How can errors in data be discovered? How can data be visually represented? How does data help make better predictions? How can models help complete a scientific investigation?

• Safety - What are safe laboratory techniques?

Standards  Highest Frequency Standards High Frequency Standards Other Standards & E-skills

 
Standard 1: Students understand the processes of scientific investigations and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigation.
Standard 2: Physical Science: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy.  Students know that matter has characteristic properties which are related to its composition and structure. Students understand that energy appears in different forms and can move (be transferred) and change (be transformed). Students understand that interactions can produce changes in a system, although the total quantities of matter and energy remain unchanged.
Standard 5: Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology, and human activity and how they affect the world.
Standard 6: Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and they understand common connections among scientific disciplines.

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

• Motion and Balance Lessons
• Motion and Balance Links

Science Leveled Readers with Audio - Use any of the aligned books below or check the entire Library of Science Leveled Readers.

Unit Vocabulary 

Lessons 1-3: Balance
 
Duration: @ 3 class periods
Standard 2: Physical Science: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy.  Students know that matter has characteristic properties which are related to its composition and structure. Students understand that energy appears in different forms and can move (be transferred) and change (be transformed). Students understand that interactions can produce changes in a system, although the total quantities of matter and energy remain unchanged.
Enduring Understanding: Movement - Objects move as a result of force such as pushing, pulling, or gravity. The amount and location of the mass affects how the object in a system rolls. As the amount of energy in a system changes, the outcome also changes. Objects are in balance when they are part of a stable system. The position, location, direction, and stability of the object will change as the result of an outside force.
Essential Questions: Movement - How do objects move? How are objects able to roll? How do changes in energy input affect the outcome? How do objects and counterweights interact in a simple system to achieve balance? What happens to the object when it experiences an outside force?

1. Triangle and Arch Notebook Writing: Mirette on The High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

2. Letter Writing - Stop reading the story when Bellini, sitting in his room, admits he is afraid.  Discuss the difficulties the Great Bellini is having. Discuss these questions:
   What advice would you give the Great Bellini to help him with his fears?
   What do you know about balance that could help the Great Bellini feel more comfortable on the high wire?

3. Brainstorm ideas and ask students to write a letter to the Great Bellini, giving him advice on how to balance on the high wire.  Have a few students share their letters, and continue reading the story.
   Key elements that indicate understanding:
   Letters should include statements about balance, stability, counterweight and balance point relating to the high wire system.
   Counterweights must be placed low to help something balance.
   Above stated vocabulary may or may not be written, but should be explained.

4. (TG Investigations tab, Investigation1, p.29)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 2: Triangle and Arch

Notebook Writing:

Constructed Response A, “Balancing a Triangle”

• Before testing the stability of the triangle system on the Constructed Response, students predict in writing whether it is stable or not and how they know.

• After testing the stability of the triangle system, students draw a stable position and explain why it is stable in writing.

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• The explanation reflects an understanding that the counterweights need to be lower than the balance point and on opposite sides of the balance point.  (Students need not use this specific terminology.)

• A system that is stable is steady, not falling over

• Examples of student work are provided in the Embedded Assessment Package starting on p.44.

(Embedded Assessment Package p.40)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 3: The Pencil Trick

Notebook Writing:

“Write a How-To Guide”

Have students make a new shape to balance out of tagboard or old file folders (see the science extension “Balance New Creations”).  Let them find all possible ways to balance the shape on a craft stick, using clothespins as counterweights.

Ask students to write a how-to guide for a classmate.  Have them trace their shape onto another piece of tagboard and write directions about all the ways to balance the shape.

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• For Example:

1. Use scissors to cut the shape on the lines.

2. Hold the shape so the point is at the top.  Put the clothespins on the two bottom corners.

3. Balance the shape on the stick.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.29)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 3: The Pencil Trick

Math:

“Explore a Balance System for Weighing”

Help students relate balancing activities to the action of a balance used to weigh things.  Set up a balance for students to compare the mass of two objects at a time.  Have students predict which object is heavier, then put the two objects on either side of the balance and see if the balance tips to one side.  Discuss how the balance shows them which object is heavier.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.30)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 3: The Pencil Trick

Activities:

 “Balance on Strings”

Put up some tight strings.  Challenge students to balance the notched craft sticks (in the kit) in stable positions on the string.  They should try balancing the sticks in several ways, using a number of different notches on the sticks.  Be sure to provide the aluminum wires and clothespins for this activity.

Make the sticks stems for flowers or bases for fish, and so forth, and have a balancing garden or a school of dancing fish in the classroom.

Turn a table upside down at a center.  The legs make convenient anchor posts for strings while students are working on projects.  Later the creations can be transferred to a class clothesline for display.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.31)

“Balance Other Objects/Components on Strings and Sticks”

Let students find other objects to balance – paper cups, plastic forks and spoons, beads, paper plates, aluminum foil sculptures, toothpicks, and so forth.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.31)

“Make a Double Balance System”

Challenge students to balance one object on another object that is balanced.  For instance, one pencil can be balanced as in Part 3, and then a second pencil can be balanced on the eraser of the first.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.31)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 4: Mobiles

Performance Assessment:

 “Shape Mobiles”

After completing Investigation 1, Part 4, students will work on the Embedded Performance Assessment to make a shape mobile.  After creating the mobile, students will explain in written form what they know about balance by answering the appropriate questions on the worksheet (Student Handout p.34 in the Embedded Assessment Package)

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• Rubrics for teachers and examples of student work are provided on p.18-31 in the Embedded Assessment Package.

(Embedded Assessment Package, Performance Assessment tab p.11-38)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 4: Mobiles

Math:

“Total Parts of a System”

Problem A:

Students use counting, addition or possibly multiplication to total the number of materials used to make a mobile.

Duplication Master #12

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.30)

“Supplies for the System”

Problem B:

Students use the same strategies to solve this problem a for problem A.   It is slightly more complicated because students must determine how many students make half a class, and they have to consider two different groups with different amounts of equipment.

Duplication Master #13

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.30)

Investigation 1: Balance

Part 4: Mobiles

Activities:

“Balance New Creations/Systems”

Let students cut interesting shapes and funny designs from cardboard and color them.  Have students discover different ways to place the shapes in stable positions.  Encourage them to swap shapes with a friend and to balance each other’s shapes.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.31)

“Set up a Mobile Center”

Provide materials for informal mobile construction at a center – yarn, bamboo skewers, cardboard, and solid objects.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.31)

“Make Big Mobiles”

Get some strong string or light rope.  Start with a broom and build a big mobile out of objects in the classroom.  Give it a sports theme, a reading theme, or an art theme.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.31)

“Make a Balance Collage”

Provide old copies of sport magazines, scissors, construction paper, and glue at an activity center.  Have students look for examples of people or objects that are in balance.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 1, p.32)

Investigation 2: Spinners

Part 1: Tops

Notebook Writing:

“Write Poems About Spinning”

Have students write cinquain poems after brainstorming lists of words for each kind of spinner.

Rules for writing cinquain poems

Line 1 – one word title

Line 2 – two words describing the title

Line 3 – three words showing action about the title

Line 4 – four words expressing a feeling about the title

Line 5 – one word that is a synonym for the title or repeats it

Key elements that indicate understanding:

Example cinquain

Zoomer

Twisted, tangled

Whirling, humming, pinching

I like going faster

Spinner

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.26)

Investigation 2: Spinners

Part 1: Tops

Math:

 “Choose Parts for the System and Their Cost”

Problem A

Students choose materials for a top and figure out how much their top would cost.

Duplication Master #14

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.26)

“Color and Position Tops”

Problem B

Students follow directions to color some tops.  They order the tops, following clues that you read to them.

Duplication Master #15

Teacher Sheet #16

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.26)

Investigation 2: Spinners

Part 1: Tops

Activities:

 “Make a Drawing Top System”

Draw large 12-15 cm (5-6”) circles on cardboard with a pencil compass.  Cut them out.  Poke a hole in the center large enough to insert a felt-tipped pen.  Students can take the disks home to share with family members.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

“Tinker Toys to Build Systems”

If you have access to a set of Tinkertoys, have a session in which students use them to make tops.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

“Top Collection”

Modern and traditional tops are everywhere, and most are inexpensive.  Start a collection and display it at a center.  Let students spin the tops during free time.  Invite students to bring tops from home to share for a short time.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

“Make Big and Little Tops”

Help students make a giant top out of a piece of broomstick and several layers of cardboard disks.  Try to get it spinning.  Let them make tiny tops out of toothpicks and scraps of tagboard.

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• You need a force to start a top spinning

• Observe and explore variables using tops

• Speed and mass affect how tops spin

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

“Create Spin Art”

Make a 15-cm (6”) cardboard disk and insert a pencil in the center.  For each student cut a 15-cm paper circle and poke a hole in the center.  Attach a paper circle to the disk with a loop of tape.

Get a shallow box in which to spin the top.  Have students put several drops of tempera paint on the paper circle near the center and then spin the top in the box.  Let them put a couple of more drops of paint on the paper and spin it again, this time in the opposite direction.  They can continue this process until artwork is complete.

Duplication Master #5

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.28)

Investigation 2: Spinners

Part 2: Zoomers

Activites:

 “Make Singing Zoomers”

Have students attach a tagboard (file folder) disk about 10 cm (4”) in diameter to a cardboard disk.  Have them punch two holes in the edge of the tagboard with a hole punch.  Listen to it sing.

Students can listen to the changes in sound as more holes are punched in the zoomer, one hole at a time.  Have students compare the pitch of zoomers, two at a time, that have different numbers of holes punched in them.

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• Air resistance can act as a force to make things spin

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

“Make a Door Fiddle, Vibrating System”

Another kind of repeating motion (like spinning) is rapid back-and-forth motion called vibration.  Look at Center Instruction Card – Vibrations, teacher sheet no.9, for a description of how to make a system for investigating vibrating strings and the pitch and volume of sound they produce.

Teacher Sheet #9

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

Investigation 2: Spinners

Part 3: Twirlers

Activities:

“Make Traditional Twirly Birds From Feathers”

Traditional twirly birds are made with real feathers stuck into cork with a reed or twig hanging down for stability.  Bring in some large feathers to make a different kind of twirly bird.

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• Variations in design can affect how things spin.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.27)

Field Experience “Visit a Toy Store to Look for Spinning System Toys”

Ask students to take their families on a “field trip” to the toy store to look for spinning toys – tops, zoomers, twirlers, pinwheels, propellers and so forth.  If students have spinning toys at home, encourage them to bring them to school to share.  Discuss how the commercial toys are similar to and different from the toys they made in class.

TG Investigations tab, Investigation 2, p.28)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 1: Rolling Wheels

Notebook Writing:

“Written Assessment”

Write as many words as you can that describe the different ways things move.

What is needed to start an object moving?

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• Examples of ways things move: straight, zigzag, round and round, back and forth, fast, slow, spinning, rolling

• A force is needed to start an object moving.

Duplication Master #6

(TG Assessment tab, p.8)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 1: Rolling Wheels

Activities:

“Make Giant Wheels”

Get two hula hoops and a few cardboard boxes.  A broomstick might come in handy.  Have students make a really big wheel-and-axle system and roll it around outside.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.28)

“Look at Rolling Toys”

Ask students to bring rolling toys to school to share.  Have them locate the axles and demonstrate how the toys can roll down a slope.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.28)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 2: Rolling Cups

Notebook Writing:

“Write Rolling Sentences”

Have students write three sentences about rollers that describes the motion.

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• Sentences visually look like they are in motion (see TG Investigations tab, Investigations 3 p.26 for examples)

• Sentences are related to the theme of systems as they roll.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.26)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 2: Rolling Cups

Math:

“Chart Rollers and Spinners”

Collect old copies of sports magazines for students to look through.  Have students look for pictures of people or objects that spin or roll.  In a central area, have students line up the pictures of rollers and spinners.  Ask questions to compare the groups.

• Are there more rollers or spinners?  How many more?

• How many rollers and spinners are there all together?

• How many pictures of rollers have people in them?  How many do not?

Students may notice that some rollers are also spinners.  Be prepared for this event; have loops or hula hoops available to introduce Venn diagrams.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.27)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 2: Rolling Cups

Activity:

“Investigate Force with Rolling Magnets”

The force of attraction and repulsion between magnets can make for some interesting interactions.  Suggestions for investigating magnets and the effects produced by the magnetic force are provided on teacher sheet #11, Center Instruction card – Magnetic Force.

Teacher Sheet # 11

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.28)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 3: Rolling Spheres

Notebook Writing:

“Discuss and Write About Your Runway System”

Discuss runway creations that students explored in class.  Discuss how the marble started rolling, what kept it rolling in the middle of the runway, and what happened at the end.  Ask questions such as “How did the class keep the marble rolling?  Were there problems or obstacles?  How did you solve the problems?”

Ask students to design their own runway system.  Have them close their eyes and imagine how their runway would start, what the middle would look like (will they include hills, loops, or curves), and how the runway would end.

Give students drawing paper and have them draw the runway’s path.  Have students write or dictate descriptions of their runways.

Elements that indicate understanding:

• Students’ descriptions should match the attached drawing.

• Description should include a beginning, middle and end of the runway.

• The marble path should follow the principles they have learned during the investigation to keep it rolling.

• Things always roll from a high position to a low position

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.26)

“Write About the Travels of a Sphere”

Have students think of a sphere of their own choosing and ask them to imagine it at the top of a mountain.  Brainstorm all the places that it could roll.  Think of high places, medium-high places, and low places where it might come to rest.  Let students write (or draw) the journey their sphere takes.

Elements that indicate understanding:

• Rolling object is a spherical shape.

• The journey path follows the principles of motion and force they have learned about rolling objects in the investigations.

• Things always roll from a high position to a low position.

• Spheres can roll in all directions.

• Stories could be humorous.

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.26)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 3: Rolling Spheres

Math:

“Draw a Runway System, Predict Length”

Problem A:

Draw two runways through which a marble might successfully roll from top to bottom.  Predict which one is longer.  Find a way to prove which runway is longer.

Duplication Master #17

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.27)

“Build a Matching Runway System”

Problem B:

Students look at runway parts and decide which parts were used to build a complete runway.

Duplication Master #18

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.27)

Investigation 3: Rollers

Part 3: Rolling Spheres

Activity:

“Draw Pathways of Rolling Systems”

The pathways traveled by some of the rolling systems can be interesting to try to draw.  Suggest some drawing projects.

• Wheel-and-axle systems rolling down a ramp

• Cups rolling down a ramp

• Runways through which a marble might successfully roll from top to bottom

(TG Investigations tab, Investigation 3, p.28)

Additional Assessment:

End-of-Module Assessment

Performance Assessment

Choose a piece of heavy paper.  Draw a shape on the paper that you could balance on a craft stick.  Cut it out and try it.

Draw a picture to show how you balanced your shape.

Explain how you balanced your shape.  Did you need clothespins?  Where did you put them, and why?

Key Elements that indicate understanding:

• Students can make a shape and balance it.

• The picture shows the shape and the clothespins attached low.

• Written answer should include something about the fact that the counterweights (clothespins) need to be down low for the shape to balance.

•  

Written Assessment

How do you know when something is in a stable position?

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• It is steady, not falling over; or there are counterweights (clothespins) attached low.

Written Assessment

Write as many words as you can that describe the different ways things move.

What is needed to start an object moving?

Key elements that indicate understanding:

• Examples of ways things move: straight, zigzag, round and round, back and forth, fast, slow, spinning, rolling

• A force is needed to start an object moving.

Duplication Masters #4, 5, and 6

(TG Assessment tab, p.7-9)