Students observe objects in motion and complete a KWL chart on forces and motion based on their prior knowledge. Through teacher demonstrations and guided discussion, students begin to recognize that a force is a push or pull, and that an unbalanced force is necessary for any changes in an object's motion. The document provides an overview of the lesson, which includes student engagement activities, explorations of motion and forces, and explanations of key concepts like push, pull, and the need for a force to cause changes in motion. Formative assessments are used to evaluate student understanding.

1. July 2008 Force, Motion, and Energy (FME)
To scroll through the document, hold down the left click and drag the mouse, or use the scroll bar on the right side. To activate a
link, hold ’Ctrl’ and click on the link. A new window will open.
OVERVIEW FOR LESSON 1
A Force Is a Push or Pull
Students observe objects in motion and complete a KWL based on their prior knowledge of
forces and motion. Through guided discussion of teacher demonstrations, students begin to
recognize that a force is a push or pull, and that an unbalanced force is necessary for any
changes in motion to occur.
Enduring Understandings
An object’s motion is described using distance, time, direction, and speed.
Changes in mass and force affect an object’s motion.
Essential Questions
How do we describe an object’s change in motion?
What causes an object to change its motion?
Indicator Guiding Instruction Standards Based Curriculum Development
5.5. A.2 Explain that the changes in the motion of objects are determined by the mass of an
object and the amount (size) of the force applied to it.
Resources Supporting Instruction Imbedded Professional Development (PD)
DE streaming video segment Making Things Move (2:51)
Web site http://physics.about.com/od/physics101thebasics/u/basicconcepts.htm provides
general content support for teachers.
What is motion? Science Closer Look (SCL), pp. 380–381. Students read the same section
later.
Science Closer Look: English Language Learner Teacher’s Guide (ELG), pp. 118–121
Preparation
Make a giant pendulum by hanging a string from the ceiling where all students can
observe it. Tie a large paper clip to the end and hang one large washer on the paper clip.
Clear a path for the swings. This pendulum will be used throughout the unit.
Gather materials to demonstrate the three types of motion. See Notes to Support Teacher
Background Content Knowledge (NOTES) at end of lesson.
Cue the DE streaming video segment.
Prepare Force, Motion, and Energy KWL on chart paper or overhead with the column
titles: I Think I Know, I Want to Know, and I Learned.
Students will need a journal or section in a notebook to record notes and organize
worksheets.
Grade 5 ● DRAFT ● ©2008 MCPS Science 11

2. July 2008 Force, Motion, and Energy (FME)
Engage
Pull the pendulum back and release it. As students watch it swing, say: ―How do we know
something moved or has motion?‖ Do not accept responses at this time but ask them to think
about what they know about things that are moving.
Stop the pendulum and introduce the KWL. Ask students to brainstorm on their own papers
everything they think they know about motion and what they want to learn. Give them a
minute or two to brainstorm and then record ideas on the class KWL. Place the KWL in a
visible and accessible location. It will be refined over the course of the unit and can be used as
a tool to support an activator or summarizer activity for any lesson.
Embedded Universal Design
for Learning (UDL) Strategies
ESOL and Special Education: Science Closer Look: English Language Learner Teacher’s
Guide (ELG) includes strategies on page 119 to support the KWL development. It also includes a
list of physics terms in English and Spanish on page 120 and other general strategies on page
121 to assist in front–loading of instruction. Emphasize the graphics in the textbook and their
connection to the text. When possible, ask students to draw or identify pictures that match
scientific terms instead of asking them to write what they mean. For an online audio glossary,
students can access:
http://www.macmillanmh.com/science/2008/student/na/grade5/glossary/index.html.
Explore
During the demonstrations of the three types of motion (see NOTES), use the questions below
to guide student discussion. Acknowledge all reasonable answers but do not accept: ―I just
know‖ or ―I can see it.‖ This can prove to be a frustrating discussion, as students struggle with
recognizing that they decide that something is moving by comparing it to something that they
assume is not moving, or stationary (at rest). The types of motion are introduced here and
explicitly taught in Lesson 3. Do not introduce the terms at this time.
Place an object so it is visible to all students and does not move. Technology Support:
Ask: ―Is the object moving?‖ ―How do you know?‖ Video of Model Lesson
Video of lesson being modeled at training made available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPsFZBvMvhE
Make the object move and ask: ―Is the object moving?‖ ―How do you know?‖
Present other demonstrations based on the three types of motion and continue to challenge
students to answer the question: ―How do you know the object is moving?‖ If possible, guide
discussion to the concept that one knows something has motion by comparing it to something
that is assumed to be stationary (at rest). Tell students that they will revisit this topic in the
next lesson.
Ask students: ―What causes the motion you are observing?‖ Repeat the earlier demonstrations
and ask students to share their ideas.
Ask students: ―Can an object be moved or change its motion if nothing touches the object?‖
Due to prior knowledge, students may mention gravity or magnets. If they do not, drop an
object, emphasizing to students that it is simply being dropped and not pushed down.
Explain
In guided discussion, revisit the student responses to the questions above, emphasizing the
terms push and pull. For example: ―The ball was pushed off of the desk… Gravity pulled the
Grade 5 ● DRAFT ● ©2008 MCPS Science 12

3. July 2008 Force, Motion, and Energy (FME)
ball down the inclined plane toward the center of Earth….A magnet pushed another magnet
away…The wind’s air molecules pushed the paper.‖ Based on prior knowledge, students may
mention static electricity’s ability to push or pull another charged or uncharged object.
PD
Well-Designed Investigations: Explain to students the difference between an inference and an
observation. For example, an observation is “the ball fell to the ground when I let it go.”
However, an inference is “gravity pulled the ball to the ground.” Emphasize that an observation
is typically something a student can point to, and that there is little room for argument. An
inference explains what they observed. It is often difficult for students to state simple observations
that only describe what is observed without introducing terms that explain what is observed.
Ask students: ―What terms did you hear me emphasize?‖ Focus students on the need for a push
or pull to cause changes in motion.
UDL Technology
Show the DE streaming video segment Making Things Move (2:51) and ask students to
identify the force that changes an object’s motion: starts it, stops it, slows it down, speeds it up,
or changes its direction. After the video, ask students: ―What is needed for something to start
moving?‖ Emphasize that a push or pull, also known as a force, is required, but that a change
in motion does not require one object to touch another.
UDL
Evaluate (Formative Assessment)
Formative On an exit card or in the journal, ask students to complete the following:
assessments 1. What is necessary in order for an object to change its motion?
prepare for
summative A force, or a push or pull, must be applied to an object to cause change to its motion. Forces
can make objects move without one object touching another (gravity, magnetism, static
assessment
electricity).
Click:
Results 2. Draw a labeled diagram or describe an example to explain your answer.
Walk around the room to assess understanding and to identify any misconceptions. Reteach as
necessary and add to the KWL as appropriate. If time permits, share aloud.
Extend
Ask students: ―If a force is needed to start something moving, what do you think is needed to
stop something that is moving? What would make sense?‖ Guide students to the concept that
any change in motion requires an unbalanced force.
UDL
Enrich/Accelerate/Reteach
Ask students to research Newton’s life based on the leveled reader Sir Isaac Newton, pages 2–
9 and present what they learn, comparing/contrasting students’ lives today to Newton’s.
Students could build a waterwheel, pinwheel, or other device to demonstrate different forces
causing motion. Additional online resources that reinforce textbook content are available at:
http://www.macmillanmh.com/science/2008/student/na/grade5/g5_ch11.html.
Technology
Technology resources embedded in other lessons and units include:
Scenarios: http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Circuit_Construction_Kit_DC_Only
Videos: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/
Activities: http://www.kidsastronomy.com/astroskymap/constellations.htm
Grade 5 ● DRAFT ● ©2008 MCPS Science 13

4. July 2008 Force, Motion, and Energy (FME)
PD
NOTES TO SUPPORT TEACHER BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
Biology Connection
There are no muscles exerting a push force in the human body. All muscles can only pull.
Therefore, all motion is due to a pull. When walking, the calf muscle pulls the back of the foot
causing it to push against the floor. That causes forward motion. When bending an arm, the
bicep muscle pulls the forearm. When the heart contracts, or pulls together, it pumps blood.
Chemistry Connection
Wind involves air molecules (oxygen, nitrogen, etc.), which are pieces of matter with mass,
pushing another object like a sail, leaves, etc.
Force
A push or pull. However, any change in motion, including stopping, starting, changing speed,
or changing direction requires an unbalanced force, meaning the force(s) in one direction are
greater than the force(s) in another. When an object is subject to balanced forces, it can be
stationary (at rest) or it can be in motion. The velocity of an object in motion, but subject to
balanced forces, remains the same. It continues in the exact same direction at the exact same speed.
Gravity
The force that all objects exert on each other because of their mass. It is typically referred to as
the force that pulls objects toward the center of Earth at a constant acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.
Due to the pull of gravity, the speed of falling objects increases but the speed of objects pushed
upwards decreases.
An index at the end of the
Motion guide references all Notes by
A change in position in a certain amount of time. instructional unit and topic.
Newton’s First Law of Motion (The Law of Inertia)
Every object remains in a state of rest, or a state of motion at a constant velocity (i.e., in a
straight line at a constant speed), unless compelled to change that state by an unbalanced force.
Basically, whatever an object is doing, it will keep on doing in the exact same way until some
force makes it change. Constant velocity is difficult for students to comprehend due to their
limited understanding of friction as a force. Inertia is not a force. It is the tendency of an object
to resist change. The greater the mass, the greater the inertia and the more force required to
change its state of motion.
Three Types of Motion
1. Uniform—equal distances traveled in equal times; any motion in a straight line at a
constant speed (escalator, conveyor belt, vehicle on the highway on cruise control,
walking at a constant pace)
2. Variable—different distances traveled in equal times; any motion with a changing speed
(ball rolling down a inclined plane, vehicle increasing and/or decreasing speed, walking
faster/slower/faster, one arc swing of a pendulum, or skydiver/parachute)
3. Periodic—any motion that repeats itself in a regular cycle (a bouncing ball, a swinging
pendulum, the second hand on the classroom clock, or a vibrating spring, guitar string, or
rubber band)
Grade 5 ● DRAFT ● ©2008 MCPS Science 14

5. Name: ________________________
Investigation: Mass and Force
Testable Question: How does mass affect a force?
Hypothesis: If the mass increases, then the force causing motion will _____________________.
Directions
1. Set up investigation as shown in diagram.
2.
Start Line
This investigation is typical of the
types of learning experiences
students have during the unit,
allowing students to engage in tactile
events that require an application of
what they have learned. The earlier
investigations have more guidance.
This investigation occurs as one of
the last in the unit.
Technology
Additional support, including spreadsheets that will graph the data for this investigation and
others, is available in the Elementary > Grade 5 > Science Curriculum Archive.
Observations
Quantitative Observations
Data Table
Number of Washers
Trial 1
Distance
Trial 2
Cart
Travels Trial 3
(cm)
Mean
Qualitative Observations
Grade 5 ● DRAFT ● ©2008 MCPS Science 62

6. Graph ______________________________________________________
Mean
Distance Cart
Travels
(cm)
Number of Washers
Conclusion
Was your hypothesis supported by the data? Using quantitative data from the investigation, describe how
the mass of an object affects its force. In your response, be sure to correctly use the terms force, mass, and
distance. Include the appropriate number data.
Grade 5 ● DRAFT ● ©2008 MCPS Science 63