Indiana Wesleyan University

Science Lesson Plan

Sara Eubank

LESSON RATIONALE
Students have learned about gravity and force previous to this lesson. It is important for them to learn
about unbalanced force because it has an effect on objects in their everyday lives and helps make sense of
why certain things happen. Students can use their knowledge of balanced and unbalanced forces to
understand why they fall down when they are pushed, or why when we drop something it hits the ground.

READINESS
I.Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal—Students will understand unbalanced force and how it works with gravity.
B. Objective—After conducting the experiment, students will explain the effects of unbalanced force
on the block.
C. Standard: 3.PS.1 – Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of
balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
II. Management Plan
a. Time: 42 minutes total
i. Anticipatory Set: 5 minutes
ii. Lesson: 25 minutes
iii. Closure: 12 minutes
b. Space:
i. Anticipatory Set: Students will be seated at their desks, so they can see the book
on the table at the front of the room. I will be at the front of the classroom, behind
the table.
ii. Lesson: Students will remain seated at their desks for the mini lesson. I will be at
the front of the classroom. Then, I will lead students into the hallway to complete
their experiments. Students will be spread out and working in groups of four. I
will move around between groups and discuss with students about their
experiments
iii. Closure: I will lead students back into the classroom. Students will be at the
carpet, and I will be in front of them.
c. Materials
i. YouTube Video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlHxAYwCbg
ii. A few buckets
iii. Some blocks
iv. A book
v. Recording sheet
vi. Clipboards
d. Behavior: Students will be expected to…
i. Raise their hands when they want to answer a question or give a response.
ii. Give their best efforts during the lesson.
iii. Ask questions if necessary.
iv. Conduct experiment properly and respectfully.
v. Participate in class discussions and experiment.

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 vi. Work together with group and collaborate.
III. Anticipatory Set
 Good morning students! I will have a book sitting on the table and question students
about the movement or lack of movement of the book. What can you observe about the
textbook that I have placed on the table? Is the textbook moving at all? I will allow time
for students to respond between questions and guide their responses with some of the
following questions. Why is the book staying still on the table? Based on what we
learned yesterday about gravity, why isn’t the book moving downward? What is holding
the book up from falling to the ground? What would happen if I applied force and pushed
the book onto the ground?
 Purpose: Today, we are going to talk about how unbalanced forces affect the motion of an object,
so we can better understand how gravity works in our world and affects our everyday life.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

IV. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
 I will verbally explain and write the definitions of the words on the board.
 Students will work in groups throughout the lesson. Students will collaborate and support one
another as they complete the experiment.
 Students will fill out their own recording sheet and turn that in for me to look over before we
would move onto the next part of the lesson the next day.
 If students finish early, they can work with their group to explore more about balanced and
unbalanced forces.
 Students will have my support throughout the lesson as necessary.

V.Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

 Mini Lesson
o Yesterday, we learned about gravity which we talked about is the mysterious force that
makes everything fall down towards the Earth. But, we also learned that all objects have
gravity; it’s just some objects like the Earth and sun, have more gravity than others. I
will write the word “gravity” and its definition on the board. In my example of the book
sitting on the table, gravity is pushing the book down toward the floor while the table is
holding the book up. We decided that the book wasn’t moving which means it is at rest,
and there is balanced force being applied to the book. Balanced force is when equal
forces are acting on an object in opposite directions. I will write “balanced force” and its
definition on the board. So, the gravity pushing down on the book and the table keeping
the book up is a balanced force. But, there is not always a balanced force on an object.
When there is only force in one direction, this is unbalanced force. Let’s watch this short
video to see an example of what this looks like. Be sure to watch what happens when
there is balanced force and when there is unbalanced force.
o I will show the video clip called, “Forces for Kids: Balanced and Unbalanced”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlHxAYwCbg). What did you notice about
balanced forces in this video? I will allow time for 2-3 students to respond. What did you
notice about unbalanced forces in this video? I will allow time for 2-3 students to
respond.
 Experiment
o Now, that we have discovered and discussed what balanced and unbalanced forces, we
are going to try it out using unbalanced forces. You’re going to run as quickly as
possible past a bucket and drop a block straight down into the bucket as you pass. What
do you think will happen? Write down your hypothesis on your recording sheet using the

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 sentence stem provided. I will give students time to make their individual hypotheses.
Now, that you’ve each made your hypothesis, you are going to test your hypothesis and
see what happens. You will work in groups of four and each person will have a job role
in the experiment. I will have groups and job roles pre-determined. Your groups and job
roles are up on the board. The Recorder will be writing down your results as you run
trials of the experiment. The Runner will be the person running down the hall and
dropping the block in the bucket when he/she is directly beside the bucket. The materials
gatherer will gather materials before beginning the experiment and reset the experiment
before trials. The filmer will film each trial on his/her iPad, so the group can watch
exactly what happened during the trials. You will have about 15 minutes to complete four
trials and discuss if your hypothesis was correct or not and why. We’re going to go
ahead and go into the hallway to begin our experiment. Make sure the Materials
Gatherer in each group grabs a bucket and a block on their way out the door. I will
release students to the hallway to conduct their experiments. I will go with the students
and provide support as students need fit. I may ask questions to groups as they are
running their trials for their experiment.

VI. Check for Understanding

 I will ask students questions about the movement of the book during the anticipatory set.
 Students will have time to share with me about what is happening with the book during the
anticipatory set.
 I will question and guide students throughout their experiment time.
 I will monitor students’ discussions with their groups during the closure.
 The last on the recording sheet (How do you think the unbalanced force affected the block and
the accuracy of it going into the bucket?) will be a check for understanding.
 Reteaching or extended teaching will take place the next day before we continue to the second
part of today’s experiment.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure – We are going to go back into the classroom and sit at the
carpet to discuss your findings. Go ahead and sit with your group, so you can discuss your
findings. I will lead the students back into the classroom. Alright, go ahead and the Recorder in
your group will share the information that he/she recorded while you were running the trials.
Then, flip to the back of your recording sheet and write down your results from your experiment
using the sentence stem provided. I will give students about 5 minutes to collaborate with their
groups to complete this. Okay, what did you observe happened within your trials? I will call on 2-
3 students to respond. What would happen if you changed something about the experiment? What
could you change to have a better chance of getting the block in the bucket and not knock the
bucket over? You’re going to collaborate with your group and write your ideas at the bottom of
your recording sheet. Tomorrow, you will test out your ideas. I will give students a few minutes
to discuss with their groups. Lastly, how do you think the unbalanced force affected the block and
the accuracy of it going into the bucket? You are going to write your answer at the very bottom of
your recording sheet and place your recording sheet in the yellow basket since we will refer back
to it in tomorrow’s lesson.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

Formative: asking students questions throughout the lesson; monitoring students during their
experiments; listening to students’ group discussions about the experiment; the recording sheet will show
me the work that students completed during today’s experiment and lesson

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REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS
1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. How could I extend this lesson in further days?
8. How could I make this lesson more student-directed and less teacher-guided?
9. What other materials could students use to do this experiment?
10. Should I have grouped the students differently than I did? Why?