Forces and Interactions

Newton and Me tells the story of a young boy and how he discovers the Disciplinary Core Ideas of Forces and Motion in his daily activities with his dog.  Readers follow these best friends as the boy applies these core ideas to the throwing of a ...

Ocean Engineering and Designing for the Deep Sea by Rebecca Sjonger, is a non-fiction text that shares real-life examples of how ocean engineers design equipment to study the deep sea. A design challenge is embedded to help students understand key co ...

In this lesson, which is an associated activity to the curated resource The Science of Swinging, students further investigate the variables that affect a pendulum’s motion by riding a playground swing. Students then extend their knowledge ...

Using a worksheet attached to this lesson, students will investigate how the length of a pendulum string affects its motion. The related curated resource, Swinging in Style, provides opportunitites for further investigations.    

Students will be investigating the effect that balanced and unbalanced forces have on straw rockets as they design their own rocket to see how far it can travel. Students will be testing and evaluating variables, as well as collecting and analyzing f ...

This video showcases nine static electricity phenomena that can be investigated in the classroom.  The teacher could have students view any three of them to generate and investigate questions about electrical interactions between two object ...

Students observe and measure a tumblewing glider's motion, conducting a series of investigations to test the effect of changes to the glider's structural features on the flight path and duration of their gliders.  The data coll ...

This 5E instructional sequence explores electrostatic interactions through student-driven investigations using latex-free supplies. Students observe and later explain how rubbing certain objects with a piece of wool  creates an electrostatic for ...

In this "Everyday Science Mystery" students are asked to investigate why Jimmy was able to go down a new slide very quickly while dressed in jeans, but struggled down the slide when wearing shorts the next day. This resource is presented as ...

Students conduct an investigation through measurement and data analysis of origami frog jumping to predict future motion. The effects of balanced and unbalanced forces are explicitly discussed. This lesson is from “Activitie ...

This resource exemplifies the relationship between science and engineering while demonstrating how a formative assessment probe can be used to assess students' understanding. Students are asked to explain their thinking of how they might cha ...

“How Can You Go Faster Down a Slide?  is one of four mysteries that comprise a "Mystery Science" unit on forces and their interactions.  Students are posed the driving question: How can you go fastest down a slide? &nbs ...

This paper rocket activity is part of the NASA Rocket Educator Guide (https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Rockets.html) that emphasizes hands-on science, prediction, data collection and interpretation ...

Students make predictions, then investigate what will happen when balls of various sizes, weights, and material compositions collide with one another.  Trials provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the mot ...

In this activity, students use the SCAMPER brainstorming tool to design a car that can overcome air resistance. The SCAMPER strategy encourages students through a series of questions, to brainstorm things they could change or modify to make a di ...

In this lesson, students will collaboratively conduct an investigation to test how the strength of a force and the mass of an object affects motion.  The data produced will serve as the basis for explanation of this phenomena. Tips are provided ...

Students are introduced to the trial, error, and redesign of the engineering process in the book  Captain Arsenio: Adventures and (Mis) adventures in Flight by Pablo Bernasconi. In a follow up activity, students consider ...

This activity is one in a series of Mission: Solar System design challenges developed by PBS’s Design Squad, NASA and the National Science Foundation.  Students design, build, and improve a model that mimics gravity-assisted spac ...

This article describes a series of easy to implement activities that develop the student’s ability to explain what force is, how forces can change the motion of an object, and identify forces acting on an object at rest.  It will also enab ...

Through experimentation and active investigation of motion and forces, students are challenged to design, build, and test a simple gravity-powered car that is at least 8 cm wide and less than 30 cm long.  The completed Gravity Rac ...

To Get to the Other Side: Designing Bridges is an engineering unit from EIE and The Museum of Science in Boston geared towards Grades 1-5.  Students will be building upon their knowledge of pushes and pulls as they explore how for ...

This article from Science and Children demonstrates how a series of classroom investigation can align well to the dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards despite the fact that the investigations predated the release of the Framework for K ...

In this lesson, students will be given a set of everyday objects and asked to make predictions on how far each object will move when they blow on it. They will then measure the distances the objects moved and record their data and observations in the ...

This fun activity is one of five in a series of space based engineering challenges developed by NASA and Design Squad where students are engaged in implementing the Engineering Design process to build a robotic arm that can lift a cup off a table usi ...

In this lesson, students will learn how static electricity is created and experience the effects of electrostatic force through engagement in a structured inquiry investigation. Static electricity is defined simply here as the build up of electrical ...

In this lesson, students will perform a series of experiments to further their understanding of static electricity and specifically, the cause and effect relationships of electrostatic interactions between objects not in contact with each other. It i ...

In this lesson, students will engage in two hands-on investigations to observe the phenomena that occurs when an electrically charged comb interacts cereal and styrofoam pellets. Through these observations, students will begin to establish the cause ...

Students will investigate the magnetic pull of a bar magnet at varying distances with the use of paper clips. Students will hypothesize, conduct the experiment, collect the data, and draw conclusions. As a class, students will then compare each team& ...

From TeachEngineering - Rockets need a lot of thrust to get into space. Students learn how rocket thrust is generated with propellant. The two types of propellants are discussed—liquid and solid—and their relation to their use on rockets is investiga...

From TeachEngineering - One exciting challenge for engineers is the idea of exploration. Through the continuing storyline of the Rockets unit, this lesson looks more closely at Spaceman Rohan, Spacewoman Tess, their daughter Maya, and their challenge...

Lessons in this unit: Lesson 1 - Force and Motion Lesson 2 - Balanced and Unbalanced Forces Lesson 3 - Energy Transfer Lesson 4 - Gravity Lesson 5 - Friction and Air Resistance Lesson 6 - Magnetic Force Lesson 7 - Electrostatic F...

From TeachEngineering - Student teams investigate the properties of electromagnets. They create their own small electromagnets and experiment with ways to change their strength to pick up more paperclips. Students learn about ways that engineers use ...

From TeachEngineering - Students design and build paper rockets around film canisters, which serve as engines. An antacid tablet and water are put into each canister, reacting to form carbon dioxide gas, and acting as the pop rocket's propellant. Wit...

From TeachEngineering - Students investigate motors and electromagnets as they construct their own simple electric motors using batteries, magnets, paperclips and wire. Like engineers, students must understand and apply the connection between elect...

From TeachEngineering - In this activity, students use their own creativity (and their bodies) to make longitudinal and transverse waves. Through the use of common items, they will investigate the different between longitudinal and transverse waves.

From TeachEngineering - Using common materials (spools, string, soap), students learn how a pulley can be used to easily change the direction of a force, making the moving of large objects easier. They see the difference between fixed and movable pul...

Scientists and Engineers are Confident

Scientists and Engineers are Courageous

Scientists and Engineers are Innovative

Scientists and Engineers are Clever

Scientists and Engineers are Inventive

Scientists and Engineers are Persistent

Scientists and Engineers are Creative

Scientists and Engineers are Fearless

Scientists and Engineers are Risk Takers

Scientists and Engineers are Inquisitive

Scientists and Engineers are Passionate

Scientists and Engineers are Persuasive

Big and Small Magnets

This folder contains lesson plans for elementary classes to complete a STEM project over the period of one week. It also contains resources for the STEM week. Rubrics for each grade level are included. Google Slides that explain the week to teachers ...

Misconceptions about force

Grade: 3rd. Duration: One to two 45 minute periods. I really like that in this lesson, from the beginning the students get to be hands-on and learn through a "tug-a-war" game!