Marble Roll

Contributor
Page Keeley
Type Category
Assessment Materials
Types
Informative Text , Model , Demonstration , Assessment Item
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be "fully aligned," the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Description

This is an assessment probe from the book Uncovering Student Ideas in Primary Science Vol. 1 that is used to elicit children's descriptions of motion. The probe is designed to reveal how students describe the path of a moving object as it leaves a winding track.

Intended Audience

Educator and learner
Educational Level
  • Kindergarten
  • Elementary School
  • Early Elementary
Language
English
Access Restrictions

Available for purchase - The right to view, keep, and/or download material upon payment of a one-time fee.

Performance Expectations

K-PS2-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object

Clarification Statement: Examples of pushes or pulls could include a string attached to an object being pulled, a person pushing an object, a person stopping a rolling ball, and two objects colliding and pushing on each other.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to different relative strengths or different directions, but not both at the same time. Assessment does not include non-contact pushes or pulls such as those produced by magnets.

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this performance expectation, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
To do the probe students will be using a picture of a marble tower. Be sure that students understand the context of the probe. Show them a marble track or other type of curved track so they can see the path the marble takes on the tower. Make sure the students know they will describe (with a drawing and discussion after the probe is administered) how they think the marble will move across the floor when it leaves the tower track. You might want to review motion words that are used in the probe (straight, curved, zigzag) and draw paths that show what those motions look like before students do the probe. Once the probe is administered, instruction should take place after student ideas about motion of an object are discussed. There are examples of activities that can be done included in this resource.

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
Kindergarten students may need a word wall to review motion words to help them explain their answer to the probe.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
After students have completed the probe, the motion of the marble can be investigated using other types of towers or materials such as wide flexible tubing or foam insulation tubes.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource appears to be designed to build towards this crosscutting concept, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
By observing the marble tower a student may observe patterns. More patterns could be observed if the concept of friction was introduced by using different materials to have the marble roll through or different elevations of the tower were used.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: After administration of the grade appropriate probe, the teacher will know student ideas about the motion of objects. Instruction can begin with some examples given so that the elements of the Science and Engineering Practice(s), Disciplinary Core Idea(s), and Crosscutting Concept(s), work together to support students in three-dimensional learning to make sense of phenomena and/or to design solutions to problems.

  • Instructional Supports: The probe engages students and identifies their prior knowledge about the motion of objects. Instructional ideas are given that could lead to three- dimensional learning.

  • Monitoring Student Progress: This is a single formative assessment to determine student ideas of the motion of objects. It can be used as a pre-assessment before learning more about forces and motion. There is a suggestion of more assessment that can be done using a Predict-Explain-Observe chart. Students would use the probe to predict, explain, and observe the motion and then revise their description based on the observation done.

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: There is no technology used for this resource.