Summary:

The fifth-grade class I was in was covering force and motion at the time of clinical

assignments. In this unit, they were covering Newtons laws and in particular Newtons third law.

When I taught my lesson, they had already had two lessons on Newtons third law so my lesson

was meant to be a final rap up and review of the law. During this lesson, I had to teach in three

different phrases. I started by showing them a video that explained and gave examples of

Newtons third law. Then I had students explore Newtons third law on their own with a balloon

rocket experiment. After students had enough time to explore this idea I would have a class

discussion to explain what they were seeing. I was then going to have students work in pairs to

come up with examples of Newtons third law on their own. However, this section would have

taken place after students were at recess and it did not make sense to have them work in groups

because they had too much energy and they would not have focused on the task. I decided to skip

this section of the lesson plan to better fit the students I was working with. I then gave them the

worksheet quiz to wrap up the lesson.

Reflection:

What did the students find out in the experience? Were there any surprises?
The main focus of the lesson was to allow students to explore Newtons third law using a

balloon rocket. Students found out that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

While the students were exploring with the balloon rockets they were trying different

things with the balloons and were getting different reactions than what I was expecting.
How did the students in each group work together? Were there any problems?
The students worked great in groups. I numbered them off randomly into groups so that

friends would not just choose to work in groups together. I choose to have students work

in groups of five so that they could take turns building the balloon rocket. In groups this
 size students were able to share ideas to come up with how to make a balloon rocket.

There were no problems with students working in groups.

Was the activity open-ended enough, or did each group do more or less the same thing?
The activity could have been more open ended. I could have just given them the materials

and told them to build a balloon rocket. I could have given them less direction and

guidance towards what they were doing. Definitely since the students were high

achieving they would have been able to come up with ways to form a balloon rocket on

their own. In the end students were mostly doing the same things.
How did the students extend the investigation?
Students were able to come up with more ways to experiment with the balloon rocket far

than I anticipated. They were able to discuss what they were seeing happen throughout

the experiment.
How did the students connect this experience to their daily lives?
When asked students were able to give similar examples that they see and experience

every day. They were able to apply Newtons third law to what they see happening in the

world.
How did I accommodate students with learning and physical differences?
For students that had a visual impairment I made sure that they were sitting at the front of

the room during the video and for students who had audio impairments I had them sit at

the front of the room during the video and discussion so that they were able to hear

everything being said.

Did I use technology effectively?
I did not use technology a lot in my lesson. The only aspect I used technology was the

video at the beginning of the lesson. I could have used it more for the discussion by

placing the questions on the board but for this lesson I did not think it was necessary to

have any more technology.

Overall, what do I think the students got out of the experience?
I think with the experiment students were able to see Newtons law play out. I think they

were able to understand how these laws effect their daily lives. Also, for students to be
 able to experiment with the balloon rockets themselves they were able to feel

empowered to complete it and understand what was happening.

What do I remember most about this science activity?
The part that stands out the most to me was when the students were making the balloon

rockets. When they finally started to understand, what would happen if they tried

different things was the coolest part. They were proud to show the class what they had

come up with. They tried to test against what they were seeing happen to try to create a

different reaction.
Would I do it again? How would I plan differently the next time?
I would definitely do this lesson again. The students seemed to really enjoy the lesson

and understood the concepts. I would let students figure more out on their own to

challenge them.
What did you learn about yourself as a learner and as a teacher during this lesson?
I learned that it much more engaging to be doing something or watching something

happen. I enjoyed taking part in the learning of students. I learned that as a teacher you

have to be flexible with every aspect of a lesson.