ED 345 Calvin College Teacher Intern Lesson Plan Template  

Teacher Intern: Hannah Hougen Date: April 17, 2018  

Grade Level: 3rd Subject/ Topic: Science/Force & Motion  
Approx. time spent planning this lesson:  1.5 hrs.  
DOMAIN 1: PLANNING & PREPARATION 
Main Focus: Balanced & Unbalanced Forces - Tug of War 
Brief Context: This is the second lesson in the unit on force & motion.  
Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills: From Lesson 1, students will know that gravity is a force 
that is always pressing down on us. They have not yet learned about balanced forces.  
Objectives:  
3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and
unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a
pattern can be used to predict future motion.  
 
Assessment 
Formative: Student responses in the discussion throughout the activity 
Summative: Student worksheet  
Worldview Integration: Though each one is unique, all students are capable of learning.  
Instructional Resources: Rope for tug of war, doc.cam/screen, whiteboard/marker, 
worksheet 
 
Universal Design for Learning Networks/Domains (see UDL Guidelines ) 
RECOGNITION   STRATEGIC  AFFECTIVE 
Multiple Means of  Multiple Means of  Multiple Means of 
Representation  Expression  Engagement 
Options for Perception  Options for  Options for recruiting 
Read the worksheet text  action/interaction  interest 
aloud and have students  Allow student to participate  Tug of war activity is fun, 
follow along on their paper  in the tug of war activity   personalized and 
  contextualized to learners’ 
lives 

Options for  Options for Expression  Options for Sustaining Effort 

Language/Symbols    & Persistence 
Explain and use arrows as a    Students will collaborate to 
symbol for force in a diagram  come up with tug of war 
  teams and to discuss it 
afterward 
Options for Comprehension  Options for Executive  Options for Self-Regulation 
Provide options for  Function   
organizational methods  Embed prompts to “stop and   
through the worksheet  think” before acting as well 
as adequate space 
throughout the lesson & 
during the tug of war activity  

 
 
 
DOMAIN 2: THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT 
 
COVENANT MANAGEMENT: Relationship & community building (Note any specific 
ways in which you plan to build or strengthen relationships and community – student-student & 
teacher - student.] 
-Students will play tug of war with each other - we will briefly mention the importance of good 
sportsmanship before playing. Hopefully this will be a fun and memorable activity for the class!  
 
CONDUCT MANAGEMENT:  
Identify at least 2 ways you will gain whole group attention: 
1. Ringing the bell 
2. Hand clapping rhythm 
3. “If you can hear my voice clap once”...etc.  
Strategies you intend to use to redirect individual students:   
1. Moving myself to be physically near to them 
2. Calling on individuals by name 
 
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: Note any specific ways you will use the environment to 
contribute to the learning.   
-We will go outside and utilize that space to play a game of tug of war.  
DOMAIN 3: INSTRUCTION 
CONTENT MANAGEMENT: THE LESSON 
Motivation/Opening/Intro:  
“Scientists, today we are going to be talking about a famous game where there’s lots of 
pulling involved to win. Any guesses as to what game I might be talking about?” 
-Call on students to answer. 
-“If we were playing tug of war:  
-Think of some ideas of teams that would be unequal 
-Think of some teams that would be equal  
-Have students share their thoughts, and say why that team would be equal or unequal.  
(example of unequal teams: more people on a team)  
-Write some team ideas down on the board/doc. cam 
-Have students help to make a list of pushes and pulls all around you (shove, stretch, 
tug, - almost any verb) 
-Force is anything that tends to change the state of rest or motion of an object  
-push & pull = FORCE   
- “To help you understand pushing & pulling even better, we’re going to head outside 
and play a round of tug-of-war!”  
 
Development: 
-Decide as a class what teams you will test - at least four different combinations. 
-Establish rules, expectations, and good sportsmanship guidelines  
-Play tug-of-war as a class outside - play at least four games with at least 4 different 
combinations of students.  
-Have the students record the teams that were tested and indicate which team won & 
lost.  
-Have at least one combination be very unequal - (e.g. three people vs. ten) - so you can 
talk  
-(probably end for the day, finish lesson the next day)  
-Pick a combination and roughly draw it using doc cam. Tell students that we will put 
arrows on the two teams facing opposite directions- the directions that the students are 
pulling. 
-Shorter arrow represents less force -losing team  
-Longer arrow represents more force - winning team  
-Ask students which arrow would go on which team 
-Ask if there’s any other forces we know of that we could draw  
-(arrow pointing to the ground - when you pull on the rope, you are pushing against the 
ground) 
-How could you flip this around? (add more kids, have them pull more, etc)  
-Repeat with another combination 
-Have students try their own.  
-Each team is pulling on the rope and pushing against the ground  
-How could we make it so that one team couldn’t push as hard against the ground? 
(Putting ice, rollerskates, etc. under one team’s feet would make it so they couldn’t 
push against the ground)  
-Is tugging in the game an example of a push or a pull?  
 
Closure: 
-Show the watermelon slow mo video to show force: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK8dsAeMmPk 
-What happened to the watermelon? Why?  
-Students complete the handout and turn it in.  
 
 
 
DOMAIN #4: PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
CANDIDATE NOTED EVIDENCE OF PROFESSIONALISM: Please note recent 
evidence of your efforts as a professional.