FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

Lesson Title & Subject(s): Roller Coasters

Topic or Unit of Study: Force and Motion

Grade/Level: 3rd Grade

Instructional Setting: A typical 3rd grade class filled with 20 students. Setting will take place
as group discussion, individual work and group work in lab setting. White boards will be used to
display important terms, questions and ideas regarding the lesson.

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES:

District Core Curriculum/Student Achievement Standard(s): DESK

 I understand the world and how it affects me
 I can explain the attributes of gravity, force and motion.

Utah State Core Curriculum/Student Achievement Standard(s): UEN.org

STANDARD III: Students will understand the relationship between the force applied to an
object and resulting motion of the object.
 OBJECTIVE 1: Demonstrate how forces cause changes in speed or direction of objects.
a. Show that objects at rest will not move unless a force is applied to them.
b. Compare the forces of pushing and pulling. Investigate how forces applied through
simple machines affect the direction and/or amount of resulting force.

STANDARD IV: Students will understand that objects near Earth are pulled toward Earth by
gravity.
 OBJECTIVE 2: Describe the effects of gravity on the motion of an object. Show that
objects at rest will not move unless a force is applied to them.
a. Compare how the motion of an object rolling up or down a hill changes with the
incline of the hill.
b. Observe, record, and compare the effect of gravity on several objects in motion
(e.g., a thrown ball and a dropped ball falling to Earth).
c. Pose questions about gravity and forces.

Instructional Goal: Students will be able to explain the force applied to an abject reflects the
motion of the object, and that object near earth are pulled toward earth by gravity.
Learning Objectives: Students will be able to build a roller coaster and describe the interaction
between force, motion and gravity.
Cross Cutting Concepts Used: Cause and Effect
Science Practices and Skills: Asking Questions; Developing and using models; Analyzing and
Interpreting Data; Constructing Explanations and designing solutions; Obtaining, evaluating and
communicating information.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials:

Roller Coaster:
 100 paper or foam plates - Assorted Sticks
 100 foam cups - Masking Tape
 Plain paper - Paper towel or Toilet paper rolls
 Pencils - Empty Pringle cans
 Assorted plastic bottles - Digital Timers
 Rolls of clear tape (scotch) - Rulers
 Marbles - Markers
 Paperclips - Roller Coaster Simulator
 Park Map of Roller Coasters (variety of 6) - Computer images of rollercoasters
 Projector - Computer or I pads

RESOURCES:
Roller Coaster Simulators:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/coaster/
http://discoverykids.com/games/build-a-coaster/
http://dep.disney.go.com/sodi_app/index.html?st=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wrUkPVC7ng

Park Maps:
http://www.lagoonpark.com/what-to-do/rides-attractions/
http://www.lagoonpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015_WebMap.pdf
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/media/dlr_nextgen/SiteCatalog/PDF/DisneylandParkM
ap_20130307.pdf
https://www.sixflags.com/sites/default/files/sfmm_fullmap.pdf
http://www.castlesncoasters.com/media/AttractionsMapPrint.pdf
https://www.carowinds.com/plan-a-visit/park-map
http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschgardens-tampa/park-info/interactive-map/
http://california.legoland.com/Documents/pdf/ParkMap2012_Mapside.pdf
https://www.knotts.com/plan-a-visit/park-map
https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/plan-your-visit/park-map
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN:
Sequence of Instructional Procedures/Activities/Events (provide description and indicate
approximate time for each):

DAY 1: (60 minutes total)

Science Practices: Asking Questions; Constructing Explanations

1. Identification of Student Prerequisite Skills Needed for Lesson: (15minutes)

Teacher Questions- (5 minutes)

 What happens when an object is dropped?
 What happens when wind blows in the same direction as an object that is moving?
 What happens when wind blows in the opposite direction of what an object is moving?
 What happens when you place an object on a hill and let go? What happens when you
push on that same object?

Students should reply with some of the items from the purpose list……..
The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about Force and Motion.
 Students will need to know:
 That when an object is dropped that the force of gravity pulls it toward the ground.
 Forces cause changes in the speed or direction of the motion of an object.
 The greater the force placed on an object, the greater the change in motion.
 The more massive an object is, the less effect a given force will have upon the motion of
the object.
 Earth’s gravity pulls objects toward it without touching them.

Students will have a KWLH journal in which they chart down what they Know about a
Topic, What they want to Know about a topic, What they learned about a Topic, and How
it applies to their life.

Have students open up a page in their notebook and write down the Title: Force and
Motion/ Roller Coasters. Students should then write what they know about roller coasters.
(Give them 2 minutes) Have students partner share in their group their ideas. (2 minutes).
Call on one person from each group to share something that someone in their group
said. (5minutes)

2. Presentation of New Information or Modeling: 5 minutes

To begin the lesson, the teacher should the Desk Learning Objectives on the board. (see
DESK objectives.
Present New Material: 1 minutes (Direct Instruction)
(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

3. Guided Practice: (20 minutes)

 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

Investigate:
Teacher Instruction: Display one park map for the class to see. Place map under document
camera or pull up map website on computer. http://www.lagoonpark.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/06/2015_WebMap.pdf

Teacher Questions- (10 minutes) Ask about 3 students per student

 What is your favorite roller coaster and why?
Student:
 Wicked because it is the tallest. The bat, they are fast, extreme, scary, fun ect….
Teacher-
 How do you think roller coasters work?
 What makes the cars stay on the track when it turns?
 What about when the track makes the car turn upside down in a loop?
 Where is the highest part of a roller coaster?
 What do the ends of roller coasters have in common? Is this true for all Coasters?
Student:
 Answers will vary make sure to write them down….Do not correct wrong answers
just listen and write. On Poster Paper to display in classroom.

Teacher Instruction: (10 minutes) Open up this website http://www.lagoonpark.com/what-to-

do/rides-attractions/ and view the different types of roller coasters from Lagoon Park. View and
discuss the different components of these coasters.

4. Independent Student Practice: (20 minutes)

Teacher Instruction: Each pair of students will be given a park map and one piece of
11X17 white paper. Have students look at and identify the different types of
rollercoasters on the map. Write down on the 11X17 paper ideas about roller coasters.
Have students compare the different roller coasters within their group. Have students
discuss what they might think would be their favorite roller coaster and why. Have
them write this down. Students will have approximately 10 minutes.

5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (10 minutes)

Have students share their ideas about coasters that they wrote on their 11X17 piece of
paper. Display these papers in the classroom.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

DAY 2: (40 minutes)

Science Practices: Asking Questions; Constructing Explanations; Obtaining, Communicating
and Evaluating Information

1. Presentation of New Information or Modeling: 10 minutes

(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

To begin the lesson, the teacher should the Desk Learning Objectives on the board. (see
DESK objectives.

Present New Material: 10 minutes (Direct Instruction)

Explain: Today's rollercoasters include many safety devices that keep the cars on the track and
the people in the cars. However, they still share some basic science principals with the earliest
rollercoasters that rolled down mountainside. Rollercoasters convert potential energy (stored
energy) into kinetic energy (energy in motion). You can not get more kinetic energy out of a
rollercoaster car during its trip than you put into it at the beginning.

Display the roller-coaster simulator website https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wrUkPVC7ng

Discussion: explain that when engineers design anything, including roller coasters, they often
use computer simulators to test ideas before building.
Students will use a simulator to practice designing roller coasters before they build one for real.

2. Guided Practice: (20 minutes)

Investigate: (15 minutes)

Teacher Instruction: Using a computer and a projector open up the following site
http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/coaster/
If apple TV is available using an ipad: have students pick pieces of the coaster design.
At the end of the design it will give information as to whether this coaster design is feasible.
Read and discuss this as a class.

3. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (10 minutes)

As a class, discuss what students learned about roller coasters from the simulator.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

DAY 3: (40 minutes)

Science Practices: Asking Questions; Constructing Explanations; Obtaining, Evaluating and
Communicating Information; Using Models

1. Presentation of New Information or Modeling: 5 minutes

(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

To begin the lesson, the teacher should the Desk Learning Objectives on the board. (see
DESK objectives.

2. Guided Practice: (5 minutes)

On the projector open up the following site: http://discoverykids.com/games/build-a-coaster/

Take (5 minutes) to show students how to use the program.

3. Independent Student Practice: (20 minutes)

Teacher Instruction: Take students to the computer lab. In pairs of two have students
open up the website: http://discoverykids.com/games/build-a-coaster/ .
Give students 15 minutes to explore and play with the rollercoaster simulator.

4. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (10 minutes)

As a class, discuss what students learned about roller coasters from the simulator. Call
upon 2 students per question.
Teacher:
 Did every roller coaster design work? How do you know?
 What features do successful roller-coaster designs have in common?
 What features do failing designs have in common?

Encourage students to describe the success or failure in terms of energy:

 Which features give the roller-coaster car enough potential energy to make it through the
whole track?
 Which features cause the car to stop rolling partway through, or to crash?

Ask students to think about a roller-coaster car that stops before it finishes the track. Invite
students to share ideas for solving this problem. Guide students to conclude that the car needs
to have enough potential energy from the first hill to go up later hills, as well as through
loops and turns.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

DAY 4: (50 minutes)

Science Practices: Asking Questions; Constructing Explanations; Obtaining, Evaluating and
Communicating Information; Using Models; Analyzing and Interpreting Data

1. Presentation of New Information or Modeling: 5 minutes

(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

To begin the lesson, the teacher should the Desk Learning Objectives on the board. (see
DESK objectives.

Teacher Instruction: Tell students that it's time to test their ideas from the simulator in the real
world. Bring out the marbles. Explain that the marble runs will provide more practice for their
engineering Challenge: to design and build roller-coaster runs for marbles, using the materials
that are available. (Have materials displayed)

2. Guided Practice: (15 minutes)

Show students how to use the materials to test their marbles. Write down the observations you
make on the board. Model this procedure. Testing only one to two pieces of material.

Marble fly’s down using this material.. Marble slows down when material is…. Marble is
slower using this material….

Call on students to share what they observe

Teacher:
 How can you make sure a marble has enough energy to go uphill?
 Around loops and turns?
 Is it possible for a marble to go over a hill that is larger than the one it starts on?
 Does distance make a difference in how well the marble run works?
 How can you slow the marble at the end of the run?

3. Independent Student Practice: (20 minutes)

(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

Teacher Instruction: Give students time to explore and play. Let students know that even
though they may be having fun, they need to pay attention to testing their ideas from the
simulator. When they design their own roller coasters, they will be combining everything
they learned on the simulator, plus what they are learning now from the marble run.

As a group students should be writing their observations down on their 11x17 piece of paper.
<STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE GLUEING OR MAKING A PERMANENT STRUCTURE>

5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (10 minutes)

As a class, discuss what students learned about roller coasters from their observation from the
test runs. Call upon 2 students per question.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

Encourage students to discuss how they can use their observations from the marble run trials in
the design of their marble roller coasters. If students are familiar with the terms potential and
kinetic energy reinforce the correct use (this is not as important as)…..
Students need to observe patterns in how the design of the marble track affects the motion of the
marble, and to be able to apply those observations to the design of their roller coasters.

Model: Taking notes on student observations…

Students should follow along in their own notebook
Teacher:
 What observations did you make?

Encourage students to describe the success or failure in terms of energy:

 Which features give the roller-coaster car enough potential energy to make it through the
whole track?
 Which features cause the car to stop rolling partway through, or to crash?
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

DAY 5: (2hrs. 40 minutes)

Science Practices: Asking Questions; Constructing Explanations; Obtaining, Evaluating and
Communicating Information; Developing and Using Models; Planning and Carrying out
investigations

1. Presentation of New Information or Modeling: 10 minutes

(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

To begin the lesson, the teacher should the Desk Learning Objectives on the board. (see
DESK objectives.

Teacher: Tell students that next, they'll be designing their roller coasters. Review with students
the Criteria and Constraints, as well as the time limits for Brainstorm, Plan, and Build. Show
them the Test Results sheet so they know how their finished roller coasters will be scored

2. Guided Practice: (15 minutes)

Brainstorming:

* Place the roller-coaster materials randomly around the classroom where students can
see them, but do not display them all together in one place. Do this when no students are
in the room.

* Tell students that for this Challenge, they'll brainstorm as a class. Everyone will be able
to see the same ideas from the Brainstorming and Planning list.

* Explain to students that it's up to them to choose materials for their roller coasters.
Encourage students to look around the classroom for materials they could use. (Be
prepared to veto any item you do not wish them to use.)

* Ask students to think about the parts of a roller coaster. Record the ideas prompted by
the questions. Suggested questions….

Teacher:
 How can you make the roller coaster turn?
 What materials could you use for a track?
 How can you build each part, using the available materials?
 Should the marble run through tubes, on a track, or a little of both?
 Can you include an upside-down loop in your roller coaster?
 Where should you place it?
 What materials could you use to build a loop?
 How can you change the shape of that material to make it work for the roller coaster?

* As students list ideas, write them on the white board so that all students can see, and that
they can refer to it for the rest of the Roller-coaster Challenge.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

3. Independent Student Practice: (90 minutes)

(Groups students into a group of 4) Have Students work in their preformed table groups.

Planning: (30 minutes)

* Provide each group with chart paper (use the backside of the 11X17), markers, and
pencils for sketching out their plan. Set the timer for (20 minutes).

* Tell students that for this Challenge all group members must work together on one
version of their plan. They should take turns drawing so that everyone’s ideas are present
in the coaster design. Their plan should include rough measurements and a description
of how the roller coaster will work. Students should use color coding to show the
different materials being used.

* Walk around the room, checking on group progress. Remind students of the Criteria
and ask how their designs address each item on the list. Suggested questions:

Teacher:
 How does your roller coaster work?
 Where is the tallest hill?
 Why are you placing it there?
 How long will your roller coaster be?
 Will your roller coaster be all in one straight line or will it have turns?
 What makes the marble stop at the end?
 How will you hold these two materials together?

* Make sure all groups have agreed to a plan before proceeding to Build.

Part 2:
Build (60 minutes)

* Let students know that it's time to build the roller coasters. Allow 2 minutes for groups
to review the procedure for Build. Drop in on conversations to be sure students are
mentioning all the important steps:

 Follow the plan as it's written

 If the plan changes as you build, tell the teacher why and record the changes in a new
color on the plan, or draw up a Plan 2
 The Build stage ends at the same time for all groups, even groups that made a change.
 Work together and be sure everyone does their job and helps to build.
 Once students have reviewed the Build procedure, set the timer for 50 minutes
 Call on the Materials Managers to collect any needed materials.
 Provide each group with a marble for testing their coasters as they build.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

* Circulate around the room, chatting with each group. Lead students to their own
conclusions by asking guiding questions, such as:

Teacher:
 What is everyone's job in this group?
 What is everyone’s role in building the roller coaster?
 How are you holding the parts together?
 Can the marble get over that seam?
 Are you testing as you go?
 Does the marble make it all the way through without any help?
 Have you had any surprises, or anything that didn’t work as planned?
 What have you done about it?

* Store the roller coasters in a safe place until it is time for Test & Present.

5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (45 minutes)

Test and Present: 5 minutes per group

Use grading Rubric

* Clear an area off of the floor or large tabletop as a test area. Call groups to
present, one at a time.

* Provide a Test Results sheet on which the Recorder can write all scores and
results.

* Invite the Speaker to explain each part of the group's roller coaster and
demonstrate the path the marble takes, without releasing the marble. The Speaker
should include reasons for the design decisions, and address how the group
considered potential and kinetic energy in their design. Allow the class time to ask
questions.

* Tell the group they have three runs to get the marble to complete the run and
stop at the end. Each member of the group will get one try.

* Follow the same procedures for the other groups.

* When all groups have finished discuss as a class.

(10 minutes) Students will finish writing in their KWLH journals. What I have learned and how
it affects my life. These are graded per lesson and are graded by completion. These are done to
check for understanding to ensure that all students have learned the concept. If needed extra
review or misconceptions will be addressed.
 FORCE AND MOTION 06/18/2015

Pedagogical Strategy (or Strategies):

Direct Instruction, Cooperative learning groups, Discussion, Case Method, Active Learning, and
Integrated Technology

Differentiated Instruction:
Differentiated Instruction: All students can be accommodated through the different Pedagogical
strategies. Rubrics will be given to help with differentiated learning styles. Students will be
dispersed into groups, groups will be chosen to accommodate all learners so that all students may
benefit. The pedagogical strategies were chosen to help with students that learn better through
direct instruction, those that learn better through seeing, and those that learn better through hands
on experience. Hearing impaired students will be able to read the lesson and ideas as well as see
the lesson. Gifted learners will have opportunities to advance through the project as needed,
To make it harder: Add the speed of the marble to the criteria. Have students use stopwatches
to time the marble's run in seconds, and then divide the distance of the track by the time to find
the marble's speed in inches per second.
To make it simpler: Provide a specific list of materials to use. Show students ways to use the
materials to build a roller coaster. Demonstrate a design or two.

Student Assessment/Rubrics:
Describe how you will know if students have met the objective(s) for this lesson (include pre-
and post-assessment plans—formal and/or informal, summative and/or formative, etc.).
Formal Assessment: By the end of the Science Objective Students will be prepared to take a
Chapter or Unit Test on Force and Motion 50% of their grade.
Informal Assessment: Worksheets and data collection will be graded and represent a total of
25% of their grade for the unit Force and Motion.
Formative Assessment: Will be given through student participation and roller coaster design
25% of their grade on the unit Force and Motion. Teacher will also ensure students
understanding by walking around the classroom, group discussion.
Summative Assessment: Students will be able to explain Force and Motion.