Literary Sparks Science Kindergarten: Motion of Objects
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Description
Literary Sparks were created to address the needs of students to read both literary and informational texts, and to assist subject area teachers by providing ideas for standards-driven, cost-effective classroom activities.
Each grade level from K-12 has its own resource page that includes the standards addressed, text pairings, book discussion questions, and lesson plans for a classroom activity.
Standards Met
LANGUAGE ARTS FLORIDA STANDARDS:
LAFS.K.RI.2.4With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
LAFS.K.RI.3.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic.
LAFS.K.RI.4.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
LAFS.K.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and in small and larger groups.
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions
Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
SCIENCE STANDARDS:
SC.K.P.12.1: Investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc.
Read pp. 6-7: How were the Sheep in a Jeep moving?
Read pp. 8-9: Was the Jeep moving fast or slow?
Read pp. 10-11: What was providing the force for the Jeep to move?
Investigative Inquiry
I Can Make Things Move and Movement Vocabulary
I Can Tell How Force Affects My Object
Learning Outcomes Statement:
These activities will help students learn in a hands-on manner that things move in different ways, and that forms of motion can be controlled. They will be able to observe, describe and measure the different types of motion, as well as understand the vocabulary words associated with different kinds of motion.
Materials Needed:
Activity 1: Ask students ahead of time to bring an object from home that they can make move. Have a box/bin of items in the class in case students forget.
Activity 2: Assemble a bin of different kinds of balls, but have plenty of smaller balls (10-12) for students to use in teams of two (such as tennis balls or baseballs). Suggestions for other balls include ping pong balls, bocce/croquet ball, basketball, volleyball, football, beach ball, etc.
For our first experiment, everyone was asked to bring an item from home for today’s experiment. Don’t worry, if you didn’t bring something, you can choose from this box of items in our classroom. We are going to experiment with how to move our items. When it is your turn, show how to move the item two different ways. Tell the teacher/leader the words you choose and s/he will write them on our Motion Vocabulary Board (words like push, pull, fast, slow, drop, jump, bounce, etc.)
For our second experiment, you will work together in pairs or small groups to make balls of different shapes and sizes move, and we will work on controlling that movement by making the ball move faster, slower, change the distances it travels, making it roll smoothly or bouncy, etc. Please be good listeners, as you will need to pay attention to make sure you understand what we’re doing.
Activity 1- I Can Make Things Move and Movement Vocabulary:
Each student will take their item from home (or from the classroom shared box of objects) and practice/demonstrate making their item move. Students will describe the way they make their item move and give the teacher movement words (I pushed it, I pulled it, I rolled it, etc.). The teacher will write the movement words on the board or on a poster for everyone to see all the different words associated with motion and movement.
Some prompts to assist students with this activity:
How does your object move?
Do you have a question about why one of your classmates brought what they did?
Can you make it move in a different way or more than one way?
What makes it move?
How did you make it move?
Activity 2- I Can Tell How Force Affects My Object:
Teacher will put together a bin of different sizes & types of balls (beach ball, volleyball, basketball, tennis balls, ping pong balls, baseball, bocce/croquet ball, football, etc.).
Have students pair up and sit on the floor facing their teammate. Let them choose a smaller ball to begin (tennis ball or baseball). Ask them not to touch the ball yet, and use some or all of the following questions to guide an active discussion about motion and the ball:
Where is the ball?
Is it moving?
Why isn’t it moving?
What has to happen for the ball to move?
Can you get the ball to go (here)?
How can we make the ball move fast/slow? (can go to a hallway for distances)
Ask students to roll the ball back and forth between them. Encourage them to talk about how the ball moves. Listen for words that describe the ball’s motion (fast, slow, straight, bouncy, etc.) and refer to the Motion Vocabulary Board from Activity 1. Help students begin to notice a pattern in how the ball moves (the ball rolls in a straight line. More force--a harder push--makes the ball roll faster and farther). Example: have students roll the ball to targets at varying distances (short, medium, long).
An extension of this experiment is to use balls of varying size, weight, and shape to see how forces affect their motion.
Questions for Feedback and Reflection
What did we learn about magnifiers? That they make small things appear larger
What did we learn about telescopes? That they make far away things appear closer
Do stars really have five points? What are they made of? No. Stars are made up of fiery gas that gives of brilliant light that we can see “shining” in the night sky.
Can we count all the stars in the sky? Are they in one big group or scattered all over the sky? There are too many stars to count! They are scattered all over.
What does all the light in our everyday world do to the night sky? Is it easier or harder to see the stars? When there are lots of lights on at night (like in a city), it’s harder to see the stars. When we go places where there isn’t a lot of light at night (like the country), it’s much easier to see the stars.
What do you look for when you look at the night sky? (planets, moon, stars, meteor showers, etc.)?