Objects Attached to Strings

Grade Level: 3rd Grade

Learning goals:
NGSS Performance Expectation 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.
Scientific Practice Engaging in argument from evidence
EPE Table: Three experiences are given. Each experience is followed by an E P
discussion. After all three experiences and E P discussions, we will have another E
P discussion to generalize the pattern.
Action Research Project Focus: Students will be asking each other questions to
draw out new scientific ideas, clarification of scientific ideas, and deepening
scientific ideas.
Materials & supplies needed:
12 pieces of paper with a string taped to the center and a crayon tied to the
end
Document camera
Computer with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5ujKcDUUQ0 ready to be
played
Procedures and approximate time allocated for
each event

Introduction to the lesson (2 minutes)

Students are on the rug

In science, we have been thinking about how things
move.
A dog can move. How many of you have ever walked a
dog?
Why do you put a dog on a leash? How does the leash
help? Describe it so that the other children who havent
walked a dog before can understand.
How does the leash change the motion of the dog?
I want you to keep that idea in the back of your head
while we do this next activity.

Connections to students
prior experiences and
cultural/personal
resources for learning
such as cognitive, social
and linguistic support
during each event:
Some of my students will
have the experience of
walking a dog. They will
explain this experience to
their classmates that have
not had this experience. This
prior experience is similar to
my unit phenomenon, how a
swing moves, because the
motion of both the swing and
the dog are limited by the
thing they are attached to.
This real-world experience
will be explained to all of my
students to give them prior
knowledge of a similar, easier


to understand, phenomenon.

OUTLINE of each activity during the lesson (20

minutes total)

Activity 1 crayon on a string (6 minutes)

The pieces of paper with the string taped to the center
and a crayon tied to the end will already be on partners
desks.
I will model the activity.
The first activity we are doing today to help us learn
more about motion is this: each pair of partners has one
piece of paper with a string taped to the center and a
crayon tied to the end. Your task is to see what part of
the paper you can color. You may not bend the paper,
and the crayon has to stay straight up-and-down.
The partner sitting closest to the front of the room is in
charge of putting their finger on the tape so it doesnt
come unattached. This is probably the most important
job because if its not done right, the activity wont be
useful. Thumbs up if you are the partner closest to the
front and you understand what to do. Please raise your
hand if you have a question about what you are
supposed to do.
P, please repeat my directions so far. What is the
partner closest to the front of the room supposed to do?
The partner closest to the back of the room is in charge
of the crayon. Your job is to color as much of the paper
as you can. But remember, the crayon has to stay
straight up-and-down, and you may not bend the paper.
First partner, make sure you help your partner remember
that. Thumbs up if you understand what you are
supposed to do.
P, what is the partner closest to the back of the room
supposed to do?
Go to your desks and get started.
Students will have two minutes to complete this task.
I will collect the papers so the students cannot play with
them.
Discussion 1 (3 minutes)
During this discussion, I expect all of you to be listening
to your classmates, contributing ideas, and thinking only
about science. If you have anything on your desk that
will distract you from doing this, please put it away now.
For 20 seconds, I want you to just think in your head
about these questions. Where could the crayon reach?
What was the farthest the crayon could go? WHY?
If you would like to share what you were thinking about,

I will have my student that

has difficulty respecting
others personal space repeat
my directions. I will notify him
of this beforehand. This will
cause him to listen to my
directions, rather than get in
others personal space while I
give directions. Also, during
the activity, I will know that
any misbehavior is not
caused by a lack of knowing
what he is supposed to do,
helping me to redirect his
behavior.

My student with slow fine

motor skills is the partner
closer to the front. This
means she is in charge of
holding the string down,
rather than coloring. This will
ensure that she and her
partner will be able to
complete the task in the time
allotted.

By instructing my students to
put things away that will
distract them, my student
that frequently goofs around
during discussions will not be
able to have anything on his
desk to play with.

I will be implementing my
action research plan to help

please raise your hand.

I will call on someone, and they will share their ideas.
Now think about what you could ask student that
answered to help everyone explain their thinking even
better. Did they give evidence?
Please raise your hand if you have thought of a question
for student.
I will call on someone, and they will ask a question. The
original student or another student may respond to this
question.
I will continue this process until my students have gotten
at the idea that the crayon can only go as far as the
string will reach. The farthest the crayon can reach is a
circular path. This is similar to the dog on the leash
because it can only go as far as the string will let it go.
You already have the dog on the leash in the back of
your head. I want you to keep the crayon on the string
activity in the back of you head too while we do this next
activity.
Activity 2 bungee running video clip (2 minutes)
When I say melt, come join me on the rug in front of the
SMART Board. Melt.
This next activity requires watching eyes and thinking
brains. I have a 20-second video clip that I will play
twice. Are your watching eyes and thinking brains ready
to study this clip?
I will play the video clip once, and then explain that the
girls are attached to bungees, which are made of elastic.
The person who puts their marker (which is the black
thing) the farthest wins.
Im going to play it again. Keep studying what they are
doing.
I will play the video clip a second time.
Discussion 2 (4 minutes)
If you are sitting next to someone that will distract you
from thinking about science during this discussion,
please move now.
Im going to pull a name stick this time. If I pull your
name, you are starting our discussion.
But first, for 20 seconds, I want everyone to just think
about these questions. Why cant the girl get her marker
back after it falls? Why does the bungee only let them
run that far? Why do they get pulled backwards?
I will pull a name stick and ask that student what they
think.
The student will respond, and I will ask someone to ask a
question to help us think more about this idea or to give
proof. Anyone may answer the question.
We will continue this process until the students have
gotten at these ideas: the girl is attached to the bungee

all of my students think more

deeply and provide evidence
for their explanations.

The only two students who

will be allowed to sit at their
desks are the two that have
trouble focusing when sitting
by other students.
I will make sure that my two
students that are not allowed
to sit next to each other are
seated far apart to help them
focus.

I have six students that have

a difficult time focusing
during discussions. By pulling
a name stick, all of them will
be warned that they might be
responsible for answering
these questions as well as
they can, so they will all be
more likely to concentrate on
the discussion questions at
hand.


and can only go as far as the bungee will stretch, the girl
gets pulled back when she stretches the bungee farther
than it is long, and she cannot get her marker back
because it is farther out than the bungee will stretch.

Closing summary for the lesson (3 minutes)

We just talked about why we keep a dog on a leash,

why the crayon could only color in a circle, and why the
girls can only run a certain distance until they get pulled
backwards. What do these things have in common?
I will give my students one minute to discuss this
question, giving them opportunities to ask each other
questions if they cannot explain it right away.
What does this tell us about motion?
I will give my students two minutes to discuss these
questions, giving them opportunities to ask each other
questions to push their thinking further.

Formative assessment

Differentiation for
assessment:

The following day, students will have an opportunity to go

back to a drawn representation of their thinking and modify it
based on what they have learned. I will be checking to make
sure that the students show the swing moving only along the
lower part of the path of a circle. If they are able to show this, I
will know that they understand and are ready to move on. If
they are not able to show this, we will have a discussion about
what possible pathway the swing can move in.

Although only my six

students that have trouble
focusing and my one
student that tends to copy
other students work need
this, all of my students will
be given cardboard
offices to set up on their
desk so they can only see
their own work.

(How will I gauge the students learning as I

implement the lesson plan and once the lesson is completed? Specifically, what will I
look for? How will I use what I am learning to inform my next steps?)