Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes
Use patterns of motion to predict what happens next
Forces and motion
CCSS NGSS.3-PS2-2England: KS2 Y3 Forces and magnetsEngland: KS2 Y5 Forces
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Use patterns of motion to predict what happens next.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Which way will it move? Predict from the forces
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Force meters, Toy cars and ramps, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Which way will it move? Predict from the forces). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- A rolling ball slows down and stops on grass. Which force caused this? (no force, it just ran out / magnetism / friction from the grass / a push from the ball) → friction from the grassPrompt: Something acted against the motion.
- True or false? An object with balanced forces must be still. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Compare the sizes and directions of the forces.
- A book lies still on a table. Gravity pulls it down. Why doesn't it fall? (The table pushes up with an equal force, so the forces are balanced. / The book is too light for gravity. / The book is holding on to the table. / There is no gravity indoors.) → The table pushes up with an equal force, so the forces are balanced.Prompt: Is there a force pushing up as well as down?
Hook · 5 min
- Drop a sheet of paper and a scrunched-up sheet together and ask why one falls faster.
- Share the objective: Use patterns of motion to predict what happens next. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: A playground swing takes 3 seconds to swing forward and back once. The pattern repeats. How many complete swings will it make in 24 seconds?
- Step 1: 24 ÷ 3 = 8
- Step 2: So the answer is: 8
- Answer: 8
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- A pendulum on a string takes 2 seconds to swing forward and back once. The pattern repeats. How many complete swings will it make in 14 seconds? → 7Prompt: Each swing takes the same time.
- A ball is dropped from 144 cm. It bounces to 72 cm, then 36 cm. Each bounce reaches half the height of the one before. How high will the next bounce be? → 18 cmPrompt: Look at how each height compares to the one before.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- A ball is dropped from 120 cm. It bounces to 60 cm, then 30 cm. Each bounce reaches half the height of the one before. How high will the next bounce be? → 15 cmPrompt: Look at how each height compares to the one before.
- Scientists can predict where a planet will be next year. What lets them do this? (Planets never move. / Planets move randomly. / They guess. / Its motion follows a regular, repeating pattern.) → Its motion follows a regular, repeating pattern.Prompt: How do we predict sunrise times?
Watch out for
- Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
- Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Which way will it move? Predict from the forces.
- Use concrete materials: force meters.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-3.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder