Lead Teaching Detailed Full Lesson Plan

Michigan State University

TE 804: Reflecting and Inquiry in Teaching Practice II Science: Spring 2015
By Kendra Asher
In this assignment you will craft a detailed lesson plan for one day of instruction, drawing
upon the work you have done in the previous assignments and highlighting students work
with one scientific practice.

Outline for a Daily Science Lesson Plan

Your Name: Kendra Asher

Date you will teach this lesson: March 27, 2015

Overall lesson topic/title: Force, Acceleration, and Mass

Grade Level: 5th

Learning goals:

(Content Learning Goal(s)-

Grade Level Content Expectations: P.FM.05.42 Describe the motion of an object in terms of
distance, time and direction, as the object moves, and in relationship to other objects.
Next Generation Science Standards: MS-PS2-1. Apply Newtons Third Law to design a solution
to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.

(Scientific Practice)
Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS: 5. Using mathematics and computational
thinking
I-AIM Sequence Function(s) and Rationale: (What function(s) of the Inquiry and Application Instructional Model do these
activities fulfill? How do these activities align with the EPE model of teaching?)

Explore and Investigate:

Explore Phenomena for Patterns: students will explore the phenomena of acceleration as it
relates to force and mass. They will be analyzing and interpreting data.
Explore Ideas About Patterns: students will be sharing their ideas about what the equation is that
demonstrates the relationship
Identifying Patterns: the class will come to an agreement as to what the mathematical equation
is for force.
Explain:
Students Explain Patterns: students will explain how they got their equation to fellow students as
well as how it matches the data
Introduce Scientific Ideas: Students will be shown the equations of F=ma, m=f/a, a=f/m
Apply to Similar Contexts and Scientific Ideas: students will use their new equation to explain how
a car with a less forceful engine could have greater acceleration.

Materials & supplies needed:
Promethean Board and Projector
Graph Paper
Pencil
Science Text Book
Calculator


Connections to students prior
Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event
experiences and cultural/personal

Introduction to the lesson (What will I say to help children understand the purpose of the

lesson? How will I help them make connections to prior lessons or experiences? How I will help children
understand behavior expectations during the lesson? How will I motivate them to become engaged in the
lesson?) (_ minutes)

Your voice level expectations are a level 0 while there is whole

group instruction. You may use a level 3 when answering a question.

When you work in a group you may use at most a level 2. Please
remain in your seat unless told to otherwise. If you have a question,
comment or concern you may raise your hand
To activate prior knowledge and experiences from the unit, ask the
class Someone give me the definition of acceleration. You learned
about this last week. Select a student whos hand is raised. Look for
an answer along the lines of: When as object speeds up, slows down,
or changes directions.
If students struggle to recall ask them to discuss with their partner.
When in our experiment did we learn this term? Ask this question
in hopes of them aligning the portion of the experiment where they
saw this occur.
When does a car not have acceleration? When it is not moving or
in constant motion. Thus we call it a change in motion.
If students did not struggle to provide the definition and were not
prompted to think about the past experiments ask students: When
in our experiments was there acceleration? When the car increased
speed going down the track, is an example answer.
Select students to read the two paragraphs on page E-21 to
introduce the lesson and activity. This introduces students to the
unit force is measure, Newtons. It also reviews acceleration and its
unit of measurement. Lastly, select a student to read the challenge:
What is the mathematical relationship between force, acceleration,
and mass? (10 min)

OUTLINE of each activity during the lesson (How will I begin and end each activity?

What discussion questions I will use? How will key ideas be expressed? What specific activities or tasks will I
engage them in? Identify each activity and the estimated time for each. How do I expect my student to
engage intellectually with each aspect of my lesson (i.e. how will they respond to specific questions, perform
specific tasks, etc.)? When/how I will distribute supplies and materials? How will I transition from one activity
to the next? (___ minutes)

Activity 1: What is the difference between speed and acceleration?

Look for an answer that reveals the following and then state it
Speed is the rate at which distance is traveled while acceleration is
the rate at which speed if changing. An object that has a larger rate
of speeding up as opposed to simply a high rate of speed had a
higher acceleration. For example a car at a constant speed had no
acceleration but a car that goes from 0 to 20 mph in 5 seconds has
an acceleration of 4 mph/s
What equation or process was used to get this answer? Work with
your group for 3 min. Walk around as students talk and create an
equation. Select two groups to provide the class with their equation

resources for learning such as

cognitive, social and linguistic
support during each event:

Students are very familiar with
these expectations, as they have
been used since the beginning of
school. This makes the behavior
expectations very clear to
students.
Students have already learned
about acceleration, so instead of
giving them the answer, they are
asked to provide the definition.
This helps students tie in their
past experiences to the current
lesson.
The class has demonstrated that
when they struggle, working with
a neighbor briefly to share ideas
helps students to generate an
idea. This also facilitates more
engagement.













This is connecting student prior
knowledge to the new task.


Two of my three special
education students have
demonstrated an ability to do
simple division. This equation is
based off of a simple
multiplication fact as well, and I
know these two students know

and to explain their process. Look for students to see that 20 divided
by 5 equals 4. The mph was divided by the time as the unit suggests.
Students may also see that 4 multiplied by 5 equals 20. (15 min)
Activity 2: Newton is the SI unit for force. Write on board 1 N is
about equal to the downward force of a 100 gram mass near the
surface of earth.
To illustrate the concept of acceleration, students will solve the
following problem in their group. If a car traveling at 8 m/s to the
right takes 2 seconds to speed up to 12 m/s in the same direction
what is its acceleration. This will be written on the board. The
teacher will move around to the different groups. If students are
stuck ask them to think about the problem they just solved. Provide
students 5 min to solve the problem.
Call on a student to share their solution, correct or not. Have them
show their process on the Promethean Board. Below is the correct
answer and process (10 min)

these facts based off of data

collected in class.

Visual learners will be assisted by
the 1 N equivalence being
written on the board.
Previous lessons clarified that
mass is how much matter is in an
object while weight is the
amount of pull by gravity on a
object.
When students work on the
problem themselves, hands on
learners will be able to interact
with the relationship and
equation.
The decision to have a students
who may be wrong present their
ideas comes from the
observation that a larger portion
of the class do not participate
when math problems are shared
and this may stem from students
not wanting to share the

incorrect answer. To make them
Activity 3: In student groups, instruct students to read the first part
of the procedure. They will be using the data provided in the table to feel comfortable and confident in
graph the relationship between acceleration and force. Students are their work regardless, I will
support them and scaffold their
instructed in the text book to label the graph Acceleration vs. Force
work to help them get to the
and label the line experiment 1. The x axis is to be labeled
correct answer.
acceleration and force goes on the y axis as the text directs.
When students are done graphing the data they will discuss in their Since students are not being
assessed on their ability to make
group Analysis Question 1: Look at your graphed lined for
experiment 1. Explain why it does or does not indicate that there is a and label a graph, they are
instructed on how to assemble
relationship between force and acceleration. It does indicate a
the graph. Some students in the
relationship because as force increases so does acceleration. (10
min) As students discuss in groups the teacher will walk around and class struggle to complete tasks
when they have to create a chart
ask groups their response and what relationship they do or do not
or table by themselves, thus this
see. Then the teacher will take a moment to show that since both
will help students to get to the
values increase together, there is a relationship.
Activity 4: Part B of the activity has students determine an equation objective of the lesson and not
for the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. They will being assessed on their ability to
make a graph at this point. In
record the relationship they determine in their science journal. The
addition, students have had past
text provides a hint: Try adding, subtracting, multiplying, and
experiences making graphs.
dividing two of the measurements to see if you get the third. If
When students are trying to
students struggle, the teacher will bring their attention to this tip.
Students may have found an equation of F=2a but this will not work determine an equation, they will
for the second set of data. Ask students what the 2 represents in the be assisted by their own
knowledge. Most students are at
data, mass. Equations that work are F=ma, m=f/a, a=f/m (10 min)

least 80% fluent in their basic

multiplication facts. If they use
this background knowledge, the
equation will be easier to
determine.




Closing summary for the lesson (How will I structure the whole group discussion? How will I
facilitate the sharing of ideas, patterns, or possible explanations? How will I help students listen actively to

each other and respond to each others ideas? How will I bring closure to the lesson and help children reflect

on their experiences? How will I help them make connections to prior lessons or prepare for future

experiences?) (___ minutes)


Ask student groups to share their equations. They should have found
It will be particularly important
either of the following three equations: F=ma, m=F/a, a=F/m. Show
for the three special education
students how these are variations of the same equation.
students to see how these
Tell students that it was through experiments and data analysis like
formulas demonstrate the same
this that Isaac Newton found this relationship.
relationship. But others will
Ask students how mass can be determined from the graph. By taking
benefit as well as seeing how
the data for force on the graph and dividing it by the acceleration.
they are the same is better for
Identify the similarities and differences of Experiment 1 and 2 on your their understanding then telling
graph: Similarities- shows direct relationship between force and
them.
acceleration, straight lines, positive slope. Differences- Experiment 2

has a steep slope because of a larger mass.
Scientists record data and look at graphs and so do engineers.
Regarding what you learned today, how does the relationship between
force, mass, and acceleration impact car safety? Think about the two
vehicles we looked at previously. Which one would you think would be
safer and why? (Since cars have more mass and greater speed than a
human body for multiple reasons, having features in cars for safety are
justified. The amount of force and car can exert on another object is
substantial so features to lessen the impact on the car and keep the
driver in the car are very important.) (20 min)

Activity 5: Once students have determined an equation, they will

proceed to Part C. In Part C they will continue to work in their
groups. In this step, students will use a new set of data to see if their
equation fits. If it does not, they must go back to the previous step
and find a new equation. However, if it does work they can finish
Part C. They will graph a second set of data but this time the mass of
the cart is 4 kg and not 2 kg. (10 min)

Formative assessment (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?)

Independently students will answers Analysis Questions 3, 4 and 5.

3. Students will be given a table (see below) and will need to fill in the
empty boxes using the new equation they learned. This requires them
to manipulate the equation and use its three forms.
4. In the first activity, Vehicle 2 has a greater acceleration then
Vehicle 1 but has a less forceful engine. How can this be? Explain in
terms of your equation. Vehicle 2 must have less mass than the other
car. Using Newtons equation, F=ma can be rewritten as a=f/m. This
shows that acceleration is the ration of force to mass. Thus, for an
object to have a higher acceleration with less force, it must have less
mass. Since students have learned CER strategy I will look for students

Differentiation for assessment:

The three special education

students will be allowed to have
another person, a teacher or
volunteer, to record their
answers. They may verbally
respond with an adult recording
their responses.

to give data examples.

I will be looking for students to demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship between force, mass, and acceleration through this
assessment. I will also be looking for them to continue to use the CER
strategy to support their answer.

Force (N)

Mass of Block (kg)

25
20
10
50
100
1,000

5
2
5
10
4
40

Acceleration of Block
(m/sec2)
5
10
2
5
25
25