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Students will write the word Balance on a piece of paper. Student will
be asked what they think it means to balance.
The student will answer the question by drawing a picture to represent
the answer.
Draw a picture of two things balancing
Call students to the rug and ask the them what a crayfish is. (A
freshwater shellfish) Then show them a short clip (time -2:04-2:47) and a
picture of a crayfish.
TEACHING PROCEDURES:
Tell the students we have our own special crayfish that can do tricks.
Its best trick is balancing on one of your fingertips.
Then bring out the tagboard crayfish and balance it flat on your finger
and ask the students if they think they can do the same.
Have the helper from each table group come up to get the supplies to
pass out.
Challenge the students to copy my balancing trick. For those who need
something more challenging, suggest they balance the crayfish on its side,
nose, or tail.
Get the students attention and have 2-3 students share how they
balanced their crayfish (using equity cards).
Introduce the word Counterweight and choose a reporter to tell the
class what what a counterweight is.
When you put a weight,like a clothespin (show it), on the crayfish to
make it balanced, it is called a counterweight.
Have students repeat the word and turn and talk to a
partner to say what counterweight is.
Have the helper from each group get clothespins to pass out. Inform
the students that they may find the clothespins useful for getting their
crayfish balanced in different positions. The helper is to give two clothespins
to each student.
Remind the students that the crayfish should balance on one finger
and not on the desk, etc.
Suggest to students that they might have to move the clothespins to
new positions.
Sooner or later students will discover how balance the crayfish on its
nose, have student explore this position before moving on.
Note: Students should be experimenting with little assistance from the
teacher. They should be exploring on their own, but if students are struggling
the teacher can give suggestions.
Choose a few students (using equity cards) to share one way they
balanced their crayfish.
CLOSURE:
Create a What We Learned Chart that summarizes the knowledge
acquired from the investigation. Ask students:
and forth, but it doesnt fall. It always comes back to a stable, balanced
position.
Introduce the new shapes and have the students name them.
Hold up a triangle and arch. Tell students that today they
will find out how many ways they can get the triangle and arch to
balance in stable positions.
TEACHING PROCEDURES:
Tell the students that instead of using their finger to balance the
shapes, they will be balancing the shapes on the end of a craft stick.
Model how to position and tape the craft stick.
Assign partners and have one partner collect the two shapes, two
clothespins, and a craft stick.
Visit each group and have them tell you where they plan on putting the
craft stick before giving them tape.
Let the students work together in pairs to try to find different ways to
balance the two shapes.
Go around testing the students creations and encourage them to find
more ways.
Remind students that a shape is in a stable position when it is steady,
even if it is given a slight push, itll wobble but it wont fall.
Go around and see how students are doing. Ask them where the
balance point in their shape is when the clothespins are put on.
After about ten minutes of exploration, start drawing any stable
configurations that the students figure out on the board.
Challenge the students to try to get the shapes to balance on the
corners of both shapes (the handout will be less challenging for students if
they try this).
At the end of the lesson try to lead the class into seeing the pattern in
the balanced and not balanced pictures on the handout (when the
clothespins are below the balance point, the object will balance).
CLOSURE:
Pass out the student sheet. Have them mark Y for yes and N for no
if they think the picture shows the object in a stable position or not. Do 1-3
examples together if necessary.
Then we will test them together as a class afterwards
The goal is to get them to see that when the clothespins are below
the balance point, the object will balance.
If no one gives the desired answer, point out the answer
like this:
Let's look at box 1
Where is the balance point? Answer: black rectangle
Where is the clothespin? Answer: at the bottom
Is the clothespin above or below the balance point?
Answer: below
Go through the next few boxes the same way. If they still
don't get it, tell them that the counterweights need to be below the
balance point for the object to be balanced.
The class will discuss what they have learned a on a What we
Learned chart and answer: How can you tell by looking at a picture if it is a
stable system?
and forth, but it doesnt fall. It always comes back to a stable, balanced
position.
What are counterweights?
Ask where the balance point is located
Introduce the arch and triangle
Hold up a triangle and arch. Tell students that last week
they found out how many ways they could get the triangle and arch to
balance in stable (balanced) positions.
Review the three examples from last weeks assessment
and from the What We Learned chart.
Is the location of the counterweights important?
How can you tell by looking at a picture if it is a stable system?
The goal is to get them to see that when the clothespins
are below the balance point, the object will balance.
If no one gives the desired answer, point out the answer
like this:
Let's look at box 1
Where is the balance point? Answer: black
rectangle
Where is the clothespin? Answer: at the bottom
Is the clothespin above or below the balance
point? Answer: below
Go through the next few boxes the same way. If
they still don't get it, tell them that the counterweights need to
be below the balance point for the object to be balanced.
TEACHING PROCEDURES:
Hold up a copy of the tagboard hand-and-paper picture. Point out the
pencil point in the picture. Challenge students to position the picture at the
end of a craft stick taped to their desk, so that the picture balances on the
pencil point
Pass out materials (craft stick, hand-and-pencil picture, and one
clothespin--distribute masking tape)
Let students begin work. Test their stability by giving their creations a
gentle push
Call students back to rug to demonstrate the pencil trick
Make sure to tell them to leave their hand-and-pencil
pictures in the middle of the table so they can be collected afterwards.
Discuss with students where they put the counterweights
so their picture was balanced?
Tell students that their next challenge is to balance a sharpened pencil
on its point
Hold up a piece of aluminum wire. Tell students that theyll all get a
piece of wire to use The wire can be attached to the pencil, but it cant be
used to bind the pencil to the craft stick.
Model the placement of the craft stick and the wire
procedure
Collect the students hand-and-pencil pictures and pass out a piece of
wire per group.
Let the balancing begin
CLOSURE:
The class will discuss what they have learned a on a What we
Learned chart
Use equity cards to call on students
Answer the main question: What is the trick to balancing
an object on one point?
What was the hardest part?
What made it easier?
What was your favorite part?
Finish with a read-aloud Mirette on the High Wire by: Emily Arnold
McCully (may change)
After Lesson: Create a Wall of Science Fame With a picture of each student group
and their balance creation
III. LESSON ESSENTIALS
DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
This lesson is about the students exploring balance and counterweights. Since a lot
of the first graders cant read big informational words yet (some dont know how to
read), Ill ask for different ways they can show me their learning. One way is
through the use of an art drawing (pre-assessment) and by showing me how they
can balance the hand-and pencil picture as well as the pencil on a stick using
counterweights. A lot of the AMSTI activities involve hands-on experience,
modeling, and listening to the content thats expressed. Extra time will be allotted
to students who need the extra time. I will scaffold those who need extra help by
rephrasing the questions when needed. Students who need an extra challenge will
receive the extension activity.
Instructional Resources, Materials and Technology:
Tagboard hand-and-pencil pictures
Aluminum wire
masking tape
2 clothespins per child
1 craft stick per child
1 pencil per child
Book: Mirette on High Wire (may change)
Always put the straw through the small end of the paper
clip
Open the clips a tiny bit to make the little hooks
Cut one index card into three parts
Use pushpins to make holes in the index card. Place the
index cards on the cardboard scrap before poking the holes.
Tell students that the pushpins and cardboard will be in a bag thatll be
shared with other students in their group
TEACHING PROCEDURES:
refer
Hand out materials and hang up the sample mobile so students can
back to.
Visit the groups as they work.
Provide them with a mobile 1 and mobile 2 poster.
Have students try the mobile 1 first before trying the
mobile 2.
If necessary, show students how to run the straws through the narrow
end of the clips and how to spread the wire a bit to make a hook. Provide
minimum guidance as needed.
When students have finished their construction, have them draw
pictures on the cards and move their things around to get the mobile
perfectly balanced
Announce how much time they have left before clean-up so
they can wrap it up
Let students hang up their mobiles for display on an overhead
clothesline as they finish.
Ask students to bag any leftover materials and have a student helper
collect them
CLOSURE:
Create a What We Learned Chart that summarizes the knowledge
acquired from the investigation. Ask students:
What do you have to do to get a mobile balanced?
What kinds of things could you use besides pictures to
make a mobile?
Include any unanswered questions that students may still
have.
III. LESSON ESSENTIALS
DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
This lesson is about the students exploring balance and counterweights. Since a lot
of the first graders cant read big informational words yet (some dont know how to
read), Ill ask for different ways they can show me their learning through the use of
an art sculpture (mobile) and by showing me how they can balance a system using
what they learned from investigations 1.1-1.3. The AMSTI activities involve handson experience, seeing the modeling, and listening to the content thats expressed
as well as other students input. For students who have a hard time remembering
or ask what to do, Ill assign them a Reporter role where they report back to the
class on what to do. Extra time will be allotted to students who need the extra
time. I will scaffold those who need extra help by rephrasing the questions when
needed. This activity will also be done in partners to help one another out.
Instructional Resources, Materials and Technology:
1 index card 3x5 per student
1 jumbo straw per student
1 half jumbo straw per student
7 paperclips per student
3 rubber bands per student
1 pushpin
1 small piece of cardboard
1 zip bag, 4-liter
1 student sheet no. 3 called mobile poster or no. 4 called mobile 2 poster
1 clothespin