ED 345 Calvin College Teacher Intern Lesson Plan Template

Teacher Intern: Jared Swanson Date: 3/12/2018

Grade Level: 6/7 th Subject/ Topic: Potential and Kinetic Energy
Approx. time spent planning this lesson: 2hrs
DOMAIN 1: PLANNING & PREPARATION
Main Focus: Potential and Kinetic Energy, Law of Conservation of Energy
Brief Context: Students spent the past couple of days learning about potential and kinetic energy.
This class will continue in that topic and talk about how potential and kinetic energy can be
transferred. We will also introduce the law of conservation of energy with will be talked about more
next class.
Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills: Students should already know what potential and kinetic energy are
and have an idea of how they can be transferred.
Objectives:

Students will be able to construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships
of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.

Students will be able to describe how amounts of potential energy that are stored in a system change
at different distances.

Students will be able to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy
is transferred to or from the object.

MS-PS3-1 Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic
energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.

MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a
distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

MS-PS3-5 Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy
of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

Assessment: Bell work in science notebook (will be checked at the end of the month)

Worldview Integration: Students will understand the world around us is full of energy. Everything
has energy and God made the Earth that way. There is no way to create or destroy energy. It is
always being recycled and transferred.

Instructional Resources: Science notebooks, notetaking worksheet, roller coaster and paint can
diagram, scenario showing different types of energy, basketball, tennis ball, apple, string, notecards.

Universal Design for Learning Networks/Domains (see UDL Guidelines )

RECOGNITION STRATEGIC AFFECTIVE
Multiple Means of Multiple Means of Expression Multiple Means of
Representation Engagement
Options for Perception
Information will be given
through demonstrations,
notetaking sheets, and
discussions.
Options for
Language/Symbols
Information will be given
through pictures,
demonstrations, and orally,
Options for action/interaction Options for recruiting
interest
Students will be interacting with
each other and the teacher. Teacher will perform some
There will also be times for experiments to get the students
individual work. engaged and interested in the
subject.
Options for Expression Options for Sustaining Effort
& Persistence
Students will be writing, talking,
and answering questions.
Sometimes they will be writing
in their notebooks or a
notetaking sheet. Other times,
there will be chances for
students to answer questions
and discuss with classmates.

Options for Comprehension Options for Executive Options for Self-Regulation

Function
A notetaking sheet will be given
to the students. It is their
responsibility to make sure they
have that filled out because it
will be important when studying
for the test.

DOMAIN 2: THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

COVENANT MANAGEMENT: Relationship & community building

The students will be having discussions with each other and the teacher. As students work on the
activities and notetaking sheet, the teacher will be assisting and guiding students as they ask
questions and work together. The teacher will encourage collaboration and problem solving.

CONDUCT MANAGEMENT: (Behavioral expectations, strategies to encourage self regulation,

etc.)
Identify at least 2 ways you will gain whole group attention: Asking thought-provoking questions,
waiting until everyone is silent and paying attention before continuing or giving further instructions.
Strategies you intend to use to redirect individual students: Asking questions to refocus the
students on the activity at hand, give students a task, small activity, or role to keep them from being a
distraction to others.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: Students will be in groups.

DOMAIN 3: INSTRUCTION
CONTENT MANAGEMENT: THE LESSON
Students will come in and receive a picture/ diagram before sitting down. They will find their science
binders and notebooks and have a seat.

The bell work for today will be looking at the picture they were given and identifying any examples of
potential or kinetic energy. Examples will be a bird sitting on a tree (potential), and baseball being
thrown (kinetic). Students will spend about 5 minutes searching and identifying different examples of
the energy.

The teacher will project the picture on the screen and after 5 minutes, ask the students to give
examples of different types of energy. These will be circled on the board. As a challenge, the
teacher will ask, “Can you find any examples of chemical, light, thermal or other forms of energy?”
We will discuss this for a few minutes.

Teacher will ask students to take out their notebooks and quickly write down the definitions for
potential and kinetic energy. We will briefly review these definitions and where we see this in real life.

Teacher will pass out notetaking worksheet that will be completed throughout the class. This
worksheet will go over mechanical energy, energy systems, and the law of conservation of energy.

The roller coaster diagram online will be put on the screen to review. After going through the
interactive diagram, the teacher will introduce the first vocabulary word. This word is mechanical
energy. Mechanical energy is the total energy that the system starts with. “The roller coaster starts
with a certain amount of kinetic energy and a certain amount of potential energy. This is the system’s
mechanical energy.”

Students will write this definition on the notetaking sheet.

The teacher will relate this idea of mechanical energy to the activity that was done the previous week
with the tennis balls and Styrofoam balls. Describe the mechanical energy of the system. What
happens to that energy as the ball rolls down the hill? How can we change that mechanical energy?
We will talk about when we raise the height of the binder that potential energy will increase. Also,
when you change the mass of the ball the potential energy will increase.

Now we will perform an experiment. There will be a string attached to ceiling already set up. The
teacher will attach an apple or ball to this string and step back. The ball will be held directly in front of
the teacher’s face. “What do you think is going to happen to the ball when I let go? Will it hit my face,
come back to exact same position, or come back to a different position?” Students will discuss their
opinions and why they think so.

Now the teacher will let go of the ball and students will watch the ball lose some distance and not
make it back quite to the teacher’s face. “Why doesn’t the ball come back and hit my face?” The
potential energy is being transferred into kinetic energy and that kinetic energy is being transferred
into other forms of energy. The ball doesn’t have as much kinetic energy coming back as it did when
the teacher let go.

The teacher will now do other examples (using a shorter student, standing on a chair). The height of
the ball will determine how far it swings because it affects the potential energy. The higher up the ball
is held the more potential energy can be transferred into kinetic energy.

“Why does the ball end up stopping?” – all the energy has been transferred elsewhere, the ball has
not more kinetic energy.
Now students will find the corresponding diagram of this energy system on their notetaking sheet and
spend 2 minutes labeling the diagram with the appropriate energy transfers. “What kind of energy is
present in this system?” The teacher will show an example of this for this activity so that they can do
it themselves the second activity.

We will now start our second activity to demonstrate energy systems. The teacher will hold up a
tennis ball and a basketball, each in one hand, at the same height.

“Which ball has more potential energy right now?” We will discuss that the basketball has more
potential energy because even though it is at the same height as the tennis ball, it has more mass
than the tennis ball. “This means that the basketball has more potential energy stored inside of it
right now.”

“When I drop these balls which ball will have more kinetic energy?” The ball with more mass
(basketball) will have a greater kinetic energy. “Why don’t the balls bounce back up to the height of
my hand?” – energy is being transferred in this system and there is less kinetic energy when it comes
back.

Emphasis that the energy is being transferred to another object, not lost.

“Now that you have seen the activity, take a look at your notetaking sheets, and find the
corresponding diagram. Label this diagram with the appropriate energy transfers. What kind of
energy is present in this system?” Students will spend about 2 minutes writing this down.

After finishing this, the teacher will introduce the second vocabulary phrase, law of conservation of
energy. This has to bullet points, “energy cannot be created or destroyed”, and “all forms of energy
can be transformed into other forms of energy.” In these two experiments, there was not energy
being created or destroyed, only transferred to or from another object.

Now the teacher will place the tennis ball on top of the basketball from the previous activity and hold it
up. “These balls both have potential energy, what do you think is going to happen to each ball when I
drop them?” Both balls have potential energy that is transferred into kinetic energy. The basketball’s
kinetic energy is transferred to the tennis ball then it hits the ground. Now the tennis ball has more
kinetic energy and it goes flying.

For the last few minutes of class, students will discuss in their groups the last question on the
notetaking sheet, “Draw an energy system you experience in your daily life. How many energy
transfers can you identify? What different types of energy are there?” After discussing this as a
group, students will draw and write down their answer on a note card that they will turn in as an exit
ticket.

DOMAIN #4: PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

CANDIDATE NOTED EVIDENCE OF PROFESSIONALISM: I attended a PLC meeting with other
science and math teachers to brainstorm and discuss how to collaborate and also what advice we
could give each other about certain students.