Assessment Plan and Instructional Sequence

Michigan State University

TE 804: Reflecting and Inquiry in Teaching Practice II Science: Spring 2015
By Kendra Asher

In this assignment, you will outline a ten-day unit intended to teach your NGSS/GLCEs.. Your unit will be aligned with the InquiryApplication Instructional Model (an expansion of the Experiences, Patterns and Explanations model of science teaching). To plan your unit,
you will draw upon the thinking and analysis from the previous two assignments.

Assessment Plan and Instructional Sequence

Unit Plan Part 3

Name: Kendra Asher
Unit Topic: Force and Motion
Dates you will Teach this Unit: 2/16-2/27
Grade Level: 5th
Driving Question:

How do car safety features keep you safe?

Learning Standards: (NGSS or GLCEs)

Grade Level Content Expectations

P.FM.05.22 Demonstrate contact and non-contact forces to change the motion of an object.

P.FM.05.31 Describe what happens when two forces act on an object in the same or opposing directions.

P.FM.05.32 Describe how constant motion is the result of balanced (zero net) forces.

P.FM.05.33 Describe how changes in the motion of objects are caused by a non-zero net (unbalanced) force.

P.FM.05.34 Relate the size of change in motion to the strength of unbalanced forces and the mass of the object.

P.FM.05.41 Explain the motion of an object relative to its point of reference.

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.

Assessment Plan:
Your assessment plan will consist of a minimum of three carefully planned assessment tasks: one given early in the unit (pre-assessment/science discussion
conducted in UPPt2), one towards the middle of the unit(formative), and one at end of your unit(summative). In this section, you will provide a detailed description
of the formative and summative assessment tasks and describe the features you will look for in your students responses. Assessment tasks should meet the
requirements discussed in our seminar sessions and course readings.

FORMATIVE Assessment Task: Force and Motion Quiz 1

Assessment Task Rationale:

GLCE/Learning Goal this task addresses:

This assessment aligns with the objective of the SEPUP

Students will demonstrate their understanding of the ratio of distance and time lesson in which students see the relationship between
to get speed, the greater the release height the greater the speed, and why this release height and speed. There is not a specific GLCE
that meets this objective but the one provided mentions
relationship is important to consider in car safety.
time and distance. Since speed is a ratio of time and
P.FM.05.42 Describe the motion of an object in terms of distance, time and
distance, it is a manner in which to describe the motion
direction, as the object moves, and in relationship to other objects.
of an object.
P.FM.05.31 Describe what happens when two forces act on an object in the

same or opposing directions
This will allow students to demonstrate if they can use

their new knowledge that increasing release height
increases speed. However, the tasks ask them to reduce
the speed. Thus it is an extension of their new
knowledge. Also an extension of their new knowledge is
the task asking them to determine the amount of time it
would take the cart to go 45 miles. From the experiment
students will learn how to determine speed and this will
be having them apply it. If a student is not able to get this
question correct, it tells me that they do not understand
the relationship between distance, speed and time.

The second question is open ended. This is intended to
show me if students can apply what they learned to the
driving question about car safety features. If they can
justify their answer and relate it to release height and
speed, I will be happy.

Task Detailed Description:

Exemplary Assessment Response Features:

1. The angle of the slop is either increased or decreased.
2. Since a car increases speed when moving down a slope
when compared to flat surface, it is important to have car
features that either prevent the car from moving too fast
or can stop its movement. These include brakes and
different gear shifts. Moving to a lower gear helps the car
maintain a lower speed. If a car is going to move at a
faster speed when moving down a hill as detailed above,
it becomes more important for seat belts to be worn and
airbags to be in place.

Students may also say: Since a car increases speed with
an increase in release height
3. 3 hours

End-of-Unit SUMMATIVE Assessment Task: Answering the Driving Question

Assessment Task Rationale:

GLCE/Learning Goal this task addresses:

How will this task allow your students to demonstrate

varying degrees of accomplishment and understanding?

P.FM.05.31 Describe what happens when two forces act on an object in the

This assessment incorporates most of the content
standards into a real life phenomena. They have to use
their new acquired knowledge and understanding to
explain how safety features keep people safe in vehicles.
This is an application of the content standards. They will
need to relate the relationships of mass, speed and
release height to this phenomena.

This will inform me if students are able to apply the
concepts. I will learn if students are able to reason or if
they can not think beyond seat belts and air bags. I am
looking for why the features are needed and the
underlying concepts. This also informs me if students
understand the abstract concepts.

Unlike my other assessment, I will not rely on images.
However, students will be able to use diagrams to
supplement their ideas and I hope it will help them think
about the question. My justification for this type of
assessment is that students have been prepared to
answer portions of this question from the lessons.

Task Detailed Description:

Exemplary Assessment Response Features:

same or opposing directions.

P.FM.05.32 Describe how constant motion is the result of balanced (zero
net) forces.
P.FM.05.33 Describe how changes in the motion of objects are caused by a
non-zero net (unbalanced) force.
P.FM.05.34 Relate the size of change in motion to the strength of
unbalanced forces and the mass of the object.
P.FM.05.41 Explain the motion of an object relative to its point of reference.
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.
MS-PS2-1. Apply Newtons Third Law to design a solution to a problem
involving the motion of two colliding objects.

As release height increases, the speed of the car

increases.
o Gear shifts, brakes

As the mass of the car increases, the force exerted

onto a collision increases
o Brakes, seat belt, air bags, crumble zone,
bumper

As the release height increases, the greater the force

exerted in a collision
o Brakes, seat belt, air bags, crumble zone,
bumper

The larger the force the greater the acceleration

o Traction control, 4 wheel drive

Instructional Sequence:
The table below should lay out at least one complete I-AIM instructional sequence. Use the I-AIM handout and instructional sequence example as a
guide. Remember that activities are not one days worth of science. A typical science class session is comprised of 2- 3 activities, depending on their
function. You will need to add more rows to the table below in order to create your complete unit plan. Add rows as needed to represent 10 days
worth of science teaching, or six total lessons spread across ten days.

Date or
Activity Description
Activity Function
Activity Modifications
Lesson
What I-AIM function is this?
Descriptions for each activity should be extremely detailed, and should include
Explain how you modified or created
Number question prompts and probes you plan to use during the lesson activities as well as
Functions should be taken from this activity to best fit:
(a way to
show
which
activities
happen
on which
days)

how you plan to scaffold small and large group discussions to enable students to
share and respond to one anothers thinking and ideas. Your instructional sequence
chart should represent approximately 10 days worth of science lessons. Remember
that for each lesson, or day of teaching, you may have several activities planned
experiences and collecting data and/or observations, comparing/contrasting and
discussing data in small and whole group to identify large-scale patterns, discussing
possible explanations for patterns, testing explanations or ideas, etc.

the I-AIM chart and should match

the function descriptions and
order in the chart.

To introduce the Driving Question, this activity is called Choosing a Safe Vehicle.
1. Students will work in pairs
2. Elicit background knowledge by asking students what they think of when they
hear car accident. Chose a few students to share
3. Inform students that the leading cause of death by unintentional injury of
people the age of 1-44 is motor vehicle accidents, those most commonly killed
are 15-24 and over 75.
4. What do car accidents have to so with science? They move by gasoline
(sample answer). By studying motion, car designers can make cars safer and
save lives. Understanding the physics of how and why cars moves helps car
engineers design better cars that are safer
5. What measurements do you think scientists and engineers use when
studying car safety? Time it takes to stop, how fast they go or speed (Sample
student examples)
6. Students will complete steps 1 and 2.
7. Give each pair a copy of Comparing Vehicle Features which includes

Question

your learning goals

the I-AIM/EPE model of science
teaching
your students nave or
misconceptions about the topic
your students previous
experiences
your students funds of
knowledge
the cognitive, physical,
linguistic, or social needs of
specific students

I found that this lesson fits well with the

I-AIM function of Question. This task
introduces students to the driving
question and why it is important to
think about it.

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Features such as height and mass for two cars and corresponding data.
Give students 5 min to read through the table and discuss their initial
observations or curiosities.
Next, have students work together to complete the column on the
Comparing Vehicle Features called Effect on Safety. Encourage students
to use past experiences and observations to conclude the effect. 20 min
After the students have completed the Effects column instruct groups to circle
which vehicle has the advantage or they think is the safest choice.
Share student answers for a select few features: Mass, Top Speed,
Acceleration, Breaking Distance, Air Bags, Seat Belts
Survey the class to determine students choice for the safest car. Ask a select
few students to justify their answer.
To begin closing the lesson, ask students What safety features do cars
have? Airbags and brakes which help to reduce injuries. However, other
features such as mass and tires also play a role in the likeliness of an accident
and the outcome.
Formative Assessment: Question 5 Which vehicle do you think is safer?
Explain what data convinces you that this vehicle is safer than the other one.
To hook students tell them that they are going to be use a cart, ramp and
track to calculate speed.
What can contribute to a car accident? Look for students to reference speed
What is speed? What units can speed be measured in? Typically mph but
students will be using cm/s
Select a student or students to read the introduction and Challenge to the
activity.
How is speed measured? How have you seen it measured in your daily
life? Tell students that all methods to measure speed require a timer interval
for how long it takes to travel a distance. To measure speed, the time it takes
to travel between two points is measured. Thus speed requires a time and
distance unit
Distribute materials to groups of four. Students will follow the directions in
their text to make a track and record times. They will draw a table in their
science journal with columns labeled trial, distance, time and speed to record
their data.
After students have done their trials, write the equation speed= distance/time
on the board. This is after they have completed Step 7. Ask students what is
the speed of a car that travels 100 miles in 2 hours? What is the speed of a

Experience, Patterns,
Explanations

I utilized students funds of knowledge

of car experiences to help them
understand how speed is measured.
Students have been in cars and seen the
speedometer or seen speed limits on
the road. These experiences will help
them to understand how speed is
measured.

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car that travels 30 kilometers in .5 hours?

Students will then calculate the speed for each trial. To determine the average
speed have students use mean.
When all students have completed their trials and table, record class data on
the board to determine the speed for the cart to travel 100 cm. It should take
1-2 seconds and speed should be around 75 cm/s
Proceed to Part B in which students will design their own experiment.
Have students predict what would happen if the release height changed. Do
this by having students record their prediction in their science journal
With their group, students will design a procedure to test their hypothesis.
Emphasize the importance to control all variables except height. They will
record their procedures in their science journals.
The teacher will approve each groups procedure and suggest changes if
necessary.
Students will conduct their experiment to determine speed with a variance in
release height. They will record their data as before.
Ask students to share their predictions and the results they found. Look for
students to have found that increasing the starting height increases the speed
of the cart.
To conclude the lesson, introduce the concept of rate, a ratio of two different
kinds of measurements. Speed is a ratio of distance and time.
Ask students why we are learning about the relationship between speed and
release height and how it relates to car safety. (Another factor that increases
speed is position. If a car is at the top of the hill it will have greater speed than
a car on a less inclined hill. Cars can change gears and have brakes)
Formative assessment: According to your data from Part A, what is the speed
of the cart? According to your data from Part B, what is the effect of release
height on speed? Do orally as a class discussion
Ask students, when you measured the speed of a cart rolling down a track,
do you think the carts were going the same speed the whole time? Inform
students that the cart started at rest a speed of 0 m/s and then speed up to its
top speed and then slowed back down to a stop to a speed of 0 m/s. They
were measuring average speed over distance on the flat part of the track.
In this activity students will be analyzing graphs of distance versus time to
show that motion over a while trip. The measurements they previously made
gave no information about the middle of the trip. Thus a graph is valuable for
it shows motion at any moment during the trip
Select students to read portions of the scenario. Then review the scenario of

Experience, Patterns,
Explanations

To introduce the topic, I referred back

to an experience they recently had
where they measured the speed of a
cart going down a track. Thus, I built off
of their prior experiences.

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Josh and Teashas trips. The road to school is straight and does not require
any turning. The graph will not show any change of direction.
To introduce students to a distance vs time motion graph, sketch one on the
Promethean Board. Ask what the vertical axis represents to see if any
students know it represents distance. Ask about the horizontal axis to see if
they know it represents time. Ask students what slope is.
What do the changes in the graphs slopes on a distance vs time graph
mean? Note: A positive or upward slop represents the car moving away from
home, a zero slope is a stopped car and a negative or downward slope
represents the car returning home. Accept all hypothesis or ideas from
students.
Inform students they will be exploring how slop on a graph related to speed.
Provide students with copies of Teashas and Joshs trips to school. Pass out
the precut strips of timing.
Students will complete the procedure in their text book. Students will work in
small groups to match the strips of timing to portions of the graph.
When students have completed the matching, ask students to share their
choices for matching the strips. Record the letter orders on the board. Then
provide the correct order. Encourage students to compare their work with the
correct answer.
Ask students to identify all places on the graph were the car is moving
towards school. What do you notice about the slope of the line at these
points? Ask the same questions for when the car was stopped and when the
car was returning home.
How can you determine speed from the graph? By looking at the slope of
the line. The steeper the slope the greater the speed. A horizontal line means
no speed.
How does a downward slope demonstrate speed? Since slope is change in y
over the change in x, so a change in distance divided by the change in time
would create speed. Thus even a downward slope has speed. The direction of
the slope indicates if the car is moving forward or backward.
Are the graphs realistic? Do cars usually change speed instantly? Cars
change speed gradually even though the graphs some instant changes. What
would a graph really look like? A graph should curve.
A car that accelerates is one that speeds up, slows down or changes direction.
Sometimes we call slowing down deceleration as well. How does a curved
graph show changing speed? Draw tangent lines along the curved graph line.
If a car is slowing down the tangent lines become more and more flat.

15. Discuss why what they learned today about increased speed, would be an
important concept to consider when thinking about car safety.
16. Formative Assessment: (Post introduction of research topic/rubric)
a. Which student started out faster? Explain how you know this.
b. A car that accelerates is one that speeds up, slows down, or changes
directions. Which graph below shows a car continually accelerating?
Explain how the shape of the graph shows this.
1. Write Force on the board. Have students share what they know about force
already. Force is defined as a push or a pull.
2. How can you tell if a force is acting on an object? We cant see them but we
indirectly see something change its motion such as slowing down, speeding up
or bending.
3. Select students to read the introduction and Challenge in their textbook.
4. We can feel or see the results of force but not the force itself usually. In this
activity students will be observing the change in motion of a cart and a block.
They will not be measuring force but measuring the result of the force, the
distance the block moves. This is an indirect way to measure the force applied
to it.
5. Read through the procedures with the students. Ask students what variable
we are testing: block movement. Students will follow the directions in the text
for how to assemble their track.
6. Students will complete 5 trials for 3 different speeds and then calculate
average distance with mean.
7. Groups will report their average distance values for each speed.
8. What patterns does your data show? There is clear relationship between
speed and block movement because as the cart started higher on the ramp,
the block moves farther. Assuming the block distance reflects the force of the
collision and remembering that higher release heights result in faster speeds,
students should conclude that there is a correlation between increased speed
of the cart and more force in a collision.
9. To conclude the activity, remind students that force is a push or a pull and is
required for any change in motion. The moment of impact, the cart
decelerates and the block accelerates. The cart applies a force to the block but
the block is also applying a force to the cart.
10. Since we learned today that the cart accelerates when the cart collides with
it and decelerates, and that the higher the release height the greater the
speed, how would this influence how car safety features keep you safe? (A
car with greater mass, will have more speed which makes it more important

Experience, Patterns,
Explanations

Special attention will be made when

groups are formed. There are students
in the class who do not work well
together or whos personalities clash.
There are also a few students who voice
their opinion about who they work with
and are not kind about it. Thus, when
forming groups some students should
not be placed together. I also need to
consider our special needs students. My
cognitively impaired student and two
special education students should not
be placed in one group as the tasks end
up not getting done. Thus, to help keep
them on task it works best to separate
them. My three special education
students will also get modified
assessments according to their IEPs.
Thus, they will not be required to write
the question down. They do not need to
write in complete sentences and may
use images. If time permits, the analysis
questions may be asked verbally with an
adult recording their answer.

for seat belts and air bags)

11. Formative Assessment:
a. How does the speed of the cart affect how far the block moves?
b. Why do you think release height has this effect?
c. When a car crashes, do you think its speed can make a difference in
the amount of damage done? Explain using evidence from this
investigation.
1. To begin, select a few students to read the introduction and challenge to the
activity.
2. Introduce students to mass, the fundamental quantity that describes the
amount of matter in an object. This is different than weight, which is the
vertical force exerted by a mass as the result of gravity. They are different.
While directly related, an objects weight is a function of its mass and the
gravitational forces acting on it. Remind students that mass would be the
same on the moon but not weight. Mass is measured in units such as
kilograms.
3. In the activity students will be looking at the effect of mass on the distance
the block moves and not the effect on the carts speed. Ask students what
they have already learned about the speed of the cart and the distance the
block moves. Let students know that whatever the mass of the cart, the cart
will hit the block at the same speed when released from the same height.
Demonstrate by having two example ramps set up with carts with different
masses. Release at the same time and bring students attention to the fact
they travel at about the same speed. Speed is held constant.
4. Students begin the procedure in small groups, and will write a plan to test the
effect of mass on the distance a block moves and a prediction. They will have
cylinders to place in the cart to increase the mass. Students will then conduct
their experiment
5. Have groups share their predictions and their results.
6. Remind students of the demonstration provided at the beginning of the
lesson. Since speed was similar when the mass was changes, the changes in
block distance can be attributed to changes in cart mass and not speed.
Students have already learned that speed does increase the distance the block
moves but now it is due to mass.
7. Ask students what pattern they see or what they learned. They should say
that the higher the mass, the farther the block moved and thus the cart can
apply more force.
8. To close the lesson, ask students how what they learned today is something

Experience, Patterns,
Explanations

From my preassessment, I gathered that

there was a misconception about
gravity and weight. Students thought
that gravity was the force causing
increases speed and that weight was a
factor. In reality it is mass that is a
factor, not weight. Thus I explain the
difference between the two terms.

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that car engineers keep in mind when designing cars. (the higher the elevation
or starting point the greater the force that is applied in a collision. The
amount of force onto the barricade from a car on the top of a hill is much
greater than a car accelerating on a flat surface. Also thinking about a
comparison of a body and a car, a car has more mass. This means that it
exerts more force than a human body and when it collides with a barricade, it
will have exerted a greater force on the barricade.)
Formative Assessments:
a. Did the mass of the cart affect the collision? Explain how you know
this
b. If you were in a collision, would you rather be hit by Vehicle 1 (2,027
kg) or Vehicle 2 (1,415 kg)? Explain.
Ask students to state the definition of acceleration. (When as object speeds
up, slows down, or changes directions). An object moving at a constant speed
or not moving is not accelerating. It is referred to as change in motion.
What is the difference between speed and acceleration? Speed is the rate at
which distance is traveled while acceleration is the rate at which speed is
changing. An object that has a larger rate of speeding up as opposed to simply
a high rate of speed, has a higher acceleration. Ex. Car at constant speed has
no acceleration but a car from 0 to 20 mph in 4 seconds has an acceleration of
4mph/s
Newton is the SI unit for force. Write on board that 1 N is about equal to the
downward force of a 100 gram mass near the surface of earth.
Students will work on the following problem to illustrate the concept of
acceleration. 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. If the car has
2
speed up by 4 m/s in 2 seconds the acceleration is 2 m/s to the right.
Have students read the first step of the Procedure and ask them What the
similarities and differences between their experiment and the ones you did
earlier? Similarities are shows motion in a straight line, investigate forces,
and use a similar track set up. Differences include that this experiment
assumes a frictionless track and we can directly measure force.
Have students look at the table in their textbook and have them begin to
make their own graph. Explain to them that the graphs will show the direct
relationship between force and acceleration.
Once they have completed their graphs students will complete part A. Ask
students Look at your graphed line for experiment 1. Explain why it does or
does not indicate that there is a relationship between force and acceleration.

Experience, Patterns and

Explanations

To assist my students to meet the

driving question, at the end of each
lesson, including this one, students will
be asked to apply what they learned to
car safety. Thus, I am helping students
to make the connection between the
lesson and the unit objective.

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It does indicate a relationship for in both experiments, as the force increases,

so does the acceleration. The graphs show that the relationship between
force and acceleration is linear.
Students begin Part B and Part C. They may find that F=2a but this will not
work for the second set of data. Point out that the 2 in the equation are for
mass.
Ask students to share their groups equation and relationship they discovered.
They should have found either of the following three equations: F=ma, m=F/a,
a=F/m. Show students how these are variations of the same equation.
Tell students that it was through experiments and data analysis like this that
Isaac Newton found this relationship.
Ask students how mass can be determined from the graph.
To begin closing the lesson, ask students to Look at your graphed line for
Experiment 1, and explain why it does or does not indicate that there is a
relationship between force and acceleration. If does indicate a relationship, as
force increases, so does acceleration. The relationship his linear.
Identify the similarities and differences of Experiment 1 and 2 on your graph.
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.)
Formative Assessment:
a. Use your equation for force, mass and acceleration to complete the
table.
b. In the first activity Vehicle 2 has greater acceleration than Vehicle 1,
but has less forceful engine. How can this be? Explain in terms of
your equation.
3
c. One Newton of force is the same as 1 kg x 1 m/s . Use your equation
to explain why this makes sense.

Grading Criteria:

Desired Features

Points

Activity Description and

Function

Each activity is clearly and accurately associated with a component of the Inquiry Application Instruction Model of science
teaching. Taken as a whole, the set of activities is consistent with this model. The set of activities represents at least one
complete I-AIM cycle.
Procedures for each activity are clear and detailed.
Question prompts and probes are included for each activity and are likely to scaffold and support students science sense-
making and conceptual understanding.
Student discussions (E!P and P!E activities) are carefully planned to scaffold and support students in sharing their
observations and ideas, identifying patterns, and hypothesizing possible explanations.

Question Activities:
Establishes a relevant (real world context), interesting, and understandable question that addresses the learning goals.
Elicits student ideas and helps the teacher to understand the students ideas about the learning goals.

Explore & Investigate Activities:
Includes opportunities for students to collect data or use available data to look for patterns related to the learning goal.
Includes opportunities for students to explore and share their ideas.
Several experiences are described and clear supports are provided to help students to observe and identify patterns based
upon those experiences (E !P).
Experiences and Patterns come before explanations.
Patterns are made explicit.

Explain Activities:
Clear supports are provided to help students to generalize patterns to form Explanations (P ! E).
Includes opportunities to build on student ideas and challenge student ideas when necessary; includes opportunities for
students to revise their ideas.
Presents scientific ideas related to the learning goal.
Represents scientific ideas correctly and effectively.
Provides students with opportunities to compare their ideas to the scientific ideas.

Apply Activities:
Allows students to apply their knowledge to new situations, in both near and far contexts, related to the learning goal.

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Activity Modifications

Thoughtful modifications and accommodations are specified for students with special needs.
Students resources for learning have been thoughtfully incorporated into the instructional sequence.
Taken as a whole, the set of activities is likely to support meaningful learning for the students in the intended classroom.

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Assessment Plan

Each assessment task permits evaluation with respect to the identified NGSS/GLCEs.
Each assessment task engages students in meaningful and thoughtful science work and provides opportunities for elaborated
responses.
Each assessment task is accessible to students with a range of abilities and mastery of the unit learning goals.
Each assessment task is likely to elicit rich information that will allow evaluation with respect to the learning goal.
The assessment task rationale and list of exemplary response features reflects a clear plan for learning about students
thinking and reasoning, based upon their responses to the assessment task. This should not be whether students get it or
dont get it. Rather, it should be clear what the task will indicate about the strengths and weaknesses of students reasoning
and thinking processes.

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