Grade level

/subject

High School Physics Lesson Plan with Reflection

Context
description

Based on students knowledge of seeing things fall every day, they should
understand that there is a natural phenomena that causes objects to move
towards the center of the earth. They understand Potential and Kinetic energy,
so they should understand that gravity causes movement of objects to occur.
ODE: Forces and Motion: Forces- Types of forces

Standards
meet
Concept
addressed

Objectives

Based on the curriculum, students will be taught how to calculate the force of
gravity between two objects, based on distance apart, the mass of the two
objects, as well as the value of gravity. This will lead on to their physics
classes later on in classes down the road where theyll have to take the
acceleration of gravity into account.
The students will be able to:

Academic
language
Learning
strategies
Materials
needed

Students will be able to solve problems using the gravity Equation:

(Force=Gravity*((Mass1*Mass2)/Distance2)
Students will be able to solve for different parts of this equation.
Students will be able to answer word problems about the force of gravitation
between two objects

Students will need to understand the terms, Acceleration, Force, Gravity,

Mass, Distance.
Students will learn through a quick lecture and presentation. They will then
learn through individual practice problems

Workbook with practice questions

Physical Science, Glencoe, 2008

Paper Clip

Engagement/Introduction/Hook
Discuss the Law of universal gravitation. Give an example on how the mass
of the earth has the same gravitational effect on objects on earth. Ask students
what will hit the ground first if dropped from the same height, the paper clip,
or the text book. Facilitate a discussion about it.

Instructional
outline

Instructional sequence:
Segment 1: Quick 10 minute lecture review of the formula that the
students were given yesterday. Students will be instructed to take
notes on the formula (Force=Gravity*((Mass1*Mass2)/Distance2)
It will be discussed what each variable means
Transition 1:
Ask students to have a pencil out on their desks, hand out the
worksheets

Segment 2:
Work on the worksheets together as a class for the first two problems.
Make sure that everybody has the concept and once every question is
answered and all misconceptions are handled, let them work on their
worksheets quietly
Ill walk around and help students where needed
Transition 2
Tell students that this is due tomorrow, and that they have the rest of
the class period to work on it.
Closure
5 minute recap of everything that we discussed in class today.
Modifications

Assessments of
learning
Lesson
Reflection

Modifications will be made if students arent able to grasp the concept of

gravity and the acceleration and attraction that it causes to bring objects
together.
Formative assessments:
Examples will continue to be given based on how students succeed or fail
with our class-wide discussion and practice problems
Summative assessments:
Students will be given a worksheet with problems to do before tomorrow.
Prior to teaching, I was a little worried about getting through all of the
different forms of the equation. The students didnt have the background in
algebra to derive the different forms, so I would have to introduce them all
individually. I didnt know if I was going to make it through all of the
information in one class period. All in all, I think the lesson went extremely
well. When the students were instructed to work on problems on their own,
they were extremely successful. If I were to do this lesson over again, Id
probably split the lesson into two different days. Probably teach the force
form of the equation and the distance form of the equation one day and the
mass equation the other day. I think it might have been a little bit too much. I
think what I liked the most about this lesson was the fact that students were
able to pick it up so well. Multiple representations to solve a question on their
homework worksheet were used and that made me feel like the students really
had a strong grasp on it. I feel like the students met the learning outcomes of
this lesson because as we started to work on class-wide practice questions,
they were starting to solve the questions without me even asking for them to.
The thing that went surprisingly well in my opinion was the class discussion
on which ball would hit the ground first, the paper clip, or the text book.
Almost every student in the class voiced their opinion. I really feel like the
discussion went well and the students never really agreed until I did the
demonstration. Some students thought the paper clip would hit first because
of less air resistance, some students thought the book would hit first because
of its weight. Other students thought they would both hit at the same time.