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Motion
Shannon Creedon
CH555- Student Teaching Practicum
Fall 2018
Science Unit
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Table of Contents
Topic and Rationale……………………………………………………………3

Unit Goals……………………………………………………………………..5

Content Outline…………………………………………………………………6

Overview of Unit……………………………………………………………….7

Lesson Plans…………………………………………………………………….8

Lesson One………………………………………………………………8

Lesson Two…………………………………………………………......11

Lesson Three…………………………………………………………….14

Lesson Four……………………………………………………………...19

Lesson Five………………………………………………………………24

Lesson Six……………………………………………………………….29

Lesson Seven…………………………………………………………….34

Lesson Eight………………………………………………………………37

Unit Bibliography………………………………………………………………….42
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Unit Topic and Rationale

Topic: Motion

Essential Question:

What are the different ways objects can move?

In what ways can you change the motion and force of an object?

Grade Level: 2nd grade

Unit Rationale:

The unit that I will be doing with my second graders will be motion. Motion is an

Important topic from the Brookline science curriculum but it is also an engaging and thrilling

subject for students. We plan on creating a hands on unit that will keep students engrossed in

their learning of this science topic. Students should have to opportunity to play with motion with

different manipulatives in the classroom that really proves what the students have been hearing

about during the lessons. The students will be able to play around freely with manipulatives that

prove the five big ideas in the unit. During this unit, we believe that the students will be able to

relate all the ideas we are talking about to occurrences that have happened in their life. These

students will begin to understand motion and how it affects their life greatly.

It is important for students to learn about the big ideas in this unit for many different

reasons. For example, one of our big ideas for the unit is that objects can move in many different

ways and at different speeds. The students need to learn this in order to understand a variety of

occurrences that happen in their world like why some objects move differently than others. If

students do not understand this, they will never really be aware of what is actually going on

around them.
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The standards from the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum

Framework (2016) that we chose to incorporate in this unit differ. For our unit, a lot of what we

will be doing is testing out materials, which is why we chose the standard “test different

materials and analyze the data obtained to determine which materials have the properties that are

best suited for an intended purpose” (2-PS1-2). Students will be analyzing data from the motion

experiments we will be doing by looking at how pushing and pulling make things move. The

standard we will use for that will be “analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the

same design problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each object performs”

(2.K-2-ETSI-3).
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Unit Goals:
1. Students will understand that objects move in different
ways and at different dspeeds.
2. Students will use the word wall and the word splash to help
the remember descriptive words that are related to motion.
3. Students will understand how what force is a push and what
force is a pull.
4. Students will be able to define and make friction.
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Unit Content Outline

Title: Motion
1. Objects can move in many ways and at different speeds. (Brookline Unit).
a. Motion is all about force. Forces are needed to make an object move. (Studios,
2015).
b. How fast an object moves or its speed is called its velocity (Studios, 2015).
c. Acceleration is the measure of how much the velocity changes. (Studios, 2015).
d. Velocities can increase and decrease throughout their movement. (Studios, 2015).

2. Pushes and pulls make things move, stop, slow down, and change direction. The harder
the push or pull is, the greater the change in motion of the object. (Brookline Unit).
a. Applied force is a force that is put on to an object (Idaho Public Television,
2018).
b. Speed can be defined as the distance an object travels in a specific amount of
time. (Fact Monster, 2017).

3. Pushes and pulls can be caused by people, water, air, magnets, and gravity. (Brookline
Unit).
a. A push and pull on an object essentially means there is a force that is being
applied to that object. (Tobin, 2018).
b. Gravity produces a force that pulls object towards each other. For example, this
could be an object that is sitting on the ground. (Tobin, 2018).
c. Normal force is the force of gravity pull objects toward Earth. (Tobin, 2018).

4. Energy can be transferred from one things to another to create a push or pull. (Brookline
Unit).
a. Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because of its motion. (Khan Academy,
2018).
b. Kinetic energy can be transferred between objects but also can become different
types of energy. (Khan Academy, 2018).
c. Frictional force is cause by two surfaces coming n contact with each other.
(Tobin, 2018).

5. Things near to the Earth fall to the ground unless something holds them up. (Brookline
Unit).
a. Opposing forces act on objects that are resting on something like a table. A book
that is resting on a table has the force of gravity pulling it toward the earth, but
since it is not moving t has opposing forces (Idaho Public Television, 2018).
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Unit Overview
Lesson One: What Students Know about Motion (SCI)
This lesson will include activities like using guiding questions to see what the students
already know about motion. There will be a pre-assessment that incorporates brainstorming with
the students about what they know about the way objects move.

Lesson Two: Introduction to Motion (SCI)

This lesson will include a “Motion Walk”. This motion walk will have the students
walking around outside and taking notes on what they see moving. Then we will come back
inside to discuss what they saw moving as a class.

Lesson Three: Motion Observation Stations (SCI)

This lesson will focus on the big idea “Objects can move in many ways and at different
speeds”. We will have five different groups that will go to the five different stations. The stations
will be CD’s and Markers, Pendulums, Balls and Ramps, Rulers and Blocks, Cups and Markers.
The students will have a sheet where they write down what station they are at and a place where
they write how the objects moved.

Lesson Four: Push and Pull (SCI)

This lesson will be about our second big idea which is “Pushes and pulls make things
move, stop, slow down and change direction. The harder the push or pull is, the greater the
change in motion of the object”. There will once again be five groups experimenting with push
and pull with ramps.

Lesson Five: Pushes and Pulls Extended (SCI)

This lesson will be focused on the forces that cause pushes and pulls. The big idea for this
lesson will be “Pushes and pulls can be caused by people, water, air, magnets, and gravity”. In
this lesson the students will experiment with magnets, parachutes, paper airplanes, and balloon
rockets. They will discuss what energy was used when experimenting with each of the
manipulatives.

Lesson Six: Energy Transferred to Push or Pull (SCI)

In this lesson, the main idea we will be focused on is “Energy can be transferred from one
things to another to create a push or pull”. For this lesson we will focusing on magnets and
marbles to see how energy can be transferred to create a push or pull.
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Lesson Seven: Gravity (SCI)

This lesson will focus on our final big idea, which is “Things near to the Earth fall to the
ground unless something holds them up”. For this lesson the students will split up into five
different groups again and experiment with how they can stop objects from falling to the ground.
They will take notes and report back to the whole group when they are finished.

Lesson Eight: Wrap Up (SCI, LA)

The students will have time to write in their science journal to answer three or more
questions about what they learned through this unit. Then the students will share what they wrote
to the class.
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Lesson One Title: Introduction to Motion

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon
Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on introducing motion to the
students to give them background information they
can use for future lessons.
Grade Level 2nd Grade
Time Frame 20 Minutes
Subject(s) Science, LA
Instructional Goal I want the students to brainstorm what they know
about motion in an organized way that will get them
to start thinking about motion.
Prior Knowledge Students know that objects move and terms that
relate to movement. The terms that the students
know are push, pull, straight, roll, and slide since
they are on the motion word wall that has been up for
many days prior to the beginning of the unit.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its

conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
listening.
Brookline Standards:
• Give examples of pushes and pulls that occur in
our daily lives and explain what causes them
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Understandings Students will understand what brainstorming is.

Essential Questions
Student learning
Objectives
Students will understand that objects move and
that is what motion is.
How do objects move?
Students will be able to brainstorm words that
relate to motion.
Students will be able to listen to each other’s
ideas and relate the ideas they are discussing
together. For example, if the students say a push
is when you move something by using a force the
students will be able to relate it back to something
like pushing a swing to make it move.

Language Objectives The students are expected to use language that

relates to objects moving.

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The assessment for this lesson will be how students

participate during the brainstorming we will be doing on
the rug. I will ask students to all think of at least one word
that they can relate to motion.
Evaluation All students should participate with at least one word that
Criteria we can talk about with the class.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of Activities
1. I will have the students all join me on the rug
sitting on the white line so they make a
circle.
2. Once the students sit on the rug, I will tell
them what we will be doing.
- I will tell them that we are starting our
motion unit, which will include lots of
experiments.
- Once I tell them that, I will tell them what
we will be doing today.
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- I will say “Today we will be talking

about what we think motion is. Can
anyone tell me what motion is?”
3. Once I ask the question, I will have a few
students give me their answers.
-some anticipated answers to this question
would be:
-motion is how objects move
-motion is why objects move
4. After we have discussed the students answers
with each other, I will tell the students that I
am going to write on the board words that
they think relate to motion. The challenge is
though, when they tell me their word, they
have to tell me how it relates to motion.
5. I will give them 10 seconds to think about
what word they are going to discuss with the
class.
6. When they are thinking, I will have them use
the strategy “Think, Think, Think” which has
them take their index finger and middle
finger of each hand and place them on their
temples. Then they say the words “think
think think” as they think about what they are
going to say. This helps the students who
may need extra time to process not feel
excluded since all the students are taking this
time to think. I will tell them that once they
know what they are going to say they should
raise their hands and I will call on them.
7. Once the students have thought about what
they are going to say, I will start calling on
the students who are raising their hands and
write what words that are saying on the
board. I will try to broaden the discussion on
why they relate the word they are saying to
motion, which will help once we get to our
experimentation.
8. Once we have had good discussions and have
multiple words on the board, I will take their
focus off of the board and back to me. Once
they are sitting quietly and listening, I will
talk about how we are going to be using a lot
of different materials to explore motion.
9. Once we have talked about that, I will
transition the students by dismissing them by
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tables to go back to their seat.

Differentiated For the two ELL students and the two students who
Instruction are on IEPs, I will make sure that they are sitting
next to students who will not distract them during the
lesson. The students on IEPs will sit close to me so
that I am able to redirect their attention if they are
not focused, this way I can see what they are doing
while doing the lesson.
Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline
Standards.

Lesson Two Title: Move It!

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon
Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on the read aloud of the book Move It! Motion,
Forces, and You. This book will give them good background information
on motion before we start our experiments for our unit.
Grade Level 2nd Grade
Time Frame 30 minutes
Subject(s) Science, LA
Instructional Goal I want the students to listen and grasp the concepts that the book is
discussing by sharing insightful comments about how different objects
move using descriptive vocabulary like “fast, slow, circular” to describe
the motion.
Prior Knowledge The students will have had a discussion beforehand on what they know
about motion which will tie into this book. They will know what a push
and a pull is and what different movements are a push and a pull. For
example, they will know that when someone is swinging they are a being
pushed, and if someone is playing tug of rope they are pulling the rope
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towards themselves.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards MA.SL.2. Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read
aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
Brookline Standards:
Give examples of pushes and pulls that occur in our daily lives and
explain what causes them.

Understandings
Essential Questions
Student learning
Objectives
Language Objectives
Students will understand the examples that are given in the book due
to the explanations. For example, the students will understand that
when you are pushing an object that is motion. The book gives many
examples of when a push is happening to an object and how that is
motion.
Students will understand how force and motion relate to each other.
Students will understand what a push and a pull is.
What are two ways objects move?
How do objects move differently?
Students will be able to answer questions that relate to the books
information about pushes and pulls.
Students will be able to identify a push and a pull.
Students will be able to share what they heard in the book.
The students are expected to use the vocabulary in the book when
answering questions.

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The students will be to answer questions that are asked during the read aloud
and be able to reiterate what the book said about motion. I will monitor the
understanding of the students to by asking them to give examples of pushes
and pulls that they have seen or done.
Evaluation When asking questions, the students should be able to answer the questions
Criteria with the information that they heard in the book.
For example, if I asked what is a push? I would expect the students to say a
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push is when someone is making an object move away from them.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of Activities 1. I will have all of the students come to the rug if they are not all
there already.
2. Once they come to the rug, I will have them all sit on the white
line so they are in a circle and everyone can see.
3. I will get their attention by doing a 1,2,3 eyes on me. Once I
have their attention, I will say; “Last time we talked about
motion, we had an open discussion on what motion is. What
were those ideas that we had?”
4. Once we have discussed a little bit of what we did last time, I
will then say “I really appreciate how we listened and
remembered what we talked about last time. That shows me how
hard you guys are working! Today we are going to start by doing
a small activity here on the rug and then we are going to read a
book about motion. The short activity we are going to do is this.
I am going to put this marker and focus tool on the ground. I
want us to think of all the different ways that we could move it
right now.”
5. After there have been multiple students answering how we could
move the objects, I will then read the book. “We will be reading
Move It! Motion, Forces, and You. Can you give me a quiet
thumbs up if you have read this book before? This book gives us
a lot of great information on motion and will teach us a lot of
great stuff before we start our FUN experiments!”
6. I will then read the book. The book has a lot of thinking
questions in it already, but some questions I may ask in the midst
of the book would be:
- What exactly is a push again? What about a pull?
- What kind of motion do we see in our everyday life?
- Is there some kind of motion that you never realized was
motion before?
7. Once the book is over, I will ask the students to share a few
things that they learned when reading the book.
8. Once a few students have shared, I will ask the students to rate
the book from 1-10, one being the worst book, 10 being the best
book, and when I call on them I want them to have an
explanation of why they rated the book that number.

Differentiated For the two students on IEPs, I will make sure they are sitting close to
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Instruction me so that I can keep track of their behavior during the read aloud. They
may need some extra time to think of their answers, so if I ask a question
I will call on a few students first before I call on them to share their
answers so they have had a few minutes to think about it.
Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline Standards, Move It!
Motion, Forces, and You.

Move It! Motion, Forces, and You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1cKYR-T1v8
Reflection on Lesson:
This lesson went really well in the classroom. The students were engaged and excited to
read this book throughout the whole lesson. I was able to keep students engaged by asking
thought provoking questions during the book. For example, I ask the students to raise their hand
and say a push or a pull that they have seen. This made the students think about what we were
reading and relate it to their lives. Overall, the lesson went really well.

Lesson Three Title: Motion Observation Stations

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon

Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on how objects can move in different ways
and different speeds by using many different manipulatives that
will be spaced out in different stations.
Grade Level 2nd grade
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Time Frame 30 minutes

Subject(s) Science, LA
Instructional Goal Students will experiment with motion by using manipulative to see
how different objects move in varying speeds.
Prior Knowledge The students will have had an introductory lesson on motion and
will be given explicit directions on what they need to be doing
throughout the lesson. The students will have the skills to carry out
an experiment in a respectful and productive way. They will be
able to record the information that they gather during the
experiment as well.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards MA.3.4. Position and Motion of Objects: Demonstrate that the way to

change the motion of an object is to apply a force (give it a push or a
pull). The greater the force, the greater the change in the motion of the
object. 
MA.W.4. Produce writing in which the development and organization
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing,
speaking, reading, or listening.

Understandings Students will understand how to make objects move at different speeds.
Students will understand how to make objects move different ways.
Students will understand that objects can move in different means and at
different speeds.
Students will understand how to use manipulatives in a way that helps
them learn by letting them explore the different way objects go through
motion.
Essential Questions What makes an object move?
How do objects move differently?
Student learning Students will be able to identify how objects are moving.
Objectives Students will be able to record what they see by explaining what
happened.
Students will be able to share what they saw and discussed in their
groups by using scientific language.
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Language The students are expected to use the scientific language that has been
Objectives used during the beginning of the unit. This language will be up on a
Motion Word Wall, so the students can fall back to that when they need
a refresher on what to describe the actions that are happening in their
groups.

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The students will be filling out a graphic organizer that will have them
thinking about words that describe how objects move. This worksheet
that they are filling out will be the informal assessment that I will look
during the time they are working with the manipulatives to make sure
they are on task as well using productive words that relate to their station.
Evaluation Criteria The students should be working together to think of juicy words that can
describe how objects are moving which will be expected to see on their
worksheet. The students should do about three words per station.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of 1. I will first have the students all sit on the rug where we will
Activities discuss what we are doing today.
2. Once the students sit on the rug, I will discuss what we have
been talking about in the introduction lessons.
- This discussion will have them thinking about vocab we
have talked about and how that vocab relates to motion. An
example of this would be force, how if you push or pull
something, that is considered force.
3. Once we have had that discussion, I will then put on the white
board what the big idea is for that day. The first idea is that
objects can move in many different ways and at different
speeds.
4. I will then ask the students what I mean by saying that objects
can move in many different ways.
- Possible answers: left, right, straight, roll, circular.
5. Once we have found all these answers and discussed what they
mean, we will talk about what speeds objects can move at.
- Possible answers: fast, slow, quick.
6. Once we have had this discussion, I will give them their
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directions for the activity.

7. The directions for the activity are: There will be five different
stations. The first station will have cups and markers, the
second station will have rulers and blocks, the third station will
have balls and ramps, the fourth station will have pendulums,
and the fifth station will have CD’s and markers. The
worksheet I am giving you has a column for what station you
are at, and a column for what words you will use to describe
how your objects moved. I will tell you what group you are in.
Once I say all of the kids in your group, your group may get up
quietly and go to where your station is.
8. The groups are:
-Station 1: Zyla, Emelia, Theo, Elias
-Station 2: Connor, Madeleine, Awyn, Arbel
-Station 3: Rita, Aitan, and Naomi
-Station 4: Freeman, Zuri, Avah
-Station 5: Max, Emma, Ofir, Karoline
9. Once the students are at their stations, spend time with each
group to make sure they are on task and to ask insightful questions
that will make each student think a little more.
Example of a question that could be asked:
- Think about the words that we discussed earlier, when a
marker rolls it looks like it rolls around and around, right?
What could we call that?
10. This lesson will most likely go for many days. After each day
we do this, 5 minutes before the students need to clean up, gather their
attention and ask them if any of the students have anything to share
from their station. The objects that will be used will be kept in baskets
that are organized so that the when it comes to science time all we
have to do is put the baskets back at their tables and continue going
through the stations.

Differentiated For my two students who are on IEPs, I have put them in groups with
Instruction students who are strong and will want to stay focused on what the
activity is in front of them. I will be spending time with each of the
groups, so if the students with the IEPs need extra help working with
the students in their group, another adult or I will be there to help
them. I will provide the students with an example sheet that is filled
out so they understand what they need to be looking for during the
experiment as well as filling out the worksheet with. There will be
words that the students could use written on the board as well as on
the motion word wall so that students may use it to know the spelling
and help guide them with what words can be used to describe what
they are seeing.
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Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline Standards.

Reflection on Lesson:
This lesson went really well. The students were able to follow the explicit directions that
were given to them and they went through each station really smoothly. They were able to
explore and think of really great descriptive words to show how motion happened at their
stations.

Appendices
Motion Observation Stations
Station Number Words to describe how objects
(Materials Used) move.
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Lesson Four Title: Push and Pull

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon
Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on how pushing and pulling
can change the motion in an object. The students will
experiment with ramps.
Grade Level 2nd grade
Time Frame 30 minutes
Subject(s) Science, LA
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Instructional Goal The students will experiment with motion by using

ramps to make objects go, speed up, change
direction, and stop.
Prior Knowledge The students will have been experimenting with
motion for a few days now and will know what is
expected when they are doing the experiment,
although I will remind them the expectations. The
students will have to know what a push and pull are.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards Brookline Science and Engineering Learning

Expectations:
Give examples of pushes and pulls that occur in
our daily lives and explain what causes them
Demonstrate that a bigger push or pull makes
things go faster.
MA.3.4. Position and Motion of Objects:
Demonstrate that the way to change the motion of
an object is to apply a force (give it a push or a
pull). The greater the force, the greater the change
in the motion of the object. 
MA.W.4. Produce writing in which the
development and organization are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its
conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or
listening.

Understandings Students will understand how pushing harder will

make the object go slower and pushing softer will
make an object go faster.
Students will understand how to make an object
go.
Students will understand that putting something
in the path of an object will change its direction
or stop the object’s motion.
Essential Questions What makes an object speed up?
What makes an object change direction or stop?
Student learning Students will be able to identify how to make an
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Objectives object go.

Students will be able to record what they are
seeing and doing to the object to make the motion
happen.
Students will be able to discuss with the class and
their groups about the questions like “how did
you make your objects go?” in an insightful way.
They will be able to use good descriptive words
that we have been discussion throughout the unit.
Language Objectives The students are expected to use the words we
have been talking about on the word wall, as well
as other vocabulary that relates to their
manipulatives and experimentation.

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The students will be filling out a worksheet that has them
answering questions on how they made their object move.
The students should be thoroughly answering these
questions.
Evaluation The students should be using strong vocab as well as full
Criteria sentences on their worksheet to show what they did in a
thoughtful way.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of 1. I will have the students come and sit on the rug so we can have a
Activities discussion on what we are doing for the activity today.
2. Once the students sit down, I will ask questions that refresh what they
did in the last experiment.
- The first question I could ask could be: Who can tell me what we
had to do in our science groups yesterday? What were each of the
stations?
- Then I could ask: What are some of the things you remember
finding during that experiment?
- Once we have discussed that, we can move on to what we are
doing today.
3. I will then put the Motion Idea #2 on the white board and have a
student read it out loud for me.
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4. Once they read that, I will ask the students how they think pushes and
pulls make things move, stop, slow down, and change direction.
5. Once we have brainstormed about what can happen with pushes and
pulls, I will tell them what they are doing today.
-Today we will be experimenting with pushes and pulls. We will be
looking at how the objects we are given can be put in motion by
pushing them and pulling them.
6. The directions will be: You will be in the same group that you were
in for the first Motion Idea. I will dismiss your group by saying one
of the persons in your groups name, and once you hear that, you may
get up and go to the nearest station.
Groups: -Station 1: Zyla, Emelia, Theo, Elias
-Station 2: Connor, Madeleine, Awyn, Arbel
-Station 3: Rita, Aitan, and Naomi
-Station 4: Freeman, Zuri, Avah
-Station 5: Max, Emma, Ofir, Karoline
7. Once the students are at their stations, I will spend time with each of
the groups. I will ask questions that will make the students think a
little deeper into their ideas that they have come up with.
- For example, the students could answer the questions about how
they make their objects go by saying “I push the object forward”.
I can tell them that is a great observation, but is there any way
that they can pull the object to make them go. This will further
their experimentation.
8. This experiment will most likely go on for a couple of days. After
each day that they may have not finished but still need a wrap up, I
will gather the students attention about 5 minutes before they need to
clean their stations up.
9. I will ask them what they found during their experimentation and
have a few students share. This sharing will show that they can
verbalize what they have done with the materials to the class. Once
they are done sharing, I will direct the students to clean up.
10. I will say “The thoughts that you shared with the class show me that
all the groups are working really hard and that is awesome. Now that
we have shared, I want you all to clean up your stations. Once the
stations look like they did before you came over to use all of the
materials, you can take your science notebook and go back to your
seat.”
Differentiated For my two students who are on IEPs, I have put them in groups with
Instruction students who are strong and will want to stay focused on what the activity is
in front of them. I will be spending time with each of the groups, so if the
students with the IEPs need extra help working with the students in their
group, another adult or I will be there to help them. There will be frequent
check ins that happen with these students where I will ask them to give me a
thumbs up if they are doing okay or a thumbs down if they need a break.
24

Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline Standards.

Push and Pull Stations

Object Used:

How can you make your object go?

How can you make your object speed up?

25

How did you make your object change direction?

How did you make your object stop?

Lesson Five Title: Pushes and Pulls with Force and Energy

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon
Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on how pushing and pulling can be caused by
people, water, air, magnets, and gravity. The students will use
different manipulatives to experiment with pushing and pulling.
Grade Level 2nd grade
Time Frame 30 minutes
Subject(s) Science
Instructional Goal The students will experiment with pushes and pulls by focusing what
force is being used as well as what energy is being used.
26

Prior Knowledge The students will have had discussions on what force is as well as
what energy is used when an object is being pushed and pulled.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards Brookline Science and Engineering Learning Expectations:

Working collaboratively, explain the motion of a designed object
(e.g., rolling pin, scissors, toy cars, etc.) based on pushes and
pulls. Explain how the motion relates to the object’s function.
Demonstrate that a bigger push or pull makes things go faster.
Gather and record evidence from first-hand investigations in
order to make claims about the cause and effect relationships
between pushes and pulls of different directions and strengths,
and the resulting motion of objects.
MA.3.4. Position and Motion of Objects: Demonstrate that the
way to change the motion of an object is to apply a force (give it
a push or a pull). The greater the force, the greater the change in
the motion of the object. 
MA.W.4. Produce writing in which the development and
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Understandings Students will understand what force is used when at each station.
Students will understand that energy is used when there is
pushing and pulling on an object.
Students will be able to discuss and elaborate about what they are
writing on their worksheet based off of what is happening at the
stations.
Essential Questions What makes an object move?
What types of energy is used when objects move?
Student learning Students will be able to identify how the materials are pushed and
Objectives pulled by force.
Students will be able to record in their graphic organizer about
what they are finding.
Students will be able to discuss with their groups as well as the
class what they are finding at their stations.
Language Objectives The students will use the vocabulary that is discussed throughout
the unit to relate it back to what they are finding in their stations.
27

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The students will be filling out the worksheet about what force is
happening to their objects as well as what energy is being used. This will
show me what they are retaining from vocab as well as what they are
learning from the hands on activity.
Evaluation The students should be using vocab that has been discussed as well as
Criteria staying focused and productive during the station work time. The specific
words that I expect them to use are the words that are found on our motion
word wall or our motion word splash that are hanging up in the room.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of Activities 1. The students will be asked to come and meet me on the rug.
2. Once they are on the rug, I will ask them what they did
during the previous activity.
- The first question I ask could be: what is one of the
stations that we did in our last experiment? What did we
do at that station?
- Then I could ask: Can someone tell me one thing that
they found interesting during our last experiment?
- Once we have had a thoughtful discussion, we can move
on to what we are doing today.
3. I will then put Motion Idea #3 on the white board and have a
student read it out loud to me.
4. I will then ask the students to brainstorm how they think
pushes and pulls can be caused by people, water, air,
magnets, and gravity. I will make a chart on the board with
all of the categories and write the ideas that they students
have for each one underneath.
5. Once we have brainstormed what we think, I will tell them
what we are doing today.
6. There will only be four stations today, so I will be putting
you in new groups!
- The groups are:
Station Magnets: Emelia, Connor, Naomi, Avah.
Station Parachutes: Zyla, Madeleine, Karoline, and
Freeman.
Station Airplanes: Max, Arbel, Rita, Zuri, Emma, Ofir.
Station Balloon Rocket: Elias, Awyn, Theo, Aitan
7. Once I tell you what group you are in, you may go to the
station that you are assigned to.
28

8. Once all the students are at their stations, I will spend time
with each station. I will ask questions that will provoke ideas
and questions of their own.
- Some questions that I could ask are:
Why do you think the paper airplane travels slower than
the balloon rocket?
- What exactly do you think is happening when the
magnets snap together?
9. Once there is about 5 minutes left, I will wrap up the activity
by asking who wants to share one interesting thing that
happened at their station.
10. After a few students share, I will say “I love all of the ideas
and events that are happening in 2K today, it shows me that
you all are working so hard. Now here are your directions: I
want you to clean up your stations so they look like how they
did before you got there. Once your station is cleaned up, I
want you to take your science notebook and go back to your
seat. Once everyone is back at their seat, you will get your
next direction.”
Differentiated For my two students who are on IEPs, I have put them in groups
Instruction with students who are strong and will want to stay focused on what
the activity is in front of them. I will be spending time with each of
the groups, so if the students with the IEPs need extra help working
with the students in their group, another adult or I will be there to
help them.
Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline Standards.
29

Push and Pull Stations

Station Force Energy Used

Magnets

Parachutes
30

Paper Airplane

Balloon Rocket

Lesson Six Title: Transferable Energy

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon
Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on how energy can be
transferred from one object to another.
Grade Level 2nd grade
Time Frame 30 minutes
Subject(s) Science, LA
Instructional Goal The students will experiment with energy
transfiguration by using manipulatives.
Prior Knowledge The students will have been working with
31

similar manipulatives to experiment with

motion. This experiment relates back to
motion which the students will have worked
with for a few weeks now. The students know
that if an object is pushed or pulled that the
object is in motion. This will help them
understand how energy is transferred by
knowing that when an object is moving it is in
motion.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards Brookline Standards:

Investigate and make claims based on
gathered evidence to explain the change in
motion and/or shape when objects touch or
collide. Share findings with others.
MA.3.4. Position and Motion of Objects:
Demonstrate that the way to change the
motion of an object is to apply a force
(give it a push or a pull). The greater the
force, the greater the change in the motion
of the object. 
MA.W.4. Produce writing in which the
development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and
its conventions when writing, speaking,
reading, or listening.

Understandings Students will understand that when objects

collide there is energy transferred between
those two objects.
Students will understand that when objects
collide the object that started off moving
will move slower or stop when the
collision happens. Students will understand
how to use manipulatives in a helpful and
productive way.
Essential Questions What happens when two things collide?
How do objects move after a collision?
32

Student learning Students will be able to identify how

Objectives energy is transferred between objects.
Students will be able to record and draw
what happens when they are
experimenting.
Students will be able to share what they
saw and discuss with the class and their
groups.
Language Objectives Students are expected to use the language
that is provided for them on our Motion
Word Wall during the experiment.

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The worksheet that the students will be working on

will be the assessment that I will look at after the
lesson.
Evaluation The students should have written down thoughtful
Criteria information about what they did during the
experiment. This thoughtful information should
include what materials they used and what happened
when those two materials collided. The students will
have had to write down at least one sentence and
have at least one drawing to show how the materials
collided and what happened.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of Activities 1. First I will have the students come and

meet me on the rug.
2. Once the students are sitting on the
rug, I will do “1,2,3 eyes on me” so
they know that it is time to listen.
3. I will then discuss what we will be
doing today. I will talk about the big
idea that we will be focusing on and
how that big idea relates to our
experiment.
4. Once I have told them what we will be
33

doing, I will give them a

demonstration on how energy is
transferred from one thing to another.
- This demonstration will include a
ramp, a ball, and an object that will
move when the ball hits it. This object
will be sitting at the end of the ramp.
5. Once I have given them the
demonstration, I will then dismiss
them by what groups they have been
working in since we started this unit.
6. The students will work as a group to
experiment with the materials given to
them about how energy is transferred
from one object to another by a push
or a pull. They will be expected to fill
out their worksheet during this time as
well.
7. Once there is about 7 minutes left
before our next activity of the day, I
will tell the students that it is time to
clean up their station. I will get their
attention by doing 1,2,3 eyes on me.
Their directions will be to clean up
their stations, but back all the materials
where they got them, push in their
chairs and to meet me on the rug.
8. Once all the students have sat on the
rug, I will do a pattern clap so that they
know it is time to be quiet and listen.
When they are all listening, I will ask
each group to share one important
thing that they found during their
experimentation.
9. After all the groups have shared, we
will transition into our next activity.
Differentiated Instruction For this lesson, the two students on IEPs are
not expected to fill out their work sheets in a
detailed way, as long as they are engaged in
the experiment so that they are learning from
the hands on experience.
Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline
Standards.
34

Energy Transfer

Materials Used Type of Energy How energy

Transferred was transferred
35

Lesson Seven Title: Gravity Lesson

Basic Information
Designer Shannon Creedon
36

Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on gravity and how things near to the earth will
fall to the ground unless something holds it up.
Grade Level 2nd Grade
Time Frame 45 Minutes
Subject(s) Science, LA
Instructional Goal Students will watch the Magic School Bus video on gravity to see
how things fall to the Earth due to gravity.
Prior Knowledge Students will have some background knowledge on gravity from
previous lessons.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards Brookline Standards:

Provide evidence to support the claim that things fall to the ground
unless something holds them up.
MA.W.4. Produce writing in which the development and
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Understandings Students will understand that gravity is what keeps us from

floating around.
Students will understand how the only way objects don’t fall to the
ground is if there is something holding them up.
Students will understand how to relate a video to real life
scenarios.
Essential Questions What makes objects fall?
How do objects stay off of the ground?
Student learning Students will be able to identify why objects fall to the ground.
Objectives Students will be able to understand how if objects are being held
up, that is why they are not falling.
Language Objectives The students are expected to use scientific language when
discussing the video. This will include using words like gravity
and motion.
37

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) I will be taking notice on who can answer the follow up questions on what
the video is about. This will show their comprehension and listening skills
on the content from the video. I will hold students accountable by
reminding them what is expected and write the answers that they are
discussing on the white board so I am able to look back and see that the
students were listening and bringing thoughtful ideas to the group.
Evaluation When evaluating the students during the discussion, I will focus on how the
Criteria student’s responses relate to the video. They should be able to discuss what
the video talked about as well as relate it to what we have been doing in
class.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of Activities 1. I will have all the students come to the rug to start the lesson.
2. Once they come to the rug, I will introduce what we will be
doing for the lesson today.
- I will introduce the lesson today by saying
“2K, we have been doing a lot with motion during this
unit. Can someone tell me one thing that they have learned
through our lessons these past few weeks?
Today we are going to be doing something a little
different. We are going to be learning about gravity. But-
we are not going to be experimenting like scientists today-
we are going to watch a video on gravity that will give us
TONS of helpful information. Once the video is over, we
will discuss how this relates to what we have been doing
in class.”
3. I will then put on the video for the students to watch.
4. Once the video is over, I will bring them back to a discussion
mindset by asking them to share what this video said that can
relate to what we have been doing.
5. I will take their answers and make sure that everyone who
wants to share does so that all the students can benefit from
the connections they were all making. While the students are
answering, I will be recording their ideas.
6. Once this discussion is over, I will transition them to the next
activity that is planned for our day.
Differentiated For the two students with IEPs, if they are having trouble focusing on
Instruction the video, I will give them focus toys so that they may be able to
38

comprehend the content better. I will let them sit in focus chairs that
will help them keep focus during the video.
Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline Standards,
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5vixhy

Magic School Bus Video on Gravity:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5vixhy

Lesson Eight Title: Motion Wrap Up

Basic Information
39

Designer Shannon Creedon

Summary and Rationale This lesson will focus on wrapping up our motion unit by asking
thoughtful questions about what they learned and what was
challenging for them.
Grade Level 2nd grade
Time Frame 30 minutes
Subject(s) Science, LA
Instructional Goal I want the students to think about the experiments we did during this
unit and use the information they collected to answer inquisitive
questions.
Prior Knowledge The students will have done multiple experiments with motion that
will have broadened their knowledge on the subject.

Standards and Key Concepts

Standards MA.W.4. Produce writing in which the development and

organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
MA.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
Understandings Students will understand how these questions are making them
look back at the information they gathered and have them think
about it in a knowledgeable way.
Students will understand that they learned many different things
through the unit.
Students will understand what motion is and different ways they
can explain motion to other people.
Essential Questions What have you learned throughout this unit?
What information will you be able to bring into your everyday
life?
Student learning Students will be able to identify what information they have
Objectives learned throughout the unit.
Students will be able to record their thoughts that help answer
the wrap up questions.
Students will use scientific language while answering these
questions.
40

Language Objectives The students are expected to use the words on the Motion Word
Wall that has been up for the whole unit. These words will help
better describe what they learned as well as broaden their
understanding of the experiments we have been doing for the
past few weeks.

Performance Tasks and Assessment

Assessment(s) The students will be working on a sheet that is helping them collect their
thoughts and new knowledge of motion throughout this time period.
Evaluation The students should be able to tell me 3 new things that they learned
Criteria during this unit, as well as be able to use the new words that were
introduced in the lessons as well as on the word wall. The students should
be answering the questions in full sentences. Their answers should prove
to me that they were engaged during the experiments and discussions that
we had as a class and in their groups.
An example of an answer that would show their engagement through the
unit would be:
- My thinking changed because before I thought that when an object
hit another object there was no energy being transferred, but now I
know that energy is being transferred when that happens.

Learning Experiences and Resources

Sequence of Activities
1. I will have all the students join me on the rug if they are not
already there.
2. Once all of the students have joined me on the rug, I will
start with 1,2,3 eyes on me so I have their full attention.
3. When all of the students are quiet and looking at me, I will
start the lesson by talking about how today will be out last
day in our motion unit.
- I will say “2K, I know how much fun we have had with our
motion unit and I can tell how much we have all learned
together. Today we are going to be doing an activity that has
us really look back and think about what we have done
during our unit and also makes us look back at what we
have learned during our unit. Can a few people share with
me one thing they learned during this unit?”
4. Once a few students share what they learned, I am going to
then say “Now that we have heard what some of us have
41

learned and maybe some of you have learned the same

thing, I am going to tell you what we are doing today. When
I dismiss your table, you are going to go to the back table
and get one of the prompts. Once you have glued that
prompt into your science notebook, you can then answer it. I
want you to answer at least three out of the five prompts
today. If you finish three and there is still time, then yes I do
want you to get another one. Can someone say the
instructions again for me?”
5. Once one of the students says the directions back to me, I
will start dismissing the students by their tables.
6. I will remind the students that this is a quiet working time
for them to really think about what they learned throughout
the unit.
7. Once there is about five minutes left of our working time, I
will tell them that in two minutes it will be time to clean up.
8. When it is time to clean up, I will ring the bell and say this
“2K, it is now time for us to clean up. Here are your
directions; if you have glue sticks on your table, they need
to go back into the bin. Your science notebooks go back on
the shelf by Ms. Keefes desk. Once you have put both your
science notebooks and glue sticks away as well as pushed in
your chair, you can quietly meet me back on the rug.”
9. Once they have all cleaned up, I will gather them on the rug
to do a quick wrap up. I will ask three of the questions that
were on the prompts and take one or two answers for each.
Once that is over, we will transition to our next activity.
Differentiated For the two students on IEPs, I will have one of them work
Instruction Courtney and the other work with me or Ms. Keefe so they are able
to stay on task.

Resources Mass Frameworks, Common Core, Brookline Standards.

42

Motion Final Reflection Prompts

How did your thinking change and why?

Write 2 new things you learned from this unit.

Think about yourself as a participant of a group, how did you help your group?

What did you enjoy during this unit?

43

What part of this unit was challenging?

Unit Bibliography
Idaho Public Television. (2018). Force and Motion: Facts. Retrieved October, 2018, from
http://idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/force_and_motion/facts.cfm
Khan Acadmey. (2018). What is kinetic energy? Retrieved from
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-physics-1/ap-work-and-energy/kinetic-energy-
ap/a/what-is-kinetic-energy
Fact Monster. (2017).  Sandbox Networks, Inc., publishing as Fact Monster.
Mason, A. (2009). Move It! Motion, Forces and You. Paw Prints.
Retrieved October, 2018.  <https://www.factmonster.com/dk/encyclopedia/science/motion/>.

Studios, A. R. (2015). Mechanics and Motion. Retrieved October, 2018, from

http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_intro.html
Tobin, Declan. (2018). Fun Facts For Kids About Force And Motion. Easy Science for Kids.
Retrieved from https://easyscienceforkids.com/forces-and-motion-facts-for-kids-video/