Assessment

Plan and Instructional Sequence

Unit Plan Part 3
Name: Aliya
Unit Topic: Force and Motion
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Anchoring Phenomenon and Driving Question:

Anchoring Phenomenon: A cart accelerating down a ramp.

Driving Question: What causes a cart to accelerate down a ramp?

NGSS Performance Expectation:

MS-PS21.

Apply Newtons Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.* [Clarification
Statement: Examples of practical problems could include the impact of collisions between two cars, between a car and stationary objects,
and between a meteor and a space vehicle.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to vertical or horizontal interactions in one
dimension.]

Assessment Plan:

Mid-Unit FORMATIVE Assessment Objective:

Exemplary Assessment Response Features:

Students will be able to accurately identify where balanced and unbalanced

forces exist in real world situations.

NGSS Performance Expectation this task addresses:

Apply Newtons third law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of
two colliding objects.

Type a list of features (phrases, ideas, principles,

patterns, etc.) you expect to see in exemplary student
responses to this assessment task.
1. When forces are balanced there is no acceleration or
movement. ( zero net force)
2. When forces are unbalanced there is acceleration or
movement. (nonzero net force)
3. The greater force will be able to push or pull an
object.

Task Detailed Description:

Completed Example:

The mid unit assessment is attached to this document.

Unbalanced forces
10 people

6
peopl
e

Balanced forces
10 people

10 people

End-Unit SUMMATIVE Assessment Objective:

Exemplary Assessment Response Features:

Students will be able to accurately identify where balanced forces exist in

new, real world, situations.
Students will be able to accurately identify where unbalanced forces exist in
new, real world, situations.
NGSS Performance Expectation this task addresses:

Type a list of features (phrases, ideas, principles,

patterns, etc.) you expect to see in exemplary student
responses to this assessment task.
1. When forces are balanced there is no acceleration or
movement. ( zero net force)
2. When forces are unbalanced there is acceleration or
movement. (nonzero net force).
4. The greater force will be able to push or pull an
object.
5. When an object experiences zero net force (balanced
forces), its speed and direction of motion are constant.

Apply Newtons third law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of
two colliding objects.

Task Detailed Description:

Completed Example:

The summative assessment is attached to this document.

The best answer is A: With a force equal to the weight

of the wagon and the rope. Meaning that the pull on
the rope must be equal to the weight of the wagon and
the rope. The main idea is that the wagon is moving at
a constant speed, thus the forces are balanced because
there is not further acceleration. If Seth were pulling
at a greater force than the wagon and the rope, then
the wagon would be accelerating, meaning the forces
were unbalanced. Many students may choose B: with
a greater force than the wagon and the rope.
Although this is not the best answer they have a
chance to get some credit here If they use the proper
arguments and evidence from their data to argue their
stance.

Instructional Sequence:

Date or
Activity Description
Lesson Descriptions for each activity should include enough detail to recreate the activity in
Number
your absence, and should include question prompts and probes you plan to use
(a way to
show
which
activities
happen
on which
days)

during the lesson activities as well as 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 an entire instructional
sequence, which is generally approximately 10 days worth of science lessons.
Remember that for each day of teaching, you may have several activities planned.

Function

Activity Modifications

What part of the EPE is this?

Experiences
E -> P
P -> E
Application

Explain how you created or

modified an activity from the
curriculum to best fit:
NGSS Performance
Expectation
The EPE model
your students nave
or beginning
explanations from
your preassessment
your students
previous
experiences and
funds of knowledge
the cognitive,
physical, linguistic,
or social needs of
specific individual
students (not
groups!)
Student E will
receive print outs of
all the things that
are supposed to be
written in the
notebook. He will
only be responsible
for entering his
data and
vocabulary.

Students will be working in their science groups. If students are sitting in the
assigned seats they will already be with their group, you can use the seating
chart to check.
When students enter the classroom they should see the teacher science
notebook projected on the board, which can be found in Google Classroom.
Students should copy down the driving question in their science notebook and
attempt to answer the question, which they will do as soon as they enter the
classroom.
Walk around and check for some of the key ideas that should be included in the
answer. The description of force and how it impacts movement. Also, look for
some ideas that are almost right but students should have in their mind while

Anchoring phenomena/
driving question

Students A and Al
may need to
verbally discuss
their ideas so they

have a better idea

of what they need
to write down.

doing the investigations, to further push their thinking.

Before the students start the investigation, select a few students to share their
answer to the driving question. If answers are unclear ask them to tell you
more about that or to explain it in another way.

On page 38 in the student science books there is a procedure that the students
should follow. They are used to reading and following the procedures in this
section, although some groups may need additional support.
Students should work on making sure they get through part A: Balanced Forces
and Part B: Unbalanced Forces
There will be two force meters attached to either side of the block.
-

Observe whether the block is accelerating when you apply 1 N and 1 N

on either side of the block, measuring with a force meter. Repeat so
that each person in the group has a chance.

Observe whether the block is accelerating when you apply 2 N and 2 N

on either side of the block, measuring with a force meter. Repeat so
that each person in the group has a chance.

Observe whether the block is accelerating when you apply 3 N and 3 N

on either side of the block, measuring with a force meter. Repeat so
that each person in the group has a chance.

When students enter the classroom they should again sit in their assigned seats. They
should review their answer to the driving question and if they have any additional
information from the investigation yesterday have them add it to their answer.

Experiences

Student E will
receive print outs of
all the things that
are supposed to be
written in the

 Next, students will work with their science groups to complete Part C: The Challenge

notebook. He will
only be responsible
for entering his
data and
vocabulary.

The detailed procedure for this part of the experiment will be located in the student
science book on page 39.
In this part of the activity, your challenge is to determine if the forces on the block are
balanced or unbalanced. Keep in mind the data and the observations that you
collected yesterday.
Students will first attach two cylinders metal cylinders on the block and secure them
with a rubber band. Practice pulling gently on the force meter so that the block slides
slowly and steadily. Make sure that every person in the group gets to practice this
before you begin your experiment.
Discuss the motion of the block with your group members. Identify the forces on the
block and decide if the block was accelerating or not.
Unhook one of the force meters and pull the block slowly on the table with one scale
and record the observations.
Students should then draw a force diagram of what they saw in the experiment.
Then, students will repeat the same experiment from yesterday on page 39 with the
following amounts of force.

There will be two force meters attached to either side of the block.
-

Observe whether the block is accelerating when you apply 1 N and 3 N

on either side of the block, measuring with a force meter. Repeat so
that each person in the group has a chance.

There will be two force meters attached to either side of the block.

Observe whether the block is accelerating when you apply 2 N and 5 N

on either side of the block, measuring with a force meter. Repeat so
that each person in the group has a chance.

Then draw a force diagram to represent each of these results.

Students should take their science notebooks. Make sure that students receive
the force diagram paper. Take students to the upper gym and grab the tug-owar rope from the gym teacher.

These two activities

were added to
ensure that
students would
have more
experience with the
concepts of
balanced and
unbalanced forces.
Based on the preassessment, I
anticipate that
students will need
more time
exploring balanced
and unbalanced
forces.

Also, these activities

were added to
support the NGSS
Expectation
because students
will need to take
their knowledge of
Newtons Laws and
apply them to their
final assessment of
the car.

In the activity prior

to this one students
began learning
about balanced
and unbalanced
forces, although
they could provide
the definitions,

Students will play a game of tug-o- war. First, there will be one person on each
side. Students will observe whether the rope is moving or not by observing the
flag in the middle. (Talk to the two students that are performing the example
and let them know that they should not try to pull their hardest but make sure
that they are pulling enough to give tension on the rope but not make the flag
move in either direction).
For this example, we are going to pretend that each person can pull with the
same amount of force. In reality we know that everyone has different
strengths but we are working to create an illustration of balanced and
unbalanced forces.

Let the students pull on the rope for about 5-10 sec, your call. Then have all
students create a force diagram of what they saw. They should also write
down any notes about what they saw happen during the tug-o-war match.

Experiences
E -> P

Have the students repeat the game of tug-o-war in the following ways:

Have 1 student on 1 side and 5 students on the other side. Let the
students pull the rope for 5-10 secs.

Have 5 students on 1 side and 5 students on the other side. Let the
students pull the rope for 5-10 secs.

Have 10 student on 1 side and 5 students on the other side. Let the
students pull the rope for 5-10 secs.

Have 10 student on 1 side and 10 students on the other side. Let the
students pull the rope for 5-10 secs.

many of them had

a hard time
applying the
principles to
situations.

Student E will
receive print outs of
all the things that
are supposed to be
written in the
notebook. He will
only be responsible
for entering his
data and
vocabulary.

Talk with students

A, AL, E, S, and C to
help them think
about what they
saw in the
activities, this
should be
individual. Also,
help them come up
with other
scenarios where
they notice
balanced and
unbalanced forces.

Also, these activities

were added to
support the NGSS
Expectation
because students
will need to take

their knowledge of
Newtons Laws and
apply them to their
final assessment of
the car.
4

Students will spend the day working on designing a plan for their final assessment car
During this work time the teacher should circulate the classroom and check in with
each group. Make sure that they are utilizing their planning sheets to help them
construct their cars.
Since this is the first work/planning day for the scrambler car we will go over the
directions, criteria, and expectations for the project. The assignment is posted in
Google Classroom.

Student E will
receive print outs of
all the things that
are supposed to be
written in the
notebook. He will
only be responsible
for entering his
data and
vocabulary.

Students A and Al
may need to
verbally discuss
their ideas so they
have a better idea
of what they need
to write down.

Day 1 Agenda:
Talk to students about their permanent groups for the scrambler project.
For this first meeting it is important that the students spend time brainstorming and
creating drawings on their own. Everyone should receive a planning sheet; this is
where they should think about some safety features that they would like to contribute
to their scrambler car.

Work Day

During this time probe the students to make sure they understand the assignment.
Walk around and look at their sketches and notes they are taking. Encourage them to
brainstorm about lots of possible ideas because when they meet with their groups
other people might have the same ideas as them. Everyone needs to contribute at
least one safety feature, so the more ideas you have the easier the planning will be
when you get together with your group to decide.
Possible questions to ask students:
-

How do you think this feature will impact the safety of the vehicle?

How are you considering factors that contribute to force, such as mass and
acceleration?

What information are you using to support your choice of safety feature?

What is another way you might be able to construct this particular feature to
get the best possible outcome?

What evidence exists to support this safety feature?

How will this safety feature protect your egg?

Closing:
Students will need to make sure they have next steps written on the bottom of their
planning sheets. This might include a list of supplies and goals for the next work day.
This is important because this will be part of the agenda for the next meeting.
Students can discuss next steps as a group.
5

These two activities

were added to
ensure that
students would
have more
experience with the
concepts of
balanced and
unbalanced forces.
Based on the preassessment, I
anticipate that
students will need
more time
exploring balanced
and unbalanced
forces.

Also, these activities

were added to
support the NGSS
Expectation
because students
will need to take
their knowledge of

Students will use the data from the previous days to determine whether or not the
block was accelerating. Repeat so that each person in the group has a chance.
Students should draw a force diagram for balanced and unbalanced
Categorize the force exerted as balanced or unbalanced forces
Draw a force diagram of the block at step 10. Title your diagram balanced or
unbalanced forces, depending upon the conclusion of your group.

Draw a force diagram for the balanced game of tug of war.

Draw a force diagram for the unbalanced game of tug of war.

E -> P

Thinking about the block activity and the game of tug-o-war what was
happening when the flag moved?
What was happening in the situations where the flag was not moving?
How are the forces in these two situations similar and how are they different?
What was always happening when the forces were balanced?
What never happened when the forces were balanced?
What was always happening when the forces were unbalanced?

*The teacher should keep a list on the board of things students are saying
about the different force situations

Newtons Laws and

apply them to their
final assessment of
the car.

What never happened when the forces were unbalanced?

Mid Unit Assessment

During the discussion make sure to refer to the C-E-R strategy chart. The
students should be familiar with this already and the chart gives a detailed
explanation as to what needs to be included in each section.

Student E can take

his assessment in
the resource room
if needed. He can
also receive teacher
support in the
classroom.

Student AL and A
need writing
support when it
comes to analysis
questions. Provide
them with a graphic
organizer to support
them in this area.

Student E will
receive print outs of
all the things that
are supposed to be
written in the
notebook. He will
only be responsible
for entering his data

Discuss similarities of when the block accelerated

Discuss similarities of when the block did not accelerate
Lets think about what was happening when our carts were accelerating down
the ramp. What kind of force was being exerted on the cart in order for it to
accelerate? Draw the force diagrams below to illustrate this. :
A: Balanced Forces
B: Unbalanced Forces
Imagine that a parked car is hit from the left with 30,000 N of force.

P -> E

-a: Draw a force diagram showing the two forces acting on the parked car.

and vocabulary.

-b: Draw another force diagram showing only the net force on the parked car.

Students A and Al
may need to
verbally discuss
their ideas so they
have a better idea
of what they need
to write down

Now lets think about what happened during

Why was the flag not moving when there was only one person on either
side of the rope?

Imagine that there was one student on one side of the rope and Mr.Hinze
was on the other side of the rope. There is only one person on either side
of the rope. Draw a force diagram for what would happen.

Students will spend the day working on designing a plan for their final assessment car.

How do you think this feature will impact the safety of the vehicle?

How are you considering factors that contribute to force, such as mass and
acceleration?

What information are you using to support your choice of safety feature?

What is another way you might be able to construct this particular feature to
get the best possible outcome?

Student E
will has the
option of
teacher
support
during this
time,
however,
he does not
always
take
advantage
of this.
Also, he
can
complete
this task
th
during 7
hour in the
resource
room.

What evidence exists to support this safety feature?

Planning Day 2:
The goal for today is to have students collaborate and think about what safety features
they want to include in their car. During this time it is essential for the teacher to make
sure that everyone is the group has a voice.
Circulate to each group to ensure that everyone is contributing. Here the teacher job is
to probe student knowledge and help maintain equity in the groups.

Possible questions to ask students:

Work Day

How will this safety feature protect your egg?

How will your safety feature work together with the other safety features to
ensure your egg stays safe?

Student E will
receive print outs of
all the things that
are supposed to be
written in the
notebook. He will
only be responsible
for entering his
data and
vocabulary.

Students A and Al
may need to
verbally discuss
their ideas so they
have a better idea
of what they need
to write down.

Student I will need

the teacher at his
group to help with
negotiation
process.

Closing:
Students will need to make sure they have next steps written on the bottom of
their planning sheets. This might include a list of supplies and goals for the next
work day. This is important because this will be part of the agenda for the next
meeting. Students can discuss next steps as a group.

Planning Day 3: Students will start the building process. They need to record evidence
of progress by using their planning sheets and their devices to document the progress.
Students can begin to use the test ramp. Watch their trials and use the probing
questions to help them make any modifications to their car.

Work Day

Possible questions to ask students:

-

How do you think this feature will impact the safety of the vehicle?

How are you considering factors that contribute to force, such as mass and
acceleration?

What information are you using to support your choice of safety feature?

What is another way you might be able to construct this particular feature to
get the best possible outcome?

What evidence exists to support this safety feature?

How will this safety feature protect your egg?

How will your safety feature work together with the other safety features to
ensure your egg stays safe?

I noticed that some of the featues are not working how you thought they
would, how can you change it to get the result you are looking for?

Why is _______ happening when you tested your car? How can you prevent
that from happening? Or how is that beneficial to the safety of your egg
passenger?

Closing:
Students will need to make sure they have next steps written on the bottom of their
planning sheets. This might include a list of supplies and goals for the next work day.
This is important because this will be part of the agenda for the next meeting.
Students can discuss next steps as a group.
10

Summative

Assessment

Student E will has the

option of teacher
support during this
time, however, he does
not always take
advantage of this.

Also, he can complete

th
this task during 7 hour
in the resource room.

Students A and AL
could use a C-E-R
graphic organizer or
the one from LA to to
help organize ideas.

Mid Unit Assessment

1. Imagine that students are competing in a tug-o-war competition. There are two teams; team one has 10 people and team two only has 6 people, due to illnesses.
a) Draw a force diagram showing the two forces acting on the rope (all the people are exerting the same amount of force). Label each force diagram as balanced or
unbalanced.







b) Draw another force diagram showing what the forces would look like if there were 10 people on each team (all the people are exerting the same amount of force).
Label each force diagram as balanced or unbalanced.

Summative Assessment
Wagon Pulling

Seth needs to pull a heavy wagon that is filled with sand to his backyard. He ties a rope to the wagon and then starts pulling the wagon straight to his backyard.
Once the wagon starts moving, how should Seth pull it to get it to move forward at a constant speed? Circle your answer.

A With a force equal to the weight of the bucket and rope

B With a force greater than the weight of the bucket and rope

C With a force less than the weight of the bucket and rope





Describe your thinking about forces. Provide an explanation to support your ideas. Use EVIDENCE from Activity 81, and this can also include the tug-o-war
activities as well.



B) Label the force diagram to show Seth pulling the wagon at a constant speed.

Detailed Full Lesson Plan

Unit Plan Part 4

Outline for a Daily Science Lesson Plan

Your Name: Aliya

Overall lesson topic/title: Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

Grade Level: 5th Grade

Learning goals:

NGSS Performance Expectation -

MS-PS2-1.Apply Newtons Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding
objects.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of practical problems could include the impact of collisions between
two cars, between a car and stationary objects, and between a meteor and a space vehicle.] [Assessment
Boundary: Assessment is limited to vertical or horizontal interactions in one dimension.]

Scientific Practice Analyzing and interpreting data, Cause and Effect: mechanism and
explanation

EPE Table: In this lesson, students will be performing an experience from the EPE table, tug-o-war.
Action Research Project Focus:
Using evidence to support scientific claims.

Materials & supplies needed:
Tug-o-war rope
Force Diagrams

Connections to students prior
Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event
experiences and cultural/personal

resources for learning such as

cognitive, social and linguistic
Introduction to the lesson
support during each event:
Today we are going to do discuss the tug-o-war investigation about

balanced and unbalanced forces. During the lesson you drew force
diagrams to represent the different forces and the pushes and pulls that
Make sure students have enough time
were taking place. Today we are going to use that information to help
to talk with their partners to discuss
us think about where they forces were and what they were doing during the balanced and unbalanced forces
the activity. You will need to open your science notebook to the page
where you drew your force diagrams for this activity.
(What will I say to help children understand the purpose of the lesson? How will I help them make
connections to prior lessons or experiences? How I will help children understand behavior expectations during
the lesson? How will I motivate them to become engaged in the lesson?) (_3 minutes)

Ask student AL to explain what a

push and a pull is

OUTLINE of each activity during the lesson (How will I begin and end each activity?

What discussion questions I will use? How will key ideas be expressed? What specific activities or tasks will I
engage them in? Identify each activity and the estimated time for each. How do I expect my student to
engage intellectually with each aspect of my lesson (i.e. how will they respond to specific questions, perform
specific tasks, etc.)? When/how I will distribute supplies and materials? How will I transition from one activity
to the next? (__30_ minutes)

At this time take 2 minutes to look over your diagrams with your partner
and explain to them why you chose to label the first two diagrams the
way that you did (either balanced or unbalanced forces).
(As students are discussing their diagrams walk around the room and
listen to what they are saying so you have an idea of what to expect
during the discussion. Also, listen for students who are sharing things
with each other that might be helpful for the whole class to hear, such
as great explanations as to why one was balanced and the other was an
unbalanced force.)

Lets start by talking about diagrams 1 and 2.

Stand up if you labeled diagram 1 as balanced.
Stand up if you labeled diagram 1 as unbalanced.

Ask a student from each group to share their explanation, if there are
not two groups the teachers can go with the opposing point of view.

From what I hear people are thinking that diagram 1 is a balanced force
and diagram 2 is an unbalanced force.

Now that we have established this I want you to go through with your
group and label the rest of your diagrams as balanced or unbalanced
forces. Then compare your answers. Take time to talk about why you
chose to label the diagrams the way you did. Make sure to talk about
what the flag was doing because this is a major part of your evidence.

Take 3-4 minutes and talk to your partner, be prepared to share what
your partner thought about. Remember that you need to use evidence
from either investigation to support your idea.

Thinking about the block activity and the game of tug-o-war what was
happening when the flag moved?
What was happening in the situations where the flag was not moving?

Student E will receive print

outs of all the things that
are supposed to be written
in the notebook. He will
only be responsible for
entering his data and
vocabulary.

Talk with student A to make

sure that she has her
diagram labeled correctly

Ask student AL how she

knows that each diagram is
labeled correctly, make
sure that she is focusing on
what the forces are doing in
her response

How are the forces in these two situations similar and how are they
different?
What was always happening when the forces were balanced?
What never happened when the forces were balanced?
What was always happening when the forces were unbalanced?
What never happened when the forces were unbalanced?
*The teacher should keep a list on the board of things students are
saying about the different force situations



Why was the flag not moving when there was only one person on
either side of the rope?

Imagine that there was one student on one side of the rope and
Mr.Hinze was on the other side of the rope. There is only one person
on either side of the rope. Draw a force diagram for what would
happen.

Closing summary for the lesson
(_2__ minutes)

Today we noticed that every time the flag or block was moving that the
forces were unbalanced, which was caused the objects to accelerate.
We also noticed that when the flag was not moving that the forces were
balanced, which caused the object to not accelerate or to stay in the
same place.


Formative assessment (How will I gauge the students learning as I implement the lesson plan Differentiation for assessment:
and once the lesson is completed? Specifically, what will I look for? How will I use what I am learning to

inform my next steps?)
Student E will have the

opportunity to receive teacher
During the lesson I will be listening and looking for students to identify
support.
that an object moves when the forces are unbalanced and that the

object does not move or accelerate when the forces are balanced. I will
Student An can type her
check for this during think-pair-shares, whole class discussion and
responses.
through looking at their explanations they have written and their force
diagrams.