Overview

After watching an engaging video on Olympic alpine skiers, students then participate in a teacher-­‐modeled “think-­‐aloud” about generating questions. These activities prompt students to explore aspects of motion using a variety of materials with the goal of generating questions about the properties of motion. The students’ questions are considered as to whether they can be answered experimentally in the classroom, and then students, working in groups, will design a method to test their questions and record their data. Students will use their data as evidence to answer the question under investigation before presenting their findings to the class.

This lesson offers students’ the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of creating a testable question, controlling the experiment for fairness, and devising a way to collect data. Graphs and photos of the students’ investigations and results will be displayed on a shared bulletin board in the hall. This lesson follows an open inquiry approach: the students will decide what the question under investigation will be, the students will decide on a method to collect the relevant data, the students will analyze the data, and the students will use their data as evidence to answer the question under investigation.

Download the Force and Motion – RampItUp lesson plan.