Force and Motion
The study of force and motion can be complex, but also covers many ideas that K-2 students are familiar with from their own lives. Students know how to move and how to make objects move. They understand that different amounts of force are required to accomplish different types of work. Starting from this base of knowledge, the Science4Us Force and Motion Unit helps students to develop vocabulary and a conceptual base to help them in future studies of force and motion.
The Location and Perspective module helps students explore spatial relationships and then develop the vocabulary to describe these relationships from multiple locations. Interactive games help students to see everyday objects from different perspectives.
Sometimes it feels as if our young students are in constant motion, and motion certainly fascinates children. The Motion module allows students to study, describe, and learn to measure motion. Students learn that motion can be measured in terms of distance and in terms of time.
Interactive activities and games allow students to compare and make these measurements of motion. At the end of the module, the Take a Note activity allows students to connect to mathematics content as they compare and order several measurements of distance.
When K-2 students study Force with Science4Us, they begin to think of force as a push or a pull. Students see examples of force on a playground through live videos and experiment with force through hands-on lessons at school. An interactive mini-golf game allows students to experiment with the effects of force as they decide how much force to use in hitting the ball.
Finally, students explore factors and variables as they add what they’ve learned to their digital notebook. A special lesson on factors is included to help make teaching factors, controls, and variables easy.
Though every kindergarten student may know that magnets can be used to hold school artwork on the fridge, they may not know the many other uses for magnets there are. In the Magnets module students will learn about tiny and huge magnets that are used every day.
Students will also learn to predict which objects a magnet will attract and test those predictions through interactive activities. The Silly Bulls game allows students to practice with the vocabulary they are learning so that they can use scientific terms to describe their explorations with magnets.
Students are fascinated with tools and machines. In the Simple Machines module, students see examples of how simple machines can make work easier by reducing the force needed to move an object over a distance.
Then, students use interactive activities to experiment with these simple machines: lever, pulley, wheel and axle, wedge, screw, and inclined plane. Hands-on activities are also available to give students actual experience with simple machines. By the end of this module, students will know just how to decrease the amount of force needed to move an object!
Force and motion are important parts of everyday life. As students study this unit, they will learn how these physical factors impact their lives and work. The lessons and activities will help students become aware of factors like friction, gravity, and magnetic force. Students will also learn to describe location, understand perspective, and use simple machines to help make their work easier.
