Materials Required: Mac or PC, Science Court: Inertia from Tom Snyder Productions
Inertia Lesson
Pam Terrell
July 2, 1999
Content/Grade: Science lesson from a Motion Unit for 5th grade
Resources Needed:
* Mac or PC
* Science Court: Inertia by Tom Snyder Productions
* Information Sheets
* Hands-on Activities Sheets
* Experiment supplies: plastic toy car, clay, heavy book, masking tape, ramp, slider, metal ball, cloth, sandpaper, wax paper, construction paper, tape measure, wooden ball
Classroom Arrangement: Groups of 4 arranged around one computer
Lesson Plan Duration: 3 days
Objectives and Purpose:
* This activity will get the students actively involved with Newton’s First Law of Motion, which involves inertia.
* This is a part of a unit on Newton’s Laws of Motion for a fifth grade Science benchmark.
Input:
* Introduce the software
* Divide the class into groups of 4 with students assigned A, B, C, D
* Hand-out the information sheets
* Discuss expectations
* Divide this activity into 3 days
Day 1: Do Part 1 Does Newton Apply?
Day 2: Do Part 2 Will the Toothbrush Stop?
Day 3: Do Part 3 Cramwood’s Mistake
* In their groups the students discuss and answer the 6 questions. They will use the clues on the A-D information sheets to help them. They will also make predictions of what the court will decide.
* Return to the question section on the computer, discuss their answers, and record them on the computer.
* In their groups, do the hands-on activity experiments. Record their observations on their sheets.
Closure:
On the final day, use Part 4 of the software Predicting the Verdict.
Use thumbs up, thumbs down to express their opinions, then watch the verdict.
