MAT-E LESSON TEMPLATE

Lesson Overview
Title:

Marshmallow Catapult Lesson 5

Date:

Friday, March 27, 2015

Author:

Brian Schultheis

Subject:

Potential and Kinetic Energy

Grade Level(s):

Fifth

Duration:

1 Hour

Subject Area(s):

Math, Science

State Standards:

Math 5.NBT.3b: Compare two decimals to thousandths

based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =,
and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.
Math 5.NBT. 7: Add, subtract, multiply, and divide
decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings
and strategies based on place value, properties of
operations, and/or the relationship between addition and
subtraction.
Science 5.0.A.4: Cite evidence that energy in various
forms exists in mechanical systems.

Goals
Unit Goals (enduring
understandings):

Lesson Goals:

The students will be able to apply their understanding of

potential and kinetic energy to a real-life situation in which
they use a catapult to launch marshmallows. Additionally,
the students will put to use the concepts learned during the
decimals unit in order to determine the winners for the
farthest average launch distance and the distance of the
farthest single launch.
1. We can compare two decimals to thousandths.
2. We can add and divide decimals to hundredths.
3. We can provide evidence that energy in various forms
exists in mechanical systems, including distinguishing
between potential and kinetic energy.

Methods
Anticipatory Set:

CAST 2006

1. The teacher will have the daily warm-up displayed on

the projector as the students enter the classroom.
2. Once settled, the students will begin to work on the
warm-up using their whiteboards and markers to show their
work.
3. The teacher will move around the room, checking the
students work for accuracy.
Adapted from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org

4. The teacher will call upon the students to share their

answers to the warm-up.
Introduce and Model New
Knowledge:
I DO

Provide Guided Practice:

WE DO

Provide Independent
Practice:
YOU DO
CAST 2006

5. The teacher will review the standards and objectives for

todays lesson.
6. The teacher will inform the students that they will be
wrapping up the potential and kinetic energy today.
7. The teacher will explain to the students that they will be
completing a short quiz at the end of the period in order to
make sure he was able to effectively teach the students
about potential and kinetic energy.
8. The teacher will review pre-determined slides in the
potential and kinetic energy PowerPoint presentations used
earlier in the unit.
9. After reviewing the presentations, the discussion will
shift to the marshmallow catapult experiment.
10. The teacher will instruct the students to return to their
seating arrangements they had during the experiment, so the
students are sitting with their group members.
11. One-by-one, each group will share the modifications
they made to their marshmallow catapult and discuss
whether those changes helped or hindered their next launch.
12. Because one of the groups in Mrs. Bickers homeroom
class was able to achieve the farthest single launch, the
teacher will discuss the modifications that group made to
their catapult.
13. The teacher will explain to the students the changes that
group made after its farthest launch, and see if the students
can explain why those changes would have hindered the
groups next launch.
14. The teacher will show the students a replica of the
catapult that was used to launch the marshmallow the
farthest distance and complete a single launch so the
students could see it in person.
15. The teacher will lead the students through a discussion
of the various components of the catapult and the sources of
potential and kinetic energy.
16. The teacher will display the practice problem on the
board in order to have the students review how to find the
average of a set of numbers.
17. The students will solve the problem using their
whiteboards.
18. The teacher will move around the room checking the
students work for accuracy.
19. The students will be called upon by table to get an iPad
from the teachers desk.
20. Once all students have an iPad, they will be instructed
to open the Socrative application.
21. The teacher will have the quiz displayed on the

Adapted from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org

projector so the students know the Room Code to enter.

22. The teacher will instruct the students to enter their full
first name, and for those students with the same first name,
they will enter their last initial, as well.
23. The students will complete the quiz.
24. Once the students finish their quiz, they will be allowed
to get on Stride Academy or play a math game on the iPad
until all students have finished the quiz.
25. Once all students have finished their quiz, the teacher
will call the students by table to return their iPads to the
teachers desk.
26. As closure for the unit, the teacher will show the
students the YouTube video, Going Supersonic | Punkin
Chunkin, in order to show them how extreme Punkin
Chunkin is today.
27. After watching the video, the students will discuss the
sources of energy found in the American Chunker.
28. The teacher will inform the students of the days
winning table and dismiss each table one at a time.

Assessment
Formative/Ongoing
Assessment:

This lesson marks the end of the Marshmallow Catapult

unit. The lesson will conclude with a ten-question quiz
designed to assess the students understanding and retention
of the concepts covered throughout the unit. The students
answers to questions leading up to the quiz will help the
teacher determine which topics to spend more time
reviewing before the quiz is administered.

Summative/End Of Lesson
Assessment:

This lesson is part of the decimals unit. A summative

assessment will be provided at the end of the unit once all
concepts and standards have been covered. The science
component of this lesson was implemented to serve as
additional review for the upcoming science MSA testing,
which will serve as the summative assessment for the
science component. With that being said, the Socrative quiz
was designed to assess the teachers ability to develop an
understanding and retention of the math and science
concepts included throughout this unit.

Materials (including technology, texts, manipulatives, audio-visual)

Potential and Kinetic Energy PowerPoint presentation
Kinetic and Potential Energy PowerPoint presentation
Whiteboards
Markers
Replica of the winning catapult from Mrs. Bickers homeroom class
iPads
Socrative quiz
CAST 2006

Adapted from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org

YouTube video Going Supersonic | Punkin Chunkin

Reflection (include discussion on time management, engagement, assessment

data outcomes)
I was a little concerned going into this lesson that I did not have enough planned, and the
students would be left with a lot of free time. My hope was that our discussions would go as
deep as I had planned, and the students would have just a couple of minutes of free time after
they completed their quiz. I knew there would be some students who finished their quiz a lot
quicker than some of the others, and that ended up being the case. Even still, the students who
finished early did not really have a great deal of free time while waiting for the rest of the class to
finish taking the quiz. As such, the flow of the lesson ended up being absolutely perfect.
I thought this lesson was a very effective way to bring the unit to a close because it reviewed the
concepts that were taught throughout the lesson. Additionally, it gave the students the
opportunity to reflect on the changes that they made to their catapults and see which changes
helped and which changes hindered their next launch. It also gave the students the opportunity to
think about one change that they could have made that they believed would have resulted in a
better launch. I think enabling the students to reflect on the experiment helped develop a deeper
understanding of the sources of potential and kinetic energy and how they relate to one another.
I could not have been more proud of how the students handled themselves throughout the unit. It
is, by far, the best unit that I have taught during my second practicum to this point and will likely
be very hard to top. From a student engagement standpoint, I do not see how it could get any
better. Teaching this unit really opened my eyes to how fun it could be to teach science. This
unit clearly demonstrated the benefits of a hands-on approach to learning. To top it all off, the
students performance on the Socrative quiz was outstanding and allowed me to achieve the SLO
that I had established for this unit.

CAST 2006

Adapted from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org