Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Kelsey McIntyre Date:

Group Size:Whole Group Allotted Time: 60 Minutes Grade Level: 3rd

Subject or Topic: Force

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

- S3.C.3.1: Observe and identify changes in an object’s motion.
- 3-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of
balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

Learning Targets/Objectives:
- After learning about force, 3rd grade students will be able to define force, balanced
force, unbalanced force, and gravity.
- Using their knowledge about force, 3rd grade students will be able to classify the
balanced and unbalanced forces by completeing the tug of war/ finding balance
activity.
Assessment Approaches: Evidence:
1) Tug of War Worksheet 1) Fill out worksheet with round results
2) Finding balance worksheet after tug of war game
3) Rate yourself 2) Fill out worksheet of rounds with
counting bears and wooden blocks
used to find a balanced force
3) Rate themselves of about the
knowledge of the lesson
Assessment Scale:
1. Tug of War Worksheet
● 4 Questions completed- Advanced
● 2+ Questions completed- Proficient
● 0 Questions completed- Basic

2. Finding Balance Worksheet

● 5 Trials completed- Advanced
● 3+ Trials completed- Proficient
● 1+ Trials completed- Basic

Subject Matter/Content: Force

Prerequisites:
● Understand that objects move.
● Understand that objects can move other objects.
Key Vocabulary:
● Force: Push or pull on an object.
● Unbalanced Forces: Forces that make objects move.
● Balanced Forces: Forces that make objects sit still.
● Gravity: Force that pulls things down.

Content/Facts:
● What is force?
● Force pulls or pushes an object.
● Examples of this would include pushing a chair or pulling a rope.
● What are balanced forces and unbalanced forces?
● Balanced forces are forces that make objects stand still.
● Examples of balanced force include tug of war with equal matched people on each side
and books that are putting equal force against each other.
● Unbalanced forces are forces that make objects move.
● Examples of unbalanced forces include a seasaw or dominos falling.
● What is gravity?
● Gravity is a force that pulls objects down.
● An example of gravity is a ball being dropped off a school desk.

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
● The teacher will read “Equal Shmeaquel” to the students.
● The teacher will ask the students questions such as:
○ “Why do you think it would be unfair for the bear and mouse to play tug of
war?”
○ “What does it mean when something is balanced?”
○ “What does it mean when something is unbalanced?”
● Once the teacher is finished reading, the teacher will take out dominos.
● To get students excited about the lesson, the teacher will place dominos on a desk and
two textbooks laying on eachother.
● Once the students are watching, the teacher will ask the students what they see and
raise their hand to let me know what they are observing.
● Once students are finished telling the teacher their observations, the teacher will push
the first domino to make them fall.
● Next, the teacher will tap the textbooks to show that the textbooks will not move.
● The teacher will then ask “what happened when I pushed the dominos?”
● The teacher will next further explain that when their finger pushed on the first domino,
the finger used a force to push the domino down.
● The teacher will then ask “when I pushed on the books, why didn’t the books fall or
move like the dominos did?”
● When the students are finished explaining their observation, explain that the textbooks
did not fall because the textbooks have a balanced force.
● The teacher then explains that the reason why the dominos fell is because the dominos
have an unbalanced force.
 ● The teacher will explain to the students “A balanced force is when the forces on an
object are equal meaning that they are the same, so the objects stand still. This is why
our textbooks did not fall over.”
● Next, the teacher will explain “The reason my dominos fell over was because of the
unbalanced force. The dominos were not equal, that is why the dominos fell over.”
● Finally, the teacher will then introduce gravity.
● The teacher will say “Another force that we are going to talk about today is gravity.
Gravity is a force that pulls objects down. For example, after we pushed the dominos
down, gravity pulled our domino's down since the dominos had an unbalanced force.”
● Explain to students that gravity also plays a part in balanced force. The teacher will
explain “Balanced forces also include gravity. Even though our books are not moving,
there is still a gravity force on our textbooks.”
● The teacher will then explain that gravity is pulling our textbooks down as a force, and
the desk is using upward force on the textbooks. Since these forces are equal, they are a
balanced force.
● The teacher will then explain to the students that they will be experimenting with
balanced forces and unbalanced forces.
● Before the lesson begins, hand out the vocabulary sheet so that students have a
reference to return to when needed.
● The teacher will pass out notebooks. Explain to the students that by the end of our
force and motion unit, we will have a completed definition work book.
● Allow students to cut and glue the definitions into their notebook and title it “Day One
Force”.
● While students get ready, the teacher will take out the materials for inquiry.
Development/Teaching Approaches
● The teacher will leave the tug of war rope in a spaced out area. Tie a red ribbon in the
middle of the rope as well as put white tape on the floor to be the middle point.
● When ready, the teacher will choose students to go to one side of the rope and pick it
up.
● The teacher will then explain, now that we have knowledge on what force, balanced
force, and unbalanced force is, we can now do an activity that will allow us to see what
it looks like.
● The teacher will hang out the tug of war worksheet and students will answer the first
three questions.
● Once students are finished with their three questions, explain to the students that they
will do three rounds of tug of war. Each time the students will write down if the round
represented a balancef or unbalanced force.
● The teacher will explain the rules, such as “When I say go, each team will try to pull
the red ribbon over the white tape. We will see which team has the most force when
pulling on the rope. When I say stop, we will drop the rope and continue with
directions.”
● Students will now begin pulling the rope. When a student is pulling the rope, ask the
students “Are we pushing or pulling on the rope?” When the students answer pull, say
“yes that is correct,
 ● When one side of the team pulls the ribbon over the white tape, tell the students to
pause and ask “We can see that red ribbon is on this side of the tape. Why do we think
that is?”
● The teacher will listen to the students and then explain “The reason why the red ribbon
is leaning more to one side is because this side is using more force on the rope to pull
the rope towards them.”
● Next, the teacher will ask the students if this is a balanced force or an unbalanced force.
When the students answer, the teacher will explain “This is an example of an
unbalanced force because the forces on the rope are not equal.”
● Next, allow the students about three chances to try to make a balanced force. Remind
the students that a balanced force is equal, so the red ribbon will remain in the middle”.
● After this activity, explain to the students that we are going to be working on another
activity.
● Introduce the activity called “Finding balance”.
● First, break up the students into groups at a table and place a balance scale on the table
along with counting bears and small wooden blocks.
● The teacher will say “What we are going to do now is an activity called finding
balance. The main point of this activity is to place the wooden blocks and counting
bears on the weight scale to find a balanced force”.
● The teacher will continue explaining “You will work with your peers to figure out how
many wooden blocks or how many bears it will take to make a balanced force. While
going through the activity, your group will fill out the worksheet for finding balance
explaining how much of each material you used and if it was a balanced or unbalanced
force acting on the weight scale”.
● The teacher will allow the students to work through the activity for the remaining time
of the lesson.
● Once students are finished, the teacher will call the students back together as a whole
group for closing.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
● Once the students have cleaned up the materials, students will sit back down in their
seats.
● The teacher will say, “You all did a great job today participating in our two activities
exploring the different types of forces. Tomorrow, we are going to dive deeper into this
lesson by talking about motion!”
● “Let’s reflect on what we did today. We talked about what a force is which is a push or
pull. Next we talked about the different types of force which is a balanced force and
unbalanced force. A balanced force is a force that keeps objects still and a unbalanced
force is a force that majes objects move. When things fall, such as the dominos in the
beginning of class, we call that gravity. Gravity pulls objects down to Earth.”
● “Finally, we did a lot of fun activities today. First, we tested our balance and
unbalanced forces with tug of war and talked about if the force was a push or pull and
an unbalanced and balanced force. Next, we worked with our balance scales with
wooden blocks and counting bears to see if we could find a balanced force. You all did
a great job completing your worksheets while doing the activities.”
 ● Next the teacher will explain, “Before we are done, I am going to pass out an exit
ticket. You will rate yourself based on today’s lesson. I want to know if you understand
what we talked about today. So please rate yourself and when you are finished, come
put it on the desk.”
● Lastly the teacher will give the option to use the website and game provided so
students can experiment further with forces.
(https://www.brainpop.com/games/balancingact/?topic_id=c914aa1869ab10a1 )

Accommodations/Differentiation:
Follow all IEPs
Stuent X has an IEP for a physical disability and visual impairment. Instead of tug of war, the
student and teacher will sit on the floor and take turns pushing and pulling on rope. The
teacher will also demonstrate the unbalanced and balanced forces using the scale by putting the
scale on a table that clips onto the wheel chair.

Materials/Resources:
● Tug of war rope
● Red Ribbon
● Tape
● Vocabulary sheet
● Tug of war activity sheet
● Dominos
● Textbooks
● Balance scale
● Counting Bears
● Small wooden blocks
● Rate yourself scale exit ticket
● Game Website
(https://www.brainpop.com/games/balancingact/?topic_id=c914aa1869ab10a1 )
● Composition Workbook
● Kroll, V. (2005). Equal Shmequal.

Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

 Personal Reflection Questions

Additional reflection/thoughts

Tug Of War
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces Discussion Questions

1. What is a force?

2. What are balanced forces? Give one example of a balanced

force.

3. What are unbalanced forces? Give one example of an

unbalanced force.

4. For each round of tug of war, decide whether the round was an
example of a balanced force or an unbalanced force.

● Round 1:
● Round 2:
 ● Round 3:

Word Definition Picture

Force Push or pull on an

object

Balanced Force Forces that make

objects stand still

Unbalanced Forces Forces that make

objects move

Force that pulls things

Gravity down
1. How many bears did you use?

How many wooden blocks did you use?

Was this a balanced force or unbalanced force?

2. How many bears did you use?

How many wooden blocks did you use?

Was this a balanced force or unbalanced force?

3. How many bears did you use?

How many wooden blocks did you use?

Was this a balanced force or unbalanced force?

 4. How many bears did you use?

How many wooden blocks did you use?

Was this a balanced force or unbalanced force?

5. How many bears did you use?

How many wooden blocks did you use?

Was this a balanced force or unbalanced force?

Assessment Scales
 Rate Yourself!
How well do you know what
was tought today?

Level 4
I understand all the material
that we learned today and can
do all by myself

Level 3
I understand most of the
material, but still need a little
help

Level 2
I understand some of the
material, but still need some
help

Level 1
I understand a little bit, but
still need a lot of help

Level 0
I do not understand what we
learned today