Unit Plan Template

A template based on Understanding by Design

Force and Motion (and Friction &

Title of Unit

Gr 1/2

Grade

Gravity)

Level
Science

4 weeks (2x per week = 8

Subject

Time

lessons)

Frame
Kim Welfing

Developed By

Stage 1 Desired Results

Prescribed Learning Outcomes:

Cross-curricular Competencies:

Gr1:

Social Responsibility: positively contributes to the

classroom community, collaborative team member
Critical thinking: demonstrates a sense of curiosity and
interest
Creative thinking and innovation: demonstrates flexibility
and creativity, thinks beyond the obvious, and innovates.

- communicate their observations, experiences,

and thinking in a variety of ways (eg verbally,

pictorially, graphically)
- Demonstrate how force can be applied to move
an object
Gr 2 (new curriculum):
- Forces influence the motion of an object.
Objects move differently in/over/through
different materials.

Unit Theme/Issue of Inquiry/Narrative

Study of how things move and what is behind it
- Force
- Motion (up, down, side to side)
- Push/Pull

Friction/gravity: what speeds up/slow down movement

Rationale: because students should know how and why things move as they do. It provides predictability and
structure. Because in the future they need to know how movement works for physics and building as it will help
their creativity in building, leading them to be less frustrated when things to do work because they will know
why.

Understandings:
-

Essential Questions:

They will understand how they use force and motion every
day.
They will understand how if there was no friction, we would
not be able to move as we do.
That gravity literally keeps us grounded! This is why when
we jump up we go back down.

1.
2.
3.
4.

What is movement?
Why is it important that things move?
How can I use movement responsibly? To build things?
How does our environment effect our movement? How and
why?

Desired Knowledge: What will students know?

Skills: What skills will students be more proficient at as

a result of this unit?

They will know what force is and how it is applied

(push/pull)
They will know what friction is and how it
influences the amount of force needed

They will be able to communicate what they have learned verbally

and in writing
They will be able to demonstrate how to use force on an object to
make it move, in a responsible and respectful manner

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks / Summative
Assessment: What will students do to show what
they have learned?
-

Their complete science journal with all of their findings,

plans and observations
Checklists (of observations)
Rubrics (observations)
Share how they made a car and why it did/didnt work.

Key Performance Criteria: What does good

look like?

- They have a complete science journal

- They are participating in the activities and

Other Evidence of Student Progress: How else

do students demonstrate achievement of their learning?
(eg. Work samples, observations, quizzes, tests, journals,
etc.)
-

Journal entries
Worksheets
Participation and engagement
Project progression: are they discovering anything or
giving up when something doesnt work?

Assessment Tool:
Checklist
Science Journals
observations

centers
- Is able to answer what force is and what
motion in
- Is able to answer why friction is important
- Is able to answer/show the effect of
gravity and how it influences objects
movement

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Should be Differentiated
Processing / Learning Activities Designed to Ensure
Understanding and Promote Critical Thinking:
- Wonder Wall
- Partners
- Journals
- Worksheets
- Table groups
- Whole Class inquiry activities/experiments
Potential Barriers to Success / Areas to Differentiate:

Possible Ways to
Differentiate
- Partners (student who
can read partnered with
one that cant)
- Have someone help cut
and glue
- Have help blowing up
balloons

Might include: engagement, motivation, organization, language ability, exceptionalities, reading level, etc.
- Language ability
- Reading level
- Motivation
- Organization

Learning environment:

Inside in the classroom

1. Centers
2. Class experiments
3. journaling

Outside
1. Field
2. playground

Introducing the Unit:

-

Watch MSB episode about force, motion and friction

Being REAL scientists: writing down our observations and keeping a record of what we are
doing.

Sequence of Lessons: The basics of what you plan to do in each lesson of the unit.
#
1

Lesson
Title
Intro

Lesson Activities (Learning Experiences)

- Watch Magic School Bus Plays Ball (season 1)
Talk about how we are going to discover what force and
motion and the affect gravity has on all of it.
- We are going to be real scientists by testing and
documenting our tests and findings. We are going to
record them in our Science book.
- Create the science book (has what they are going to do
and then what happened and they can draw a picture on
the back of the final product)

2
experiment

Read Motion
- Balloon across the room experiment
- Questions in their science journal about what happened
and why
- Go over force and how the sudden force of all the air
leaving the balloon pushed the balloon forward across the

Assessmen
t
Participati
on

Science
journal
completion

Resourc
es
MSB
Netflix
Sheets
to make
the
science
book
construc
tion
paper
cover
book
Balloons
Straws
string

3
Push/pull

Cars motion

room
Read forces make things move book
Go over the difference of push and pull
Discussion about what things we push and what we pull.
What makes it harder to push/pull something? What makes it
easier?
Push or pull worksheet
Make cars with wheels of some sort
- Have them race them on grass, cement and gravel. Have
to tell me which surface they travelled better on
- Write it in their journal with a picture of their car
- Let them decide how they are going to make their car.
Brainstorm one day and make another so there is time to
gather materials. Either individually or in pairs

5
Exploration
-

Read Big Road Race by Berenstain bears

Centers
- Push/pull sort
- Road trip game
- Marbles
Coins: roll them stack them, pushing them across the
table
- Yo yo
- Playdough (ramps?)

worksheet

Book
workshe
et

Participati
on
Science
journal

Toilet
paper
rolls,
Kleenex
boxes,
pop
cans/bot
tles,
straws,
cardboa
rd
circles
String
Straws
Popsicle
sticks
Push/pul
l sort
Road
trip
game
board
and
pieces
Marbles

Journals,
creations,
participati
on

Crazy hair/ just hanging on/tackle the tissues

- Ants in the pants game
- Dropping objects from top of playground (feathers vs
pencils). What drops faster? Why? What if you change one
object. Now what?

6
Exploration

Centers
(same ones as before they have to pick a different ones
than last time)

7 Marshmallo
w shooters

Make marshmallow shooters

Write in journals the findings (how far they go)
How does the amount of force you use affect the distance?

Outside experiments - with the swings and slide and push

thing
- Go around finding the things on the list and then writing if
they are push, pull or both
- Move a box down the field easy? Do you pull or push?
What works? Does the ground (gravel) affect it?

Scavenger
hunt
game

Journals,
creations,
participati
on
Observatio
ns
Journal
Their
findings on
the
playground
,
observatio
ns

Coins
Yo yo
Playdou
gh
Balloons
with
question
s/activit
es
Same as
above
Balloons
Paper
cups
marshm
allow
Find it
workshe
et