I have been participating in professional development of science content for the past two years. As a part of that development, I have been digging in to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and a new science curriculum. The NGSS are a new set of science standards that assess different science content. One of the new units for 3rd grade is Objects in Motion- which we have been having quite a time with!
Before vacation we laid the ground work for balanced vs. unbalanced forces. Yesterday we go to explore how the distance a car is pulled back has an effect on the distance traveled. Students worked in groups to gather data and reflect on what they saw.
In this exploration we had to use our skills in measuring. Students were able to determine independently that it made more sense to convert to a larger unit of measure if their car happened to go further than anticipated!
In their reflections, students made notes on what they observed and how the car moved. Giving the students time to get their thoughts in order makes for a richer discussion afterwords. They also had to think of what they would do differently if we were to conduct this experiment again! During our discussion, we tried different placements of the ruler and measuring stick. Owen brought up how back the car up 5 inches also meant it had 5 more inches to travel that should be counted as length traveled- a great observation! Connor made a great claim of how the car goes further because (<- this part is key- giving evidence!!) it got pulled back. It was Desirae, however, who took it even further saying you give the wheels more ENERGY when you pull the car further back!
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