Fifth graders in Stephanie Blanton’s class at Sunny View Elementary School explored the effects of gravity through a series of hands-on activities, reading and technology-based lessons.
Students rotated through exploration stations designed to help them examine gravity in different ways.
Using Google Classroom, students read about Mars and Jupiter and compared the effects of gravity on the two planets. They also investigated the relationship between gravity and mass by testing different objects and observing what happened.
The lesson incorporated English language arts as well as science. Students read a passage about Sir Isaac Newton and answered questions based on what they learned.
Another station focused on how the angle of a surface can affect the force of gravity. Students created ramps with lower and steeper angles and observed the differences.
By approaching the same scientific concept through experiments, reading, technology and discussion, students had multiple opportunities to explore how gravity works and apply what they were learning.
