Structures and Mechanisms | hands-on-science

Grade 5 Understanding Structures and Mechanisms:

Forces Acting on Structures and Mechanisms

LEGEND:

Individual Activity

Group Activity

Demonstration

Outdoor Activity

Build, Build, Build!

Play is extremely important in the science classroom. This unit is perfect for students who are kinesthetic learners, as the concepts of forces and structures are best demonstrated through hands-on activities.

In groups of 4-5, have students work together to build a structure that can withstand the shaking of their desk. Building activities require a lot of preparation and set-up, but they are worth the extra effort! Here are some tips for setting up this activity:

Prepare a list of what materials (and how much) students can use. This will force them to get creative and will avoid wasting resources.
Establish guidelines before starting the activity; write these up on the board for students to consult during the activity.
Set a time limit for building and update students every ten minutes on how much time remains.
Circulate between groups to offer guidance and to ensure they are working well together.
Have each group explain their structure to the rest of the class; seeing other peoples' work will be a learning experience for your students and you can start integrating important concepts.

Expectations Addressed: 2.1, 2.3, 2.4

Allowing students the time to play and explore is important, as it pushes them to ask questions and to experiment with various strategies. You also want to allow them the chance to apply what they have learned from their exploration time and from their class time.

Re-do this building activity near the end of the unit and challenge students to apply the concepts learned to their structure. Keep pictures of their first structure and ask students to compare it to their second structure.

Sturdy Structures

You can stock your classroom with building materials for a low price. Every day items that can be purchased at the dollar store serve as great tools for student exploration. Keep you materials in labeled bins for convenience. Here are some handy materials to have on hand:

Popsicle sticks
String
Straws
Masking tape
Cardboard
Pipecleaners
Toothpicks
Wooden dowels

Building materials don't have to be expensive

Do it Twice!

Learning Stations: Forces

Understanding the internal forces that act around us is a difficult concept for students to wrap their minds around. This workshop will help them visualize and better understand how these forces act on us in our every day lives.

Set up the four stations to the right in your classroom, and divide your class into four groups. If your class is large, you could have half the class do the learning stations while the other half works independently on another worksheet. For the four stations, you will need the following materials:

Four sponges with lines drawn horizontally on their sides
Skipping ropes
Elastic bands
A malleable ball
A washcloth
Scrap paper
Scissors
A rubber object

As the groups circulate through the learning stations, have them work together to fill out the "Student Worksheet". At each station, the groups must decide which force is represented, give examples of this force, and draw/describe what the sponge looks like when the force is applied to it.

After the students have seen all the stations, take up the worksheet as a class to reinforce the concepts learned. Students will most likely have thought of new examples of these forces in real life, allowing them to co-construct their understanding as a class.

Expectations Addressed: 2.5, 3.1, 3.2

Student Worksheet

Forces Treasure Hunt!

It is important to link the scientific principles students are taught to the world around them. Making these connections helps them better understand the concepts and makes them more meaningful.

Once students have learned about the types of internal and external forces around them, send them on a treasure hunt. In pairs, have your students go around the school and go on the school grounds in search of forces acting on objects, either internally or externally. Challenge students to find examples that no one else in the class has found and give a prize to the pair with the most original example.

At the end of the activity, debrief with your students. What did they find? Was it difficult to find examples? Were there any examples they were unsure of?

Expectations Addressed: 3.1, 3.2

Have students share their work by taking pictures with school iPads or with their smartphones. Upload the pictures to your class social media website or have them uploaded to a shared Google Drive folder.

You can share these pictures on the SMART board or on the projector when debriefing, allowing your students to better understand the examples their classmates found.

The Interactive Science Classroom

Grades 4-6