Indiana Wesleyan University

Science Lesson Plan

Sara Eubank

LESSON RATIONALE
Students must learn about gravity because it is the foundation for students to learn about force
and similar concepts. Gravity is all around us and is part of our everyday lives. Students, in third
grade, begin to learn about the motion of objects, and they need to know what gravity is prior to
learning that. In addition, the choices we make affect everything we do, and students will see that
firsthand during the experiment in this lesson through the choice of objects that they drop.

READINESS
I.Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal—Students will understand gravity and how it works.
B. Objective—After conducting the experiment, students will explain what gravity is and
how it works.
C. Standard: 3.PS.1 – Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects
of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

II. Management Plan

a. Time: 33 minutes total
i. Anticipatory Set: 3 minutes
ii. Lesson: 20 minutes
iii. Closure: 10 minutes
b. Space:
i. Anticipatory Set: Students will be seated at their desks. I will be at the
front of the classroom.
ii. Lesson: Students will remain seated at their desks for the mini lesson. I
will remain at the front of the classroom. Then, I will lead students down
to the gym to complete the experiment. Students will spread out
throughout the gym and work together in their pre-determined groups. I
will move around to the different groups throughout this time to keep
students on task and ask them questions.
iii. Closure: I will lead students back into the classroom. The students will sit
at the carpet with their experiment groups, and I will be in front of them.
c. Materials:
i. Anchor Chart
ii. A Ball
iii. Buckets with experiment materials inside of it including a large beach ball,
a small bouncy ball, a golf ball, a paper clip, a shoe, a feather, a cotton
ball, a toy car, and a tin can
iv. Recording sheets
v. Clipboards
vi. Exit slip
d. Behavior: Students will be expected to…

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 i. Raise their hands when they want to answer a question or give a response.
ii. Give their best efforts throughout the lesson.
iii. Ask questions if necessary.
iv. Conduct the experiment and each of the races properly and respectfully.
v. Participate in class discussions and experiment.
vi. Work together and collaborate with their group.

III.Anticipatory Set
 Good morning students! I have a question…what would you do if you won a million
dollars? I will call on students to respond. I may have to clarify that I want students to
answer what they would do, not what they would buy or purchase with a million dollars.
I would jump up and be really excited if I won a million dollars. But, if I jump up, I come
right back down. Can anyone tell me why when I jump up, I come right back down? I will
give students time to think about this question and respond. Yes, it is because of this thing
called gravity that is part of our universe and world.
 Purpose: Today, we are going to learn about gravity which is a mysterious force that
makes everything fall down towards the Earth, so we can better understand our world,
the way things work, and how the choices we make affect both of those.

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

IV. Adaptation to Individual Differences and Diverse Learners
 I will make an Anchor Chart about gravity which will have both pictures and definitions
of gravity on it. This will be helpful for students to refer back to throughout the lesson
and lessons in the following days.
 Students will work in groups during the experiment. They will each have a designated
role to fulfill and will know what to do based on the description given to them at the
beginning of the experiment time. Students will collaborate with and support one another
as they complete the experiment.
 Students will complete a recording sheet to keep them on track throughout the lesson and
experiment. It will be turned into me, so I, as the teacher, can see their thought processes
throughout the lesson.
 If students finish with four races during the experiment, they can try additional races to
see which item(s) will reach the ground first.
 Students will have my support throughout the lesson as necessary.
 The exit slip will allow me to see how comfortable students felt with the concept of
gravity and if they can provide a brief definition of it. This will help me know how to
continue with this unit and how to best help each individual student.

V.Lesson Presentation (Input/Output)

 Mini Lesson
o So, you may be wondering…what exactly is gravity then? Gravity is a force that
is constantly working to pull all objects on Earth towards the center of the Earth.
I will make an Anchor Chart about gravity as I explain it to the students. Gravity
is what keeps us on the ground and keeps us from floating up into the air.
However, gravity is also what makes things fall. So, when I jump up, I fall back
down to the ground. Now, I would like all of you to stand up and push in your

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 chairs. I will give students time to stand up and push in their chairs. When I say,
“Green light”, I would like you to jump straight up and see if you cannot come
right back down. Then, when I say, “Red light”, I would like you to stop jumping
and sit back down in your seat. Green light! I will monitor students jumping up
and down. Red light! I will give time for students to stop jumping and sit down.
Now, could you stay in the air when you jumped up? I will give time for students
to respond. No, you couldn’t because of gravity. When something is thrown up
into the air, gravity is what makes it come back down. I will then have a ball that I
will use to demonstrate. If I drop this ball, what do you think will happen based
on what we have learned about gravity? I will give students time to respond.
Let’s see. Then, I will drop the ball, and it will fall down to the ground. I will pick
the ball up. The ball fell to the ground because of gravity. When something is
dropped, it will fall and hit the surface that is nearest to it.
 Experiment
o Now that we have talked and learned about gravity, we are going to do an
experiment to try and answer the question: Which item will hit the floor first? On
the recording sheet I am passing out, you are going to go ahead and make your
guess, based on the items that I have sitting up on the table. There will be several
items for the students to choose from including a large beach ball, a small bouncy
ball, a golf ball, a paper clip, a shoe, a feather, a cotton ball, a toy car, and a tin
can. I will give students some time to think about which item will hit the floor
first. You are going to complete four different races using just two items at a time.
You will work in groups of four and each person will have his/her very own job
role in the experiment. I will have groups and job roles pre-determined. Your
groups and job roles are up on the board. The Dropper will be the person who
will drop the two items from the same height during each race of the experiment.
The Recorder will be writing during the experiment to mark down which item hit
the ground first. The Materials Gatherer will gather the materials at the
beginning of the experiment, and he/she will help the Dropper pick up the items
after each race and gather the items to drop for the next race. Then, the Filmer
will use his/her iPad to record each race, just in case the race is really close. You
will have about 10 minutes to complete as many races as you can and discuss
with your group why certain items hit the floor faster than others. We are going
to complete this experiment in the gym, so we have more room to spread out and
distance ourselves from other groups. At this time, the Materials Gatherer can go
ahead and collect the materials needed for each group. There is a bucket with all
of the items in it up at the front of the room. I will give time for these students to
gather the materials. Then, the Materials Gatherers can come get in line. I will
give time for these students to line up. Now, I would like all of my Recorders to
come and line up. I will give time for these students to line up. My Filmers can
come and line up. I will give time for these students to line up. And finally, my
Droppers can come and line up. I will give time for these students to line up.
Now, we are going to head to the gym. When we get there, you can get with your
group and begin your experiment. I will lead the students to the gym and release
them to work in their small groups when we reach the gym. I will support students

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 throughout the experiment as needed. I will walk around to the groups and ask
pondering questions to help students think about the experiment.

VI. Check for understanding

 I will ask students questions to begin to make them ponder about gravity in the
anticipatory set.
 I will question and guide students during the mini lesson and during the experiment with
their teams.
 I will monitor students’ discussions with their teams/groups during the closure.
 The students recording sheet will be a check for understanding.
 The exit slip will help me know how comfortable students feel with the concept of
gravity and if they know a basic definition of gravity
 Reteaching or extended teaching will take place the next day before adding and moving
on to the content for that day. I may pull small groups to reteach or do additional teaching
later in the school day as time permits as well.

VIII. Review learning outcomes / Closure – We are going to head back to the classroom and
sit at the carpet to discuss your findings for the day. Make sure to sit with your group just
so you can collaborate with one another. I will lead students back to the classroom, and
the students will sit at the carpet with their group members. Alright, I will give you a
couple of minutes to discuss your findings with your other group members and record
that information. I will give students about 3 minutes to discuss their findings with their
groups. Okay, which item did you find hit the floor first? I will call on someone from each
group to respond. How did you choose which items you would use in your races during
the experiment? I will give time for students to respond. The items you chose to use in
your races affected which item would hit the ground first in each race. If you would have
chosen different items during your races, you may not have gotten to all of the items and
would not have gotten the same results. Throughout this unit, we are going to talk about
how our choices always involve cost. The choices we make affect our daily lives and the
cost is different based on the choice that we do make. Choices are all around us. In this
experiment, we chose which items we would drop at the same time. Some of the items hit
the ground before others did. Does anyone know why some items hit the ground before
the other items? I will give time for a couple of students to respond. Yes, some items hit
the ground before others due to gravity. Gravity pulls heavier items down quicker than
items that are lighter. We are going to learn more about this tomorrow when we talk
about forces, both balanced and unbalanced forces. To finish up for today’s science
lesson, you are going to complete an Exit slip to let me know your comfort level with the
concept of gravity and then give a brief description of what gravity is. I will pass out the
Exit Slip. Whenever you are finished with the Exit Slip, please place it and your
recording sheet for the day in the green basket.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

Formative: asking students questions throughout the lesson; monitoring students during the
experiment; listening to students’ group discussions about the experiment; the recording sheet
will show me the work that students completed and their thought processes during today’s lesson

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and experiment; the exit slip will provide me with how comfortable students are with the concept
and if they understand what gravity is

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Should I have added or taken away some of the job roles during the experiment? Why
or why not?
8. What are other items students could have used during the experiment?
9. Should I have grouped the students differently? Why or why not?
10. What are other experiments students could have done that involve the concept of
gravity?