*This lesson coincides with Chapter 5 – Play is frivolous from Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech.
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Lesson created by Danielle Boholst
Grade level range: 3
Length of time to teach lesson: 8 minutes
Overview of lesson: Students in third grade begin to understand the concept of cause and effect in reading, science, and social studies. They define the words “cause” and “effect,” explain cause and effect relationships they find in texts and scientific observations. In this lesson, students will model and explain cause and effect relationships between forces and objects the forces are applied upon. They will also use creative thinking to rearrange the cups and knock over as many as possible in one gentle roll.
Objectives (Learning targets) of this lesson: Students will model and explain cause and effect relationships between the force with which a ball is rolled, and the impact on the objects it hits. Students will explain what happens when the ball is rolled with increasing force, and the effects it has on the cups it hits, using the words “cause” and “effect.”
Resources/supplies/handouts needed to teach this lesson: 10 paper or Solo cups, 1 small rubber ball (handball or golf ball would work best), vocabulary handouts on cause, effect, force, motion, recording sheet (half sheet of paper), rubric
Instructions for the lesson:
Hand out vocabulary and recording sheets, and explain that forces are always a push or a pull.
Allow students to “play” by rolling the ball toward a group of cups on the ground. The students will need to roll the ball with a small amount of force, then increase the force.
After the ball knocks over the cups, students will observe and note how many cups are knocked over.
Students will be asked to roll the ball again with increased force. They will observe the effects on the cups, record how many fall and discuss what causes more cups to fall over.
Students explain what causes more cups to fall over, using the words force, cause, and effect.
Ask students to rearrange the cups in different ways to explore the best way to knock over as many cups as possible with a “soft roll” (students only push the ball with two fingers). Students continue to discuss how the arrangement of the cups effects how many fall over.
Special Notes from the creator of this lesson: When students are asked to rearrange the cups, they are not given constraints. However, students may not see the “big picture” because of their background knowledge of bowling. They may arrange the cups in one layer, as that is how they have seen it arranged by the teacher or inside of a bowling alley. Many students continuously arrange the cups in the same bowling pin pattern, and only adjust the force they apply to the ball. The creative aspect of stacking the cups may come to a student immediately. If not, students can take a break from the problem, play another game, and then return to the problem to see if any new ideas generate.
Assessment: This lesson serves as an introduction to observing forces acting on an object, and then explaining the observed phenomena using the words “cause” and “effect”. This rubric assists the teacher with gathering formative data. In terms of Common Core, the Elaboration criteria would be entered as a speaking grade, as well as a grade for NGSS standard 3-PS2-1, in which students “plan and conduct and investigations to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.”
