Week #3: Jet Toy/Force and Motion Questions
The math involved in the World in Motion Jet Toy curriculum is graphing distance traveled vs. weight carried. Is this activity appropriate for the level of student you have been researching? Describe exactly what you would have a class do? In other words, what mathematics are they learning or are you teaching?
The science concepts involved in the curriculum include Newton's Laws of Motion. What force and motion concepts would you want students in the 3-4 band to know before exploring factors which can affect the distance traveled by the Jet Toy constructed in math methods? How did you decide this? (Hint: NSES). How would you adapt the learning episodes we explored in science methods to develop these force and motion concepts?
19 comments:
Grade 4:
I would love to use this activity in a 4th grade classroom. I think it would get the kids involved in the lesson and creating and inventing new ideas for toy cars. I think the technique of making this car is simple enough but not too simple that they would get bored. (..I had fun putting it together..) The only problem I would see as a struggle is punching the hole in the paper where the tube goes. I know that my group had trouble and I can just see thirty hands in the air asking for help. My suggestion would be have the holes already cut before the students begin to build their car or have the students cut the hole before putting the box of the car together.
During this lesson I would have the class measure distance each car traveled and record the data as a group. We could then graph each result and see which car was the fastest and maybe in the end race the two or three fastest cars. I would focus this lesson on collecting data and how to show results with graphing and have the students decide which graph would be best to show the results and why.
In a science class I believe my students would need to know the basics of Newton's Law of Motion, in meaning that they understand that an object at rest stays at rest unless the force becomes unbalances and or is hit by another object. The NSES standards says that by 4th grade you should know in the physical science standards, is that properties of objects and materials, position and motion of objects and light, heat, electricity and magnetism. I believe that teaching this lesson will fall under that content standard that fits into the 4th grade band.
I really liked Jaime's idea for measuring the distance that each car traveled and graphing the data. You could even add factors such as weight in the car and see how that affects the distance traveled. Jaime also mentioned racing the fastest cars. If this is done, you could open it up to discussion: why were these two cars the fastest? What made them different? Were their tubes bigger, or their axles set at a different position?
Great idea Jaime!
I would definitely use this activity with fourth graders. It wasn't too difficult, and I think it would get everyone involved (even those few students who may think they're too cool for school). Activities such as this get away from the monotony of the textbook and worksheets. I would like my students to work together and build these jet toys, and experiment with their cars. I wouldn't have them race at first. I would want each team to practice with their car, and document the results. As I said in my comment to Jaime, I would like to have open discussion as to why some cars went faster than others, or why some cars traveled further than others. I like the idea of graphing the data, and I would love for my students to become comfortable with graphing in the 4th grade. And of course 4th graders would be so disappointed if they didn't get to race, so I would try and set up some sort of jet toy race to allow for their competitive nature.
I would want my students to understand the basics behind Newton's Laws of Motion. I think they could grasp the concept that objects tend to stay at rest until there is an opposing force. The 4th grade standards, according to NSES, state that students understand that 'an object's motion can be described by tracing and measuring its position over time.' This will be documented by the experimentation with the car and the graphing that my students would do. NSES also states that students should understand that 'objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. Those properties can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers.' I would be meeting this standard during the building stage of this lesson. My students are getting the hands-on experience with different materials, and are using tools to measure out desirable lengths.
This activity is appropriate for 3rd-4th grade students. The construction of the jet cars was a simple project but not too simple. I agree with Jamie when she said the students would not be bored. However, I don't think that they will have any problems cutting holes. They are at the age where their fine motor skills are developed enough to complete the project, (keeping in mind children with special needs). The students could have fun expirimenting with seeing how far their cars go in different situations.
Students could work on Measurement skills by first estimating how far they think their cars will go. They could measure how far the cars go and begin converting measurements into other units.
I would have my students first estimate how far they think the cars will go. They would test their cars and measure several runs on a flat surface.(Were their predictions close?) They would then convert their measuremtnts using several different untis. For example: inches, feet, and yards. Students could also make predictions on how well the cars will run in different situations. For example: how well will the cars run on carpet, or on rocky pavement.(How does friction effect how the car runs?) After testing out their predictions students could then make changes or improvements to their cars.
I agree with Janna in how she would discuss how and why the cars went as fast as they did. I think that a discussion is a very important part of this learning process and getting the kids to think "outside" the box a little bit. I also agree that the students need to get a hands on experience with many different tools and be able to create a toy car on their own with or without guided instruction.
I am hoping to be in a fourth grade classroom. I think the jet car activity would be great for fourth graders. I think it offers many opportunities to incorporate both math and science. There are many aspects of math the students could use with the activity. The activity could be used to address any or all of the five content standards. Prior to the lesson I would make sure all of the students had an understanding of force & motion and how weight and obstructions influence them. I would have the class do the activity just as we did it in class today. I would then have them each measure the distance their group's car traveled. After each group was done I would have the students get together as a class and compare their findings. I would have them discuss why they thought some cars went farther than others and then have them reconstruct new jet cars to test their theories. This activity would involve measurement, numbers & operations, geometry, and data analysis & probability.
I agreed with the other students concerning the hole for the tube. I myself also found it difficult to cut out after the car was assembled. I think it would be best to use a hole punch or cut the hole out prior to assembling the car.
I was surprised at how easy the Jet Toys were to make. I enjoyed it very much! I would love to have my students spend time personalizing them by decorating or coloring them before cutting them up. (We found it harder to color them after we had already put them together.) The materials needed to build them are also cheap so it would not cost me much money to buy the materials for my class. I think a fun lesson would be to lay out meter sticks end to end and have them race their cars side by side. (with the meter stick in the middle to separate them from colliding) After the cars have stopped, they must figure out the difference in distance traveled by jotting down where the cars ended up stopping. How much further did Team 1's car travel than Team 2, or how far behind is Team A's car from Team B, etc? This lesson might be hard to picture in your head! Trying to explain it as well as I can.
When using these is Science, obviously, I agree with Jaime and Janna. The students definitely need to know some understanding of Newton's Law of Motion (object stays at rest unless the force becomes unbalanced.) The students will be able to meet the standard that an object's motion can be measured by tracing and measuring its position over time in the math lesson and with a science lesson. It would be great to place different weights in the cars to see how fast, slow the cars would move, if at all.
I didn't really even think about plotting and doing a data analysis with this experiment until I read other blogs. Of course this would be a great way to use data analyis!!
I actually wanted to know more about Jet Toy Math/Science before I posted this blog, so I "googled" it. I got many hits, including a great site about the Montana Math and Science Initiative, led by Gov. Schweitzer and his wife. I found the site very helpful, as it gave plenty of practical uses for Jet Toys in the classroom! (Also, it allowed classroom teachers to request a kit, to build their own Jet Toy!)
I personally would use the Jet Toys in 4th Grade, after an introduction to Newtons Laws of Motion (as stated by every other blogger.) They should know before begining this lesson that objects at rest stay at rest unless another object acts upon them. They should also understand basic graphing principals in order to organize thier data at the end of the lesson.
I would orchestrate the begining of my lesson very similar to how Aaron did in Math on Thrusday. I would break the students into groups, have them collect materials, and then make their cars. I may have typed directions, and allow the students to create them without my oral directions. I think the cars were fairly simple to make, and that 4th graders could do it. I would then have them give them some "rules" of use for thier cars. I think that is always a good idea, especially with hands on activities, you don't want things getting too crazy! After making thier cars, they would test them, as we did to make sure they worked. Next, I would have measuring tapes, yard sticks, and other measuring tools availiable to them, as well as stop watches. It would be their job then to record the distance and the time of the travel. They would run several trials, then graph their data in the way they thought was best (bar, line, ect.) They would then share their data with the rest of the class.
The primary concepts involved in this lesson for math and science are friction, air resistance, technological design, measurement, and data analysis. On the NSES website, it states that 'as a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop abilities of technological design, understanding about science and technology, and abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans. Using Jet toys seems to conform to this standard very well.
I certainly agree this activity is appropriate for use in grades 3 & 4.
As for the math, I'm relating this to the content standards of measurement, probability and data analysis, geometry and perhaps (this may be stretching it) algebra. Measurement, in that I would have them measure how far the car travels, but also the dimensions of the car (geometry) with an analysis of the dimensions, perhaps once they've all created this car add options - smaller and more square cars, bigger cars, etc. Then also weight of the car graphed with how far it travels (getting into science now, but still data analysis because we'll graph it). But then I would love to add other elements to the car to weigh it down more and see what it does to each individual car. I think the algebra factor would come in by investigating how the different weights change the variable of travel (see expectations grades 3 - 5 in the algebra standard). But then, once I'm certain everyone has the concept of the relationship between weight and distance travelled we could move onto using only the graphs (maybe graphing calculators..?) to determine how far a car should travel with any given weight...
2) Science: I think this activity falls under the physical science content standard. When you look specifically at this standard for the k - 4 grade band, students should understand position and motion of objects; more specifically: "The position of an object can be described by locating it relative to another object or the background.
An object's motion can be described by tracing and measuring its position over time.
The position and motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The size of the change is related to the strength of the push or pull."
I definitely see how this activity could bring out these science concepts for grades 3 & 4. Beginning with giving students only a penny, a cup and a 3x5 card. Giving them the challenge and allowing group work - but first with discussion about what they think will happen if they pull the card slow, fast. Then try it out. Write down what happened and again discuss this and why they think this. Then, ask them what they think would happen if we changed the object to a wood block, or a wood stick. But first, I would have each group write down their observations about the objects - color, weight, size, etc. Then when we were done we could compare the observations of the objects.
This could then lead to a better understanding of what would happen with the jet toy activity.
I felt the jet toy car was great. I would definetly use it with 4th graders as well as 3rd graders. The concepts that are introduced and can be brought up cover standards for both grades in science and math. However, the depth of the lesson or conversations may vary between the two grades.
I like the idea of having 3rd and 4th graders graphing, and like some people said already, it would be good to have students do conversions of their distances as well. By doing this, students can begin to understand the importanceof being able to communicate their findings and make the connection with the science field. Also, by having the students add weight to their car and graph the distaces, the students can begin to see how various changes can affect their car, which leads into some force and motion questions.
I think these cars do a great job of showing students a fun way of introducing Newton's laws of motion. However, some key components or skills I would want my students knowing or having prior to getting involved with the jet toy would be Newton's 1st law as well as being able to make observations and have a good understanding of observable properties. These are part of the content standard for physical science in the K-4 range. After students know these components and are capable of making observations, they can begin to tackle friction and other factors that play a part on their car. My only biff with this car would be that the force is not the same for every run depending on how much the students blow up the ballon and the pressure from the elasticity of the balloon. Therefore, when I felt students were ready to tackle the fact that to do an accurate measurement of several runs to see the distance with various weights in the car, I would have the students try and develop a consistant force.
I thought the jet car activity would be very fun for 4th graders. This activity would be a great opportunity to incorporate a math and science lesson. I agree with Therese that students would need to know and understand Newton's Law of Motion (objects stay at rest until there is an opposing force) and basic graphing principals. Also, as the NSES standard states by fourth grade students should know objects in motion can be measured by tracing and measuring its postion over time. Students should also develop the abilities of technological design, understanding about science and tecnology, and abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans.
For this lesson I would have each student make there own jet car instead of working in groups. I felt during the construction of building this car, students could get bored becaue the jet car can be built by one person, so some students would be watching one person put the car together. By giving each student their own car, everyone would be engaged in the activity. Once the cars were built I would have everyone do a couple test runs with their cars. Next, the class would race the cars by using yard sticks, tape measures, and stop watches to measure the distance each car traveled and how fast. I also agree with Janna adding in weight factors and having a discussion on how weight affects the cars. I also like Nicholes idea before the cars are even raced, have the students predict what they think is going to happen.
The jet toys would be a great project for this age group. They're fun to make and play with, but also bring great learning opportunities for math and science. As a math activity, I also think it would be a good idea to let each student make thier own car if resources were available. As others have mentioned, data analysis and measurement fit well. Students could take measurements with their own cars and then graph time a distance as a group. Different groups could different factors to their cars, and then compare graphs with the rest of the class. Using graphing calculators was another great idea.
As for science, learning with the jet toys fits into the motion and forces category of the NSES physical science standards. During the fifth through eight grade years, students should gain and understanding Newton's law of motion. I think this lesson would help in laying the ground work for this to be accomplished. As a science lesson, I would have students add different elements to the car to see how it would effect the movement of the car. This would give students good ideas about positions and motions of objects as described in the physical science standards for grades K-4.
I think this would be a great activity for third or fourth graders! Building the car will result in many opportunities to discuss math. For example the students will use measuring when cutting the straws. The children could even be asked to predict how far their cars will travel which will bring up the discussion will it travel inches or feet.
The force and motion concepts I would like my students to understand before working with the Jet Toy are: (1)The position of objects can be described by where it is compared to another object. (2) An objects motion can be described by tracing and measuring it over time. (3) The position and motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The size of the change is related to the strength of the push or pull. (NSES) But I would also like the students to understand that “objects have many observable properties.” (properties of objects and materials concept.) I decided these were the fundamental concepts to be understood before experimenting with the Jet Toy because these were the concepts related to this experiment in k-4 of the NSES content standards for Physical Science.
I think the learning episodes explored in science methods would greatly help children of this age understand how objects move. It would especially help them develop the concept that the position and motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. I would simplify the activity by giving them three to four objects of different sizes and weights. This should lead the children to understand that the size of the object is related to the amount of force needed to push or pull that object.
I agree with Mara. This would be a great lesson for 3rd and 4th graders. They are fun to make, but they can also bring in the elements of inquiry. Based on my own questions, students might want to know what would happen if the wheels were moved, if more wheels were added, if the car weighed more, or what would happen if the car was longer or shorter. Once the students had made their changes, tested their new cars, and collecting data (distance, time, weight, and other information they decided to collect) based on their changes, they could graph their data and analyze it.
Mara's three concepts cover the ideas that I established for what my students should be learning without overwhelming them.
Some children learn by hearing, some by reading, but most children will expand their knowledge by doing and exploring the concept. Students can read about motion, talk about motion, but actually manipulating helps students answer their questions.
I see the same issue that Jaime saw with punching the whole. My partner and I used tape to reinforce the whole, but it was hard to punch.
I think that the Jet Toy activity would be great to use in a 3rd or 4th grade classroom. I would have my students build and test the cars much like we did in class on Thursday to get a feel for how the car works. This could be done as a precursor to explaining Newton's Laws of Motion. After testing the cars, students could discuss in groups how exactly the cars work. After sharing these ideas with one another, then the actual introduction of Newtons Laws could be discussed. A couple of other people actually brought up allowing students to design their own cars. This is something I would use with the students after explaining and discussing the Laws of Motion, and factors that influence force and motion such as friction, and mass. Then the student designed cars could be raced. They could graph the distances that the cars traveled and as a conclusion talk about what designs worked better than others.
As far as Math Content standards, I think the ones covered by this activity are Measurement and Data Analysis and Probability. If the students were to build their own cars, and I guess even in just building the original car, Geometry also has to be considered.
This activity falls under the Physical Science standards, as many other people have already pointed out. Through the construction, demonstrations and discussions of this activity, students will be able to better understand the properties of objects and materials, and the position and motion of objects.
Besides the fact that this activity satisfies both Math and Science Standards, it is just a fun activity to do!
I would use this lesson in a fourth grade classroom. Using the jet toys as the manipulative I would introduce graphing. Using an x and y graph it would be very useful to explain to students how to measure distances. I would have students pump up the balloon at various sizes and see how it affects the distance of the car. Students would measure the various differences and as a class it would be important to talk about why the cars went the distances they did. To do this lesson you would need more then one class period. I would have the students make the cars in one class period, then have them measure and record the cars in the following period.
To meet the standards of introducing Newton’s laws in the fourth grade students should understand that objects in motion stay in motion until something pushes or pulls on it. Using the jet toys I could talk with my students about why the cars moved and why they stopped.
P.S bring a hole puncher
I think that this activity is a great project for any 3rd or 4th grade classroom. It is appropriate, educational, and fun! Depending on time and supplies available in the classroom, this activity could vary greatly in depth. The supplies we used in our class were very basic, and would surely work for a any budget. I think that the task at hand was simple yet challenging enough for a 3rd or 4th grade class. By this age they should be able to measure and cut. I suggest using a marker to mark the straw for cutting. Also to have students pre-rip the tape and stick it off the end of their desks. Also maybe pre-punching the holes for the students. If all holes were small, the students would not have trouble simply using their pencils, but when it comes to the bigger holes, even we in class were ripping and ruining our cars.
In my class the students would understand Newton’s Laws of Motion. The students would come to understand the concept that objects tend to stay at rest until a force forces that object to move. The 4th grade standards according to NSES, state that students understand that an object's motion can be described by tracing and measuring its position over time. This will be documented by the experimentation with the car and the graphing that my students would do. The students will use prior skills learned such as measuring with a ruler, marking, cutting, and taping. New skills introduced will be multiple styles of graphing data, timing and experimenting. I will have my students experiment with the placing of their tires, different size exhaust pipes, and the transfer of weight in the front or back of their car. These new skills introduced will support another NSES standard that states that students should understand that objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. When each student felt they perfected their cars, they would have the chance to challenge other racers. The class would have the chance to observe the race and decide why each winning car won. I would also give the students time to color and decorate their cars to their liking.
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