Changes to Push, Pull, Go

Transcription

1 Changes to Push, Pull, Go Since publication of the Push, Pull, Go Teacher s Guide, corrections have been made to the information in the unit s printed materials. Please replace the corresponding pages in your text with the revised pages provided. This errata set includes the following: Lesson 1, Background Information, pages 2 3 Lesson 1, Student Activity Sheet 1A: Sort and Count Lesson 3, Background Information, page 28 Photocopy and distribute these new instruction pages as needed. If you have questions about these changes or about the module in general, call Carolina s product information staff at (8 a.m. 5 p.m. ET, M F), or stc@carolina.com. 1105

2 Part E 1. Add 20 Unifix cubes (10 red, 10 blue) to each bucket. 2. Make one copy of Student Activity Sheet 1C: Far? for each student. 3. Make one copy of the Learning Cycle Letter for each student. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Push, Pull, Go The intention of this unit is for students to explore force and motion. Specific vocabulary is included in the background for the teacher, and science-specific vocabulary appropriate for the kindergarten classroom is listed in the vocabulary section of each lesson. ever, students are not expected to remember and use each of the specific vocabulary words but to begin building an understanding of the concepts explored. Teachers can build on the intuitive notions of students without requiring them to memorize technical definitions (National Science Education Standards, Content Standards: K 4). Force A force is any push or pull. Students push a ball and the ball moves; the harder the push, the greater the move. The ball travels in a straight line unless another force causes it to stop or change direction. With ample time to explore, students collect evidence to build the concept that the ball always rolls in a straight line until another force stops the ball or changes its direction. Systems The ramp and the rolling ball are part of a system. A system is a group of related parts that work together. A force (a push) sets the ball in motion. The student s hand pushing the ball is a force that acts on this system. Friction and gravity are also forces acting on this system. Friction Friction is the force of two objects rubbing together. There are lots of things rubbing together in this system (e.g., the ball is rubbing against the floor and the floor is rubbing against the ball, the ball is rubbing against the air and the air is rubbing against the ball). Friction is the main force stopping the ball, but gravity plays a part too. Gravity Gravity is the invisible force that pulls on objects on or near the earth s surface. Gravity pulls objects toward the earth s surface (the ground) unless something else gets in the way. For example, when a force (a push) starts the ball rolling down the ramp, gravity will pull the ball to the ground (the floor) every single time unless something else stops it (e.g., a student reaches out and stops the ball before it hits the ground). At this grade level, students have an intuitive sense of gravity and how it affects the motion of objects. 2 PUSH, PULL, GO

3 Background Information, continued Newton s Laws of Motion Sir Isaac Newton developed three laws explaining the predictable way that things move. These laws are explained below only to help teachers more thoroughly understand the concepts of force and motion. Student emphasis is on exploring, observing, and using a rich vocabulary to describe how objects move and the pushes and pulls (the forces) that move them. The First Law of Motion (Inertia): An object that is moving keeps moving in a straight line until a force (a push or a pull) stops it or changes its direction. An object that is not moving won t move at all until a push or pull (a force) starts it moving. The Second Law of Motion: The greater the push or pull (force) on an object, the greater the change in motion. An object with more mass (the amount of stuff in it) takes a greater force (push or pull) to stop it or change its direction than an object of the same size with less mass traveling at the same speed. For example, think about a bowling ball and a basketball. It takes a greater push to start a resting bowling ball moving than to start a resting basketball in motion. It also takes more force to stop or change the direction of a moving bowling ball than a moving basketball. Which has more mass, a basketball or a bowling ball? Which has more stuff in it? The bowling ball has a greater mass than the basketball. The Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an opposite but equal reaction. Think of this example: Two kids, about the same size, are seated on scooter boards facing each other with palms together. One child gently pushes the other child away. As a result of one child s push, both kids move away from each other. And, they move away about the same distance. The action: a gentle force, a push; the reaction: the push pushes back and both kids move in opposite directions. LESSON NOTES LESSON 1 PUSH, PULL, ROLL 3

4 Student Activity Sheet 1A: Sort and Count This bucket belongs to 1. Sort 2. Count 3. Match and Yellow 5 White 7 Red 2 Blue 5 Red 1 Orange 7 Blue 2 Purple 2 Green Carolina Biological Supply Company Lesson 1 Push, Pull, Roll

5 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Dominos in Motion One push sets a row of dominos falling down one after another in a predictable pattern. The parts of this system are the eight dominos, gravity, inertia, and a student s push. A young scientist pushes the first domino in the line. The energy in the push is transferred from one domino to the next. The push has more force than the tendency for the domino to stay upright (inertia), and gravity takes over to pull the domino toward the ground. Building an Understanding of Systems Can parts of this system be removed? We can t remove the forces (friction and gravity) acting on the system, but we can remove dominos. The system works with fewer pieces as long as the pieces are set up so each will touch the next one in line as a push sets all the pieces (dominos) in motion. If students set up eight dominos so that the system works, then remove dominos to make big spaces in the line, this changes the system. With big gaps between the dominos, one push cannot set the entire line in motion. Likewise, a set of eight dominos that are not carefully aligned cannot be set in motion with a single push. The eight-domino sets provide countless opportunities for students to collect evidence about how missing or improperly working pieces affect a system. 28 PUSH, PULL, GO