Get teaching with these force and motion experiments, activities and videos to use in the elementary classroom. This collection of force and motion activities and resources should help you cover the topics like texture, gravity, incline and simple machines. If you’re looking for helpful ideas and lesson plans – then this is the place to start! Do you need a refresher … 24 Elementary Force and Motion Experiments & Activities Read More »
Check out this collection of ways to explore ramps and inclined planes. Learn about gravity, friction, forces, motion, and other physics concepts. Use them to create science experiments, STEM challenges, or open-ended science investigations.
There are 10 easy and fun interactive activities to help teach your students all about magnets force and motion!
Science experiments for kids can be a real hassle during the school year. Yeah, they're fun, but they're also a big mess. What better reason to do summer science experiments with your kids. Summer is
After noticing children were building ramps for the trucks in the block center, I decided to set up this display in the science center to encourage more
Force Experiments using matchbox cars: PROBLEM: How far will a matchbox car travel when pushed with different amounts of force? PROBLEM: Will the height of a ramp change how far a car travels down a track? PROBLEM: If you give different sized cars the same force, which will travel farthest? Students predict distances, then measure and record observations. Simple observations and conclusion questions on each worksheet. Enjoy! More Great Force Stuff! *Simple Machines Examples Cut and Paste *Simple Machines Mini Book * Force and Motion Stations-inquiry activities for Newton's 1st law/ Inertia * Newtons Laws of Motion interactive NOTES with demonstrations and activities * Newton's Third Law Station Science Inquiry Activities (12 stations) * Newtons Laws of Motion Review Project Poster * Newtons Laws of Motion Review Sheet * The Wild Ride- experience and understand inertia as you travel in a car * Friction & Force Review project-Design a ramp system to slow down a marble * Creating Friction Force Activity/ Experiment- Slow Can Race
Ramps and a Focus on Persistence Here are some activities that have been going on since December during the kids play: Do you see the reaccuring theme in their play? These kids have been obsessed with ramps and creating motion! One child created a catapult out of blocks! So we have decided to inquire about force and motion. I have a feeling this will also take us into some simple machines! As the kids made ramps, the problem solving, teamwork and persistence amazed me. These are qualities I want to instill in these kids to help them in the future. I was so proud of them! The kids have also presented to the class how they built their ramps, problems they ran into (The car wouldn't go through the tunnel, the car kept falling off the ramp, the car wouldn't go as far as they wanted...) and what they did to solve the problems. We have been having discussions about persistence and how important it is to have it! We discussed what would happen if people did not have persistence and just gave up! This group does not give up when things get hard because of their persistence. I want to make sure they know what this quality is that they have, how important it is and how proud I am that they have it as 5 year olds! I think this will be an ongoing theme with anything they do in our room! After observing all of these ramps. we came up with a definition for the term "motion." They realized that motion is movement. We brainstormed different ways things move. They came up with all kinds of motions! Jumping, rolling, running, falling, slamming, pushing, pulling, etc. The next day, I laid out a bucket of items and asked the kids if any of these things can have motion all by themselves? They quickly came to the conclusion that in order to move, things need help! I let them know that the help they were thinking of is called "force." The next day we did a lesson idea that I got from an amazing teacher in our building, Mrs. Atkin. The kids each picked an item and had to provide a force to make it move. Here are some of the kids coming up with ideas on how to create a force to make items move. Swishing a duster, blowing tissue paper, rolling a paper tube, making a frog hop. They also thwacked, threw, squeezed glue, pushed and pulled scissor handles, and so much more! The kids then brainstormed some questions they had about motion: What force makes us move? How do cars move? What force pulls us back down after we jump up? (I threw that one in!) What force makes the wind move? How does rain and snow come down? (Yay! I was hoping they would start asking questions about weather! That is such a fun inquiry!) I can't wait to see where this inquiry takes us and how they apply it to the ramps that they have been creating! Science Fair This week our school had it's annual Science Fair! The kids got to have a taste of it during the day, then brought their families in the evening to enjoy! Here are some photos of a few of the science activities the kids were able to explore during the day (There were so many more set up in the evening that I did not get pictures of!). light and shadows color mixing tornado tubes blubber, feely boxes, life cycles, informational books
Hands-on Force and Motion Exploration This is a fun activity I set up one morning for my kids; it's one that requires little input from you because they will quickly come up with many ways to set it up. What you need: marbles or balls scale train tracks, car tracks, etc. tape measure (optional) I gathered marbles and small balls and we weighed them on a kitchen scale to see which ones had the greatest and least mass. We then set up two heavy marbles of different mass on the wooden train track (you could use car track, or something like clear tubing, or whatever else you think of!). We put the lighter marbles of the same mass on the incline and let them go and watched what happened when the lighter marbles hit the heavier ones. We then lined up a lot of marbles close together and let a heavy marble go and collide with them. Ask your children what they think will happen. They might be surprised to see the transfer of momentum. Weighing the different marbles and balls. Setting up the experiment. We used a tape measure to see how far the different marbles would go. We tried it with lots of marbles! You can set it up any way your child wants to try it. We even tried with a huge wooden ball. This was such a big hit that they asked to do it over and over again! ---------------- This activity was something I did with my children when they were quite young (preschool age), but what a GREAT activity for learning about force and motion in a hands-on way. The physical activity is fun for younger and older kids alike, and you could even ask upper elementary school children to predict how far different marbles will roll based on their mass.
Want to introduce your little learners to physics? These simple physics experiments are fun and easy ways to teach push, pull, and motion!
Force Experiments using matchbox cars: PROBLEM: How far will a matchbox car travel when pushed with different amounts of force? PROBLEM: Will the height of a ramp change how far a car travels down a track? PROBLEM: If you give different sized cars the same force, which will travel farthest? Students predict distances, then measure and record observations. Simple observations and conclusion questions on each worksheet. Enjoy! More Great Force Stuff! *Simple Machines Examples Cut and Paste *Simple Machines Mini Book * Force and Motion Stations-inquiry activities for Newton's 1st law/ Inertia * Newtons Laws of Motion interactive NOTES with demonstrations and activities * Newton's Third Law Station Science Inquiry Activities (12 stations) * Newtons Laws of Motion Review Project Poster * Newtons Laws of Motion Review Sheet * The Wild Ride- experience and understand inertia as you travel in a car * Friction & Force Review project-Design a ramp system to slow down a marble * Creating Friction Force Activity/ Experiment- Slow Can Race
The kids have been working hard to create ramps to make their cars go certain distances. To reinforce what we have been investigating we did some experiments dealing with ramps. I got this lesson from an amazing teacher in our building, Mrs. Atkin! I tied a string to a piece of cardboard. The kids were to try to make a ramp that would make a cylinder stop rolling when it got to the end of the string. It was great watching the kids adjust the ramp based on what happened when the other kids rolled the cylinder down the ramp. They realized right away that the cylinder went way to far if the incline was high! You could see the problem solving going on in their brains by looking at their faces! They were concentrating so hard! They were also verbalizing to their friends things to try! It took two rounds of trying before one of the kids got it to stop at the end of the string! Through this experience, they learned that if a ramp is high, objects will roll faster and further. If a ramp is low, objects will move slower and not as far. But why? I decided to give them another experience about gravity to see if they would make a connection. The kids timed how long it took to for a ball to hit the ground when dropped. We discussed how gravity pulls down very fast! We then timed how long it took a ball to roll down a low incline and a high incline. We discussed how the ball was much slower rolling down a low incline and it rolled down the steep incline much faster! They realized that gravity pulls an object down a steep ramp faster. The lower ramp was almost "blocking" gravity! My favorite part of this experience was their documentation. They really did a great job recording what they noticed! Next, the kids made some marble mazes. They came up with a plan, then put their mazes together. We used puff balls instead of marbles. When they played with them, they noticed that if they had too steep of an incline, the puff ball would just go over all of the straws. They figured out that they could control the speed of the puff balls by the incline they created to move it through the maze slower. They had a lot of fun playing with these. This experience gave them some ideas for the type of projects they want to do to show our learning, which we will start this week! Here is a sneak peak of something I made for one of their ideas! A giant geoboard! It is huge!!!
Little Learners are captivated by science! In this post, we're talking all about the Little Learner Science Curriculum and hopefully answer the questions you may have about it. First things first, the science curriculum has been designed specifically for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten using the NGSS standards, various state standards, as well as current research. Research tells us students learn by doing, feeling, touching, and examining, so that's just what this science curriculum is packed full of! I have included hands-on science activities that are appropriate for little learners.
Our school uses the Next Generation Science Standards. One of the standards includes force and motion and pushes and pu...
Engaging science sorts for assessing understanding of balanced/unbalanced forces, push/pull. PDF format.
This week we are talking about gravity and motion. We started with gravity. We made this anchor chart about gravity, read a book and watched...
Ways to make sure you are connecting Math and STEM un your projects. Tons of tips and applicable resources are featured in this article.
Now that my students understand Newton's 3 Laws of Motion, it's time to experiment! Here are two great experiments for motion: Friction Lab I found this experiment on TpT. Amanda Leiter's FREEBIE experiment asks students to measure how far toy cars travel as they move down ramps made of different materials. We created ramps from carpet, crinkled foil, wax paper, sand paper, and bubble wrap. Before we started the cars, each student predicted which material would have the least friction.The students started each car at the top of the ramps and measured how far the cars traveled from the ramps. Action to Reaction Up next, our Paper Airplane Experiment!
Community Helpers activities and centers for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten. Plus FREE community signs & fire finger painting printable.
Our school uses the Next Generation Science Standards. One of the standards includes force and motion and pushes and pu...
Teach force and motion with style by using experiments free printables and resources that will help bring science concepts alive. This collection of force and motion ideas should help you cover the topics of texture, gravity, incline and some simple machines.
Integrate math and science by constructing ramps! Kids use blocks (or other materials on hand) to construct their ramps. Make sure all ramps are made with the same materials for accurate results. You
Newton's Laws and easy in the same sentence? Maybe not, but trust me I have some resources that will do just that! But first, how do you display your classroom agenda? I have an easel right outside my door that lists what each grade level is doing and recently it said. "It's Newton Week!" The
Want to introduce your little learners to physics? These simple physics experiments are fun and easy ways to teach push, pull, and motion!
This pack includes 4 Deflector Walls for use with our Magnet Wall. The walls are white sturdy plastic squares that can be used to create deflectors, stops, platforms, and more, all to demonstrate STEM concepts of force, motion, friction, trajectory, and gravity. Great for The Indoor Magnet Wall, Outdoor Magnet Wall, and The Mobile Magnet Wall! *Please note, due to the weight of these accessories, a strong magnetic bond to the backing board is required. Standard magnetic whiteboards are not thick enough to achieve this. We highly recommend using these accessories only with our Magnet Walls but are happy to advise on other options. Please contact us should you require more details. Please note: Not intended for permanent use outdoors, not weather or water-resistant Inclusions are listed above, not all items in videos or images are included, and are shown only to illustrate how various packs can fit together to further investigative play
After making the ramp to get all of our food items for those experiencing homelessness down the stairs, the kids started showing an interest in ramps and how things roll. We grabbed onto this interest and set up some ways for them to explore these concepts further! We learned that force is either pushing or pulling. We also learned that nothing can move without some sort of force. But sometimes things moved without us pushing or pulling them, especially on a ramp or if we dropped it. We discovered the force of gravity and enjoyed exploring through art! We created an incline plane so that gravity could pull marbles down through globs of paint! They noticed that sometimes the paint created resistance and slowed the marble down! We let droppers push paint out onto paper and gravity pull the paint down the paper! We created a collaborative art piece by using the forces of push and pull! Here they pushed and pulled the brushes across the canvas. They pushed toy trucks across the canvas in paint and also made the canvas into an inclined plane so that gravity could pull the trucks down. They pushed and pulled cardboard across some paint to create more marks. They also dipped yarn into paint and used forces of push and pull to flick the paint or drag it across the canvas. Here is our collaborative art piece so far! We are taking a little break from it for now, but will definitely add more as the year goes on! My amazing Student Teacher put together this display to show their Force and Motion art! We made some salt dough to show how sculptures are also made using the forces of push and pull. They created plans and then pushed and pulled the dough to create these sculptures! They loved this so much that I brought out the clay. We have some very talented sculptors in our class! As we started learning g about simple machines, we started out with ramps. Here they were challenged to create an inclined plane that would make the ball roll and stop at the end of the rope. Only two were able to do it! I set out materials for them to try and create some Rube Goldberg machines. When creating these, they collaborated, worked as a team, problem solved over and over and over and showed persistence to get them to work! They really showed grit and did not give up, sometimes working multiple days to get them to work! We also explored levers, screws, wedges and pulleys. We also learned about pulleys and how they make lifting loads easier! In fact, we learned that simple machines make all of our work easier! Marble runs were a favorite! This inquiry into force and motion and simple machines let these kids practice and use so many skills that future employers will look for! They came up with creative, innovative ideas, used critical thinking skills, tested them out, dealt with frustration and handled it, collaborated with others, worked together (teamwork), problem solved, and dealt with disappointment appropriately if they couldn’t get it to work. These kids amazed me constantly as they used they skills and I look forward to seeing what else they will do with them!
You'll be moving & grooving with these FUN and engaging Force and Motion activities that are geared for kids in Kindergarten and First Grade!
Newton's iconic laws of motion are at work all around you, whether you're watching an Olympic swimmer push off a pool wall or a batter hit a baseball. So what are they?
Press Here meets Bill Nye the Science Guy in this interactive STEM picture book about forces and motion.Welcome to the physics lab! In this picture book, young scientists use their imagination to bring experiements to life. They poke whipped cream in the illustrations, tilt the book to roll a ball down a ramp, and slide beanbags to test friction. After predicting what will happen next, eager readers turn the page to see the results.Educator and author Lola M. Schaefer draws on her years in the classroom to make science fun and accessible. Back matter encourages kids to notice the pushes and pulls all around them and includes a simple physics experiment.
Create textured ramps for kids to experiment and explore for a fun science and STEM activity; for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten.
Pre-K kids love exploring with ramps! I've posted other science activities here before involving ramps. We've explored ramps in our science center and
Little Learners are captivated by science! In this post, we're talking all about the Little Learner Science Curriculum and hopefully answer the questions you may have about it. First things first, the science curriculum has been designed specifically for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten using the NGSS standards, various state standards, as well as current research. Research tells us students learn by doing, feeling, touching, and examining, so that's just what this science curriculum is packed full of! I have included hands-on science activities that are appropriate for little learners.
Our school uses the Next Generation Science Standards. One of the standards includes force and motion and pushes and pu...
Ramps and a Focus on Persistence Here are some activities that have been going on since December during the kids play: Do you see the reaccuring theme in their play? These kids have been obsessed with ramps and creating motion! One child created a catapult out of blocks! So we have decided to inquire about force and motion. I have a feeling this will also take us into some simple machines! As the kids made ramps, the problem solving, teamwork and persistence amazed me. These are qualities I want to instill in these kids to help them in the future. I was so proud of them! The kids have also presented to the class how they built their ramps, problems they ran into (The car wouldn't go through the tunnel, the car kept falling off the ramp, the car wouldn't go as far as they wanted...) and what they did to solve the problems. We have been having discussions about persistence and how important it is to have it! We discussed what would happen if people did not have persistence and just gave up! This group does not give up when things get hard because of their persistence. I want to make sure they know what this quality is that they have, how important it is and how proud I am that they have it as 5 year olds! I think this will be an ongoing theme with anything they do in our room! After observing all of these ramps. we came up with a definition for the term "motion." They realized that motion is movement. We brainstormed different ways things move. They came up with all kinds of motions! Jumping, rolling, running, falling, slamming, pushing, pulling, etc. The next day, I laid out a bucket of items and asked the kids if any of these things can have motion all by themselves? They quickly came to the conclusion that in order to move, things need help! I let them know that the help they were thinking of is called "force." The next day we did a lesson idea that I got from an amazing teacher in our building, Mrs. Atkin. The kids each picked an item and had to provide a force to make it move. Here are some of the kids coming up with ideas on how to create a force to make items move. Swishing a duster, blowing tissue paper, rolling a paper tube, making a frog hop. They also thwacked, threw, squeezed glue, pushed and pulled scissor handles, and so much more! The kids then brainstormed some questions they had about motion: What force makes us move? How do cars move? What force pulls us back down after we jump up? (I threw that one in!) What force makes the wind move? How does rain and snow come down? (Yay! I was hoping they would start asking questions about weather! That is such a fun inquiry!) I can't wait to see where this inquiry takes us and how they apply it to the ramps that they have been creating! Science Fair This week our school had it's annual Science Fair! The kids got to have a taste of it during the day, then brought their families in the evening to enjoy! Here are some photos of a few of the science activities the kids were able to explore during the day (There were so many more set up in the evening that I did not get pictures of!). light and shadows color mixing tornado tubes blubber, feely boxes, life cycles, informational books
Spice up your force and motion unit with these fun activities! This unit will help you teach about force, motion, gravity, friction, wheels, ramps and magnets in your primary classroom. Here is what's included: Vocabulary Picture Cards Science Journal Inserts Anchor Chart Parts Activities with explanation for: Force- Fabulous Forces Push or Pull Push or Pull Hunt Graphic Organizer Motion What is Motion? Me in Motion Ways Things Move What's All This Motion? Animals in Motion Super Speeds Speed Search Speeding All Around Action Animals Kinds of Motion Nature in Motion Graphic Organizer Wheels- Working with Wheels WOW Wheels Gravity- Groovy Gravity Gravity Gooey Gravity Graphic Organizer Ramps- Rollin' Ramps Ramps My Rockin' Ramp Friction- Friction Fun Graphic Organizer Magnets- Magnetic Attraction Magic Magnets Mighty Magnets Magnetic Mania Magnetic Mayhem Graphic Organizer Assessment 3 Science Readers 4 Sorting Activities Take a look at the preview to see what's all included! If you like this science unit, you may also like some of my other units: What is Science?My Five SensesWhat's the Matter?Full of Energy3-2-1 Blast Off {A Primary Science Unit to Learn About the Solar System} Living & Nonliving Fun! Time to PlantMs. Shope's Class
Make learning about FORCE & MOTION a FUN and hands on in your classroom using this science unit made just for little learners! Use a small table or a small bookshelf to create an engaging science center full of hands on materials for students to explore and investigate using the included printables, vocabulary cards, book, anchor charts, and discovery pages (science journal pages)! Included is a read aloud book for circle time, anchor charts, and a suggested book list. There is even a half page note you can send home to families, so they can continue the learning at home and strengthen the home school connection. Fun for a sports, winter games, summer games, simple machines, or ball study. THIS IS PERFECT IS YOU ARE DOING A BALL STUDY! Bundle and SAVE! Get this product along with ALL of my other little learner science units in the Little Learners Science BUNDLE! What’s included: Labels for Organization Teacher Instruction Strategies Science Center Set Up 12 Force and Motion Vocabulary Cards (2 options: word, photograph or word, definition, photograph) Will It Roll? Sort Investigation, Cards, and worksheet Push or Pull Sort Investigation, Cards, and worksheet Directions Anchor Chart and worksheet Path Maze Challenge and Maze Blueprints Force and Motion at the Playground Read Aloud Force & Motion Journal & Writing Pages (2 covers options, 3 science journal options, and 3 discovery page options) Home School Connection Note Home Check out MORE science units! ► Being a Scientist ► All About My 5 Senses ► All About Apples ► All About Leaves and Trees ► All About Pumpkins ► All About Plants ► All About Butterflies ► All About Insects ► All About My Pet Fish ► All About My Body & Teeth ► All About Rocks ► All About Shells ► All About Trash and Recycling ► All About Space, Sun, and Moon ► All About Ice & Snow ► All About Weather ► All About Colors & Color Mixing ► All About Building ► All About Magnets ► All About Ramps ► All About Force and Motion (a study of balls) Click the green star to follow me to receive 50% off all new products for the first 24 hours a new product is posted! Visit my store Pocket of Preschool Let’s Connect! → Pocket of Preschool Website → Facebook →Facebook Group → Pinterest → Instagram → Newsletter Sign up for my newsletter and you will receive a HUGE family theme writing center filled with word cards, writing paper, write the room, a teacher page with tons of ideas on how to use it the classroom, and real photos of it in action in a classroom for FREE! Pocket of Preschool ® Terms of Use Pocket of Preschool™️. By purchasing and/or downloading this electronic file, you agree to the following terms. For personal use/single classroom use only. No part of this document may be distributed, posted on the internet, placed on a school server or shared drive, copied, edited, or resold. ALL contents of this document are under copyright protection including all content, text, fonts, and graphics, Thank you for respecting my hard word as well as the hard work of the artists whose work helped create this product.
Friction experiments. DIY Friction Ramp using plywood, carpet and gaffer tape. This super simple ramp is a brilliant friction investigation
Explore force and motion with these hands-on engaging activities that are sure to get your students' motor running. While you're here, grab a free activity!
One surprise that happened early in my STEM journey was discovering how much we would depend on the science of STEM. I knew it was important, but I had no idea how much we would need topical challenges and use of the scientific method. Alright, let’s talk about Science! Folks, I started teaching like about,…
Friction experiments. DIY Friction Ramp using plywood, carpet and gaffer tape. This super simple ramp is a brilliant friction investigation
Engage learners in grade 4, 5, 6 or 7 in learning about Newton's laws of motion and force through hands on demonstrations and laboratory activities meant to encompass all learning styles.
