Investigating Movement of Tops
Initial Publication Date: August 25, 2009
Summary
Students will raise questions about the way tops move by observing, through exploration/inquiry time, what they are made of, how the shape of each top affects its movement and what surface is best for a top to spin longest. As they explore, they will record their discoveries allowing this to lead to the development of a testable question, with one variable they can then investigate.
CollapseLearning Goals
- The students will observe the motion and interaction of a variety of tops.
- The students begin asking questions and recording data about their observations
- The students will compare the types of tops they are exploring and classify them.
- The students will share their discoveries with the other groups.
- The students will come up with testable questions to use at a later time.
- Significant vocabulary would be motion, speed, inquiry, testable question
- The students begin asking questions and recording data about their observations
- The students will compare the types of tops they are exploring and classify them.
- The students will share their discoveries with the other groups.
- The students will come up with testable questions to use at a later time.
- Significant vocabulary would be motion, speed, inquiry, testable question
Context for Use
This guided inquiry activity can really be used at any grade level in a typical classroom. This lesson will take one class period. The teacher will have to have a big supply of a variety of tops to allow exploration and comparison. The students should be encouraged to explore. A caution for the teacher is to NOT tell them what or how to explore. This activity is adaptable to any situation and will provide some very fun learning to take place.
Description and Teaching Materials
This lesson will excite every 2nd grade scientist as they are encouraged to explore the many different types of tops the teacher has in the room. (Need to have 20 or more different types of tops.) Have the students work in pairs. Choose a work space and send one of them to the "tops" box at a time. They may take 2 tops at a time to observe and explore with and they can exchange them as they wish. Set the students up with their science notebooks open to a clean and dated page to record their observations. Don't tell them how to record or how to explore. Remind them to be kind to the tops so others can use them too! During this time the teacher should walk about and make comments to encourage exploration and recording of observations. After about 30 minutes, put away the tops and bring the group together to share their discoveries on a piece of chart paper. If time, have the students take sentence strips and write testable questions from the discoveries they have made. This lesson can lead to further lessons that perform the investigation.
Teaching Notes and Tips
First, gather a lot of different kinds of tops. Look at the dollar store, and ask for them for gifts!!! Set the scene in the room; they are scientists on the quest for discovery. When they make observations they should record them and be ready to share their discoveries. Remind the students not to do anything to the tops that would break them. Respect property, please! This should be a fun activity. Remember the sharing time at the end and the writing of testable questions will grow their ability to make more discoveries.
Assessment
The assessment will be done during the sharing time. Each group will present their discoveries and the teacher will give immediate feedback. Did they raise questions and seek answers by making careful observations?
Standards
2.1.1.2.1 Scientific inquiry is a set of interrelated processes incorporating multiple approaches that are used to pose questions about the natural world and investigate phenomena.