Investigating Force (second–third grade)
Text on screen: Investigating Force (second–third grade).
Logo: Count, play, explore—for early education.
On screen: Throughout the video, Enedina Huff, a STEAM educator, is shown interacting with students in class and reflecting on the activity afterward.
Enedina Huff, STEAM Educator: Students were invited to explore forces. Students moved through three different stations.
On screen: Photos of the signs for each of the three stations are shown. Each sign includes a question and a definition of a keyword. Station 1: How does weight affect an object’s speed. Gravity: A downward force that pulls objects towards the center of the earth. Station 2: How does ramp height affect an object’s speed? Incline plane: A surface of which one side is at a higher level than another. Station 3: How does the surface affect an object’s speed? Friction: A force that slows things down when they slide or rub against each other.
Enedina: I also asked them to document what they noticed and what they wondered.
On screen: Enedina addresses the class. She sets up the activity by showing them a chart paper that is split into two columns: What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Enedina: When you go to your station, I would like you to keep in mind anything that you see. So you would write down, what do you notice? Anything that you're wondering. What questions do you have? Think about real life. How would this apply?
On screen: Enedina reflects after class.
Enedina: One station was exploring weights on a vehicle. How weight would affect an object's speed when traveling down a ramp.
On screen: Two pairs of children are at Station 1. The station has been set up with makeshift ramps and bumpers made of foam pool noodles. The children are rolling their small makeshift vehicles down the ramps and observing how adjusting the weight of the vehicle affects its movement.
After adding small metal weights to their makeshift vehicle, one child attempts rolling it down the ramp. The vehicle immediately rolls into a bumper, so he and his partner revaluate how to distribute the weights.
Child 1: No, don't put it there. You’re going to crash into here.
Child 2: We need one in each one.
On screen: Moments later, one of the students walks to the “notices and wonderings chart” to record his observation. On a sticky note, the student writes: “Why the weight affects the speed.” Moments later, Enedina discusses with another pair of students at Station 1.
Enedina: So, if you were to just take those six, are there different ways that you can place them to see how that affects your movement or your speed?
On screen: The student distributes six washers equally across their vehicle.
Child 3: Like that?
Enedina: Try it.
On screen: The student and her partner work together to position the vehicle at the top of the ramp and watch it roll down.
Enedina: What do you think?
Child 3: I think it goes faster when it's heavier.
On screen: As Enedina continues reflecting, a photo of Station 2 is shown.
Enedina: The next station was exploring how the angle of different ramps affected object speed. And they were invited to explore a variety of objects with different shapes, different textures.
On screen: Station 2 has been set up with makeshift ramps propped up by dictionaries and bumpers made of foam pool noodles. A child rolls a toy car down a ramp propped up by one dictionary. It rolls down the ramp slowly.
Child 4: It goes slower.
On screen: The child increases the ramp’s angle by adding another dictionary under the ramp. Her partner hands her a wiffle ball to roll down the ramp.
Child 5: Can we try this? Did you try this?
Okay, it does work.
On screen: The pair looks for another object to roll down the ramp. They decide to try rolling a marker down the ramp.
Child 4: We should try the marker.
Child 5: It goes straight and then leans that way.
Child 4: So with one it's slower. And with the other one it goes faster.
On screen: One child points at one of the two dictionaries propping up the ramp. A photo shows the sticky note she wrote for the chart, reading: “I notice if you put one book it goes slower but if you put more it goes faster.” As Enedina continues reflecting, a photo of Station 3 is shown.
Enedina: For the third station, students were invited to investigate the effects of different surfaces.
On screen: A group of four students are at Station 3. The station has been set up with ramps and foam pool noodles like the others, but there are multiple ramps with different surfaces to try. They roll a ball down one ramp and observe how fast it goes. Then they switch to a ramp covered in foil and try rolling more balls. One child feels the foil surface with his hand.
Child 6: It’s kind of bumpy.
On screen: Enedina reflects.
Enedina: Afterwards, we discuss their notices, their wonders.
On screen: Enedina addresses the class, calling on students to share. The students are sitting next to the stations.
Enedina: So did everyone have something that they noticed at our stations? Would anyone like to share? Yes, go ahead.
Child 4: If you put one, it goes slower, but if you put more than one, it goes faster.
Enedina: More than one object?
Child 4: No, book.
Enedina: More than one book. So we did change the ramp. So if you have five?
Child 4: It goes faster.
Enedina: Does this remind you of anything in real life at all?
On screen: Enedina holds out her forearm at an angle, and gestures at the angle with her other hand.
Child 4: A slide.
Enedina: A what?
Child 4: Slide.
Enedina: A slide.
On screen: Enedina holds her forearm out flat.
Enedina: If your slide was flat, would you really want to go on that slide?
Children: No.
Enedina: So Station 3, we were experimenting with different surfaces.
On screen: Enedina points to the pile of ramps covered in various surfaces.
Enedina: What did we notice? Aaron, go ahead.
Aaron: The car goes faster on the cardboard.
Enedina: The cardboard is the fastest? Okay. Do you know which one was the slowest? Did you observe the slowest? What was the slowest for you?
Aaron: The bumpy one.
On screen: Enedina goes back to the pile and gets the bumpy ramp. She holds it out for the student to touch.
Enedina: Ooh, I want you to touch it. How would you describe this? I think you had a great adjective.
Aaron: Rough.
Enedina: Rough. Does everyone agree that this slowed us down the most?
Children: Yes.
Enedina: The car in particular? Did you explore with the car? Why do you think that was? Go ahead.
Child 4: Because it has little things sticking out and it's stopping it.
Enedina: Oh, it's stopping it. That force is called friction. So friction, if you take your hands together. Take your hands together.
On screen: Enedina holds her hands up, palms facing out, then puts her palms together. The students mimic her.
Enedina: Now, I want you to just lightly…
On screen: Enedina and the students begin rubbing their hands together.
Enedina: That motion, where two things are rubbing against each other, that's friction.
On screen: As Enedina reflects, two students at Station 2 are shown rolling an object down the ramp.
Enedina: Science is everywhere, math is everywhere and a lot of times they don't necessarily see that. Some of these concepts are abstract. When you talk about a force or they read about a force, it's different from experiencing it.
Child 7: One, two, three, four. Oh, I get it. The more smaller…
Text on screen: A special thanks to the children, families, and staff of Virginia Avenue Elementary, without whose help these videos would not have been possible.
Logo: Count, play, explore—for early education.