UNIT INTRODUCTION
What’s the Big Challenge?
Design and build a vehicle that
will go straight, far, and fast, and
carry a load.
! 3 class periods
A class period is
considered to be one
40 to 50 minute class.
Overview
Students consider the different components of the Big Challenge, as well
as the nature and causes of motion. After sharing their ideas about motion
and its causes, they mess about with toy cars to determine what will make
them move if they are at rest, what seems to keep them moving if they
are already in motion, and what seems to slow them down or make them
stop. From their observations, students develop an initial conception of the
nature of motion and its relationship with force. Students identify the criteria
and constraints of the design challenge and then set up a Project Board on
which they will create a summary of what they know, what they need to
investigate, what they are learning about vehicle design, motion and forces
along with supporting evidence, and how what they are learning can help
them address the Big Challenge.
Targeted Concepts, Skills,
and Nature of Science
Performance Expectations
Scientists often collaborate and share their findings.
Sharing findings makes new information available and
helps scientists refine their ideas and build on others’
ideas. When another person’s or group’s idea is
used, credit needs to be given.
Students share their ideas with their
groups and their groups’ ideas with the
class as they consider what they know
about what causes motion.
Students share their questions with
their groups and their groups’ questions
with the class as they consider what
they think they need to learn and what
they need to investigate as they create
the class Project Board.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Targeted Concepts, Skills,
and Nature of Science
Performance Expectations
Scientists must keep clear, accurate, and descriptive
records of what they do so they can share their work
with others, consider what they did, why they did it,
and what they want to do next.
Students compare and contrast their
answers to the same set of questions
before and after messing about with
toy cars, considering how and why their
answers may have changed. They keep
detailed records of their observations
and ideas about vehicle design and
motion on their Messing About
Observations: Toy Car pages.
Students participate in a class
discussion as they create their
Project Board, which is an organizing
record of their ideas and what they are
learning.
Criteria and constraints are important in determining
effective scientific procedures and in answering
scientific questions.
Students create a list of the criteria and
constraints of the challenge.
Scientific questions are directed toward objects and
events that can be described, explained, or predicted
by scientific investigations.
Students should formulate questions
that can be answered through scientific
investigations as they create the
Project Board.
Materials
4 per group
Toy cars
1 per group
Ramp assembly (ramp and support)
several per group
1 per student
1 per class
Project-Based Inquiry Science
Surfaces
Vehicle mechanisms
Messing About Observations: Toy Car page
Project Board page
Class Project Board
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Unit Introduction
Activity Setup and Preparation
One set of toy cars should be disassembled to display so students can
examine the vehicle mechanisms. Decide how groups will be given an
opportunity to examine disassembled vehicles and their mechanisms. You
may want to set up a station at which they are displayed and have groups
come to the station to make observations.
Homework Options
Reflection
s Science Concepts: Choose one of the toy-car mechanisms you
examined. How did the mechanism cause the car to move?
(Students should name the wheels as the main mechanism that
allowed the car to move.)
Preparation for 1.1
s Science Concepts: Imagine you were in the bedroom of one of
your friends. Picture where your friend’s bed, dresser, desk, or
other objects are in the room. Imagine there is a ball on the desk.
If you went to the bathroom, came back, and the ball was now
next to the bed, which objects in the room have moved? How can
you tell that the objects have moved? (Students should answer that
the ball has moved. They know this because its position relative to its
surroundings has changed. )
LOOKING AHEAD
This activity begins with
a Messing About activity
and ends with setting up
the Project Board. If this
is the first time the class
has engaged in a Messing
About and/or created a
Project Board you should
spend time thinking about
how you are going to
introduce these activities.
NOTES
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
NOTES
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UNIT INTRODUCTION IMPLEMENTATION
! 3 class periods*
What's the
Big Challenge?
Design and
build a vehicle
that will go
straight, far,
and fast, and
carry a load.
5 min
Students are
introduced to the
Big Challenge.
Engage
Use the photographs in the student text to focus students’ attention on
the relationship between vehicle design and function and to introduce the
Big Challenge. Ask students to create a list of vehicles other than cars. Ask
students to describe ways in which the form of each vehicle’s design is
related to its desired function.
*A class period is
considered to be one
40 to 50 minute class.
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TEACHER TALK
You have just read about different types of vehicles. What are some
“other
types of vehicles? How does the design of these other vehicles
differ from that of a car? How is the design of a vehicle related to its
function?
”
Project-Based Inquiry Science
18
Unit Introduction
Think About the
Big Challenge
10 min
Students discuss their
ideas about motion and
the causes of motion.
Guide
Lead a brief discussion of the different components of the challenge. Ask
students to identify the functions of the vehicle they are being asked to
design will have to carry out. Ask students to think about ways in which
achieving one of the desired functions might make it more difficult to
achieve one of the other functions. Generate a list of possible trade-offs
the class may have to address.
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Get Started
10 min
Students consider a
series of questions about
the nature and causes
of motion.
META NOTES
Having students share
what they think they know
elicits prior knowledge. It is
critical to access students’
understanding before
teaching for two reasons:
first, it enables the teacher
to assess where students
are in their understanding
of motion and forces;
second, it provides a basis
of comparison for students
to use when identifying
what they have learned.
Project-Based Inquiry Science
Get Going
Have students read the directions and record their answers to the questions.
Encourage students to use familiar examples to illustrate their ideas. Record
students’ ideas so they can later be used in the Project Board.
NOTES
20
Unit Introduction
Communicate:
Share Your
Ideas
15 min
Students share what
they know and what
they think they know
about motion.
Guide
Point out why it is important for each group to share their information with
the class.
Review the basic etiquette of group interaction. Emphasize the importance
of not interrupting while other students are sharing and of respectfully
interacting during group discussions. Encourage students to ask nonjudgmental questions when they think something important has been left
out or if they do not understand something.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
META NOTES
This is an opportune place
to conclude the first class
period.
Lead a class discussion using the following questions to guide and structure
conversation:
s What is motion? What causes motion?
s What causes cars, bikes, skateboards, and wheelchairs to move if
they are at rest?
s What causes an object’s motion to change (to turn, speed up, or
slow down)?
s What causes an object in motion to stop moving?
s How can motion be measured?
NOTES
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22
Unit Introduction
Messing About
With Toy Cars
5 min
Students test, probe,
and experiment with
toy cars.
Engage
Display a set of the toy cars and let students know each group will receive a
set of these cars to examine. Tell students that each car works in a different
way and show them the disassembled sample of each car so that they
can examine its internal structure and mechanisms. Show them where the
disassembled cars are available for examination.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Guide
Emphasize to students that the purpose of the activity is to test, probe, and
experiment with the cars to figure out how they work and to describe their
motion. Distribute the Messing About Observations: Toy Cars pages and
clarify the type of information to be recorded in each of the columns.
Be a Design
Engineer:
Messing About
Engage
Discuss with the class how Messing About is a playful exploratory activity
where students are allowed to test, probe, and experiment with devices like
those they will be designing. It allows them to see what factors affect how
well they work. The goals of Messing About activities are to get students
intellectually engaged with the challenge they will be addressing and
prompting them to ask the kinds of questions whose answers will help them
understand science content better.
NOTES
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Unit Introduction
Procedure
20 min
Students examine
several different types
of toy cars and record
observations about their
structure, performance,
and mechanisms.
Guide
Have students read through the procedure before distributing materials.
Guide them to understand the distinctions between structure, performance,
and mechanisms.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Get Going
Distribute a set of toy cars to each group. Emphasize to the class that
every person in the group must have an opportunity to examine each car.
Facilitate the rotation of the cars from person to person within the group.
Remind students to record their sketches, observations of each category and
their answers to the questions in Step 4 on the Messing About Observations:
Toy Car pages.
As students are messing about with the cars, circulate among the groups
and encourage students to try to work out exactly how the car’s mechanism
causes the wheels to turn. Guide them to think about how the turning of
the wheels causes the car to go from being at rest to being in motion? If the
car is turned upside-down while the wheels are turning, will it still go from
being at rest to being in motion? Although the concept of force has not yet
been introduced, encourage students to think in terms of pushes and pulls.
Suggest that students compare the motion of the different cars. Which
travels fastest? farthest? straightest? Ask them to think about how such
comparisons can be judged. Guide students to recognize the importance of
measurements as a type of observation that helps clarify comparisons.
Guide and Assess
Remind students to fully describe their observations and to label sketches
and diagrams using the bulleted questions in the text to guide their make
connections between the structures and mechanisms of their toy cars and
their performance.
Assess the quality of the observations and sketches recorded by students on
their Messing About Observations: Toy Car pages.
NOTES
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Unit Introduction
META NOTES
This is an opportune time
to conclude the second
class period.
Assess students’ responses to the questions in Step 4 by listening for the
following information in their responses:
s Each mechanism exerts a force on the car in some way.
s Friction of some kind makes the car slow down or stop.
s The position and alignment of the car’s axles makes it go straight
or makes it turn.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Communicate:
Share Your
Ideas
10 min
Students share their
observations and
answers to the questions
with the class. They
categorize the cars and
identify the shared
characteristics in each
category.
Guide
Lead a class discussion of each of the toy cars. Have students share their
observations of the structure, performance, and mechanisms of each car
and encourage them to listen and respond to the remarks of their peers in a
positive and respectful way.
Have students categorize the toy cars. Point out that for every category
into which they classify the cars, they will have to describe how the cars
in that category are similar to one another and different from cars in other
categories.
NOTES
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Unit Introduction
Reflect
10 min
Students consider what
new knowledge they
have from messing
about.
Guide
Have students read the Reflect questions and record their answers. Then let
them consider how their answers have changed since they answered these
same questions at the beginning of the section. Lead a class discussion of
students’ answers and thoughts of how they have changed.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Help students develop an understanding of the importance of keeping
accurate records by asking students to describe any difficulties they had
in completing their Messing About Observations: Toy Car pages and to
consider how confident they are in the accuracy of what they recorded.
Identify Criteria
and Constraints
10 min
Guide
Have the class read about the differences between criteria and constraints.
Discuss how each car’s mechanisms eventually stopped working. Point out
that this is a constraint. Introduce criteria by discussing how the distances
the different toy cars traveled compared, and going far is one criterion.
Have the class identify and record the criteria and constraints of the
Big Challenge. Point out to the class how the table in the student text can
help them differentiate the criteria and constraints for the car they are to
design.
Ask the class what ideas they have about how to judge whether the car they
design has traveled far.
NOTES
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Unit Introduction
Create a
Project Board
20 min
Students create a
Project Board and start
to record their ideas.
Guide
Lead a class discussion to develop smaller questions that could guide
investigations that will help achieve the Big Challenge. Guide the
discussion in such a way that students identify the different components
of the Big Challenge and questions about motion and forces that lie at the
heart of the Learning Sets.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
s How can you make a vehicle go straight, far and fast? How do
you judge whether a vehicle is going straight, far, and fast?
s How does a propulsion system cause a vehicle to move? What is
the relationship between force and motion?
s What happens when you add a load to a vehicle? How does mass
affect both force and motion?
NOTES
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32
Unit Introduction
Get Going
Tell the class that now that they have thought about the Big Challenge, and
have identified some of the smaller questions that need to be investigated
in order to answer it, they are going to need a way to keep track of their
progress.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Introduce the Project Board using the student text. Go over the five
headings used and describe how the Project Board will be their ongoing
record of their inquiry, showing what they are asking and what they are
learning, the supporting evidence, and how it all contributes to answering
the Big Challenge. Begin to add students’ ideas to the first two columns.
Guide
Help students understand why it is important to articulate what they think
they know before getting started. They should understand that by specifying
what they think they know will help them to recognize what they are
learning later on.
Discuss ideas they are confused about and ideas they think they should
investigate in order to assist them in achieving the Big Challenge. This
should transition students to the next activity where students build a simple
coaster car.
NOTES
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Unit Introduction
Assessment Options
Targeted Concepts,
Skills, and Nature
of Science
Scientists often
collaborate and share
their findings. Sharing
findings makes new
information available
and helps scientists
refine their ideas
and build on others’
ideas. When another
person’s or group’s
idea is used, credit
needs to be given.
How do I know if students got it?
ASK: Which ideas presented by other
groups did you find most helpful when trying
to figure out how each car’s mechanism
caused the car to move?
LISTEN: Students should cite ideas that
were shared during the class discussion,
describe how the idea was helpful, and refer
to the need to give credit to the source.
ASK: How did working in a group while
messing about and sharing observations
afterward affect your understanding of how
the cars work?
LISTEN: Students should cite observations
made by others that they did not notice
while messing about and describe
how those observations added to their
understanding.
Scientists must keep
clear, accurate, and
descriptive records
of what they do so
they can share their
work with others and
consider what they
did, why they did it,
and what they want
to do next.
ASK: How is the Project Board helpful to
achieving the Big Challenge?
Criteria and
constraints are
important in
determining effective
scientific procedures
and in answering
scientific questions.
ASK: Why is it important to identify criteria
and constraints before beginning work on a
design challenge?
LISTEN: Students should cite examples of
how the Project Board serves as a vehicle
for sharing ideas, keeping track of what
they have learned, and seeing what they are
doing in a larger context.
LISTEN: Students should understand
that the criteria are the design goals and
constraints are barriers to achieving those
goals.
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VEHICLES IN MOTION
Targeted Concepts,
Skills, and Nature
of Science
Scientific questions
are directed
toward objects
and events that
can be described,
explained, or
predicted by scientific
investigations.
How do I know if students got it?
ASK: What types of questions are good to
investigate for the Big Challenge?
LISTEN: Students should be able to
articulate how a question to be investigated
will provide data that can be used to make
design decisions that will help them meet
design criteria.
Teacher Reflection Questions
s What naïve conceptions about forces and motion came up in
class discussions? Where during the Unit would you challenge
some of these conceptions?
s How could you tell if students were motivated by the challenge?
What ideas do you have for fostering their motivation and
providing opportunities for them to apply their ideas?
s The goals of messing about are to get students intellectually
engaged with the challenge they will be addressing and at the
same time prompt them to ask the kinds of questions whose
answers will help them understand science content better. How
did the Messing About With Toy Cars activity accomplish these
goals?
s In his writings concerning messing about, the science educator
David Hawkins states, “In some jargon, this kind of situation is
called "unstructured," which is misleading; some doubters call
it chaotic, which it need never be” (1974). In what ways did
this activity allow free and unguided exploratory work without
becoming chaotic?
Project-Based Inquiry Science
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