newton's laws of motion unit plan

Waynesburg University: Lesson Planning  

Pre-Instructional Planning: The thought process that leads to the development of quality, meaningful lesson

plans 

Who will you be teaching? (Identify student grade level as well as academic functioning level and specific needs of individual students)

This lesson is designed for a 9th/10th grade Physics class.  This may be a general education classroom and/or inclusion classroom. Who (if anybody) will assist with the presentation of this lesson, and what will their role be?

No one will assist with this lesson. The lesson will be presented by the teacher only. What is the long range goal(s) that is tied to this lesson?

The goal is for the students to master an understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion and for students to integrate technology to display their knowledge of Newton’s laws. What is the specific learning objective(s) for this lesson?

The students will: 1) Give examples of each of Newton's three laws as they occur in everyday experiences 2) Understand that forces are always produced in pairs, with opposite directions and equal magnitudes (First Law).3) Learn and apply Newton's 2nd law, F=ma. (Second Law)4) The students will be able to identify opposing forces both in words and with free body diagrams and will be able to explain how Newton’s Third Law applies to a given situation (Third Law).

 What prerequisite skills/knowledge will students need to effectively access and participate in this lesson?

Students will need to know how to use formulas to compute calculations.  Students will need to know how to perform simple calculations such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Students will need to know how to use inverse operations to solve for an unknown. Students will need to know how to use the internet to access credible information. When within the stages of learning will this lesson be presented? (Is it a learning acquisition lesson, learning fluency lesson, learning maintenance lesson, or learning generalization lesson?)

This lesson will be presented to the learner in the acquisition stage of learning. When will this lesson be completed? (Will it be a one-day lesson or a multiple day lesson?)

This unit will take about one month.  This is an entire unit plan. Where should this lesson be presented to ensure maximum student access and participation? (computer lab, classroom, science lab…) AND what materials will be needed?

This lesson should be presented in both the science classroom and the computer lab.  Materials needed will include a class set of headphones and computers, and calculators. Why are you planning to teach this lesson? Why must this information/skill be presented to the students? Newton’s Laws are apart of everyday life. Furthermore, students will need to learn Newton’s Laws because they are building blocks of the physics curriculum.  How does this lesson relate to the PA Academic Standards? 3.2.10. B1.

Analyze the relationships among the net forces acting on a body, and the mass of the body, and the resulting acceleration using Newton’s Second Law of Motion.

Apply Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation to the forces between two objects.

Use Newton’s Third Law to explain forces as interactions between bodies.

 How does this lesson relate to the previous lesson?  How does this lesson relate to future lessons?

Prior to learning Newton’s Laws of Motion students will learn important vocabulary words such as inertia, weight, gravity, force, etc. Newton’s Laws of Motion will be one of the first ideas studied in Physics this school year. After learning Newton’s Laws of Motion, students will study kinematics, which is the study of motion.   How will you determine if students have met the lesson objective? (Think assessment)

Throughout the unit students will demonstrate their knowledge of Newton’s Laws through Photostory, Glogster, Excel, an Open Office Brochure, Prezi, Blogging, and Web

2.0.  In these assessments, students will be demonstrating their knowledge of Newton’s Laws using video, websites, and posters.

Using Photostory students will demonstrate their knowledge of Isaac Newton. Using Glogster students will choose one of the three laws of motion and demonstrate their expertise of that law. The students’ brochure will discuss Newton’s Laws in real life/every day situations. How should this lesson be presented to ensure maximum student access and participation? (lecture, whole group activities, small group activities, cooperative learning groups…)

This unit will be presented through lecture, labs, and independent and small group activities.