You look at the Next Generation Science Standards for your 3rd grader and shudder. No! Not force and motion!

How are you supposed to explain something so abstract, and honestly, boring?

Don’t worry, I’ve been there too. I taught a whole unit about force and motion and really struggled to engage my students. I learned these hacks along the way though. I hope they help!

Feel free to use these as a loose lesson plan.

1. Grab attention with an interesting topic. Animals are my favorite attention-grabber since kids love them so much!

   • “How is a monkey able to swing from tree to tree?”

   • “Did you know that foxes know what time of year it is by observing the Earth’s magnetic field?”

   • “Have you ever stood on the beach and wondered how waves are formed?”

     
     

2. Introduce new vocabulary word. Ask kids what they think that word means. Most children will have heard these topics in passing, but likely can’t describe them accurately. That’s okay! You just want to get them thinking and engaging.

   • The main vocab words you need to introduce are force, push, pull, gravity, and friction.

     
     

3. Read definition and display example. Now you get to introduce what the target word means and show a picture example. You can draw one on the board or download this free anchor chart. (See above or below for pictures)

   • Pictures to illustrate (especially colorful animals) help bridge the gap between the abstract and concrete.

     
     

4. Discuss real-life examples. Now that the students have a definition and example, see if they can connect these concepts to the real world. Ask about nature, construction sites, and their house to get them started. You can direct their thoughts into whatever topics interest them the most.

5. Repeat. Go back to step 2 until all the force and motion terms are learned.

6. Next Lesson: Once they’ve learned these terms, the next science lesson should be introduced soon after. I would suggest this one:

A closer look at the FREE Forces and Motion Anchor Chart!

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