Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity and exploration you just completed.
These online books are free for educators registered on Epic!:
Pushing and Pulling by Natalie Hyde helps us discover just exactly which force causes pushes and pulls. (Ages 6-8)
Changing Direction by Natalie Hyde explains why things change direction and how that helps us in everyday life. (Ages 6-8)
Avalanches can be very dangerous, but sometimes it is necessary to create controlled avalanches to protect towns and people. Here are several videos demonstrating different ways people create avalanches:
Create an Avalanche: Instructions to make a simple and safe avalanche from the US Forest Service.
Force Experiments: Simple and fun projects from We Are Teachers, teaching all about pushes and pulls.
Grade K
Forces, Machines, & Engineering
Direction of Motion & Engineering
K-PS2-2, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3
In this lesson, students investigate how pushes can change the speed and direction of falling objects. In the activity, Boulder Bounce, students play a game where they design a solution that protects a model town called Tiny Town from a bouncing-ball “boulder.”
Preview activityTiny Town Houses printout | Print 15 copies |
Hardcover Books
Each pair of students needs a stack that’s about 3 inches high.
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Details
30 books
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Corrugated Cardboard
Each pair needs four pieces measuring 8½ x 11 (or you can use a clipboard and 2 pieces of corrugated cardboard).
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Details
60 pieces
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Dixie Cups (3 oz)
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30 cups |
Large Binder Clips (2")
If you are using clipboards and 2 pieces of cardboard, you do not need this supply.
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Details
15 clips
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Masking Tape
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15 feet |
Push Pins
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75 pins |
Ping Pong Balls
Bouncy balls also work.
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Details
15 balls
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We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own.
We suggest one game station for every pair of students, but you can set up as many stations as you think might be practical for your classroom.
Make a “cardboard hill” by stacking 4 pieces of cardboard and clipping them together using a large binder clip. (If you are using a clipboard, stack two pieces of cardboard and insert under the clip of the clipboard.)
Make a 3-inch stack of books on a desk or table. Make a hill by setting the clipped end of your cardboard on the edge of the books.
Tape the bottom of the cardboard to the table with masking tape to keep the assembly from slipping.
Tape one cup to the top right corner of the cardboard. Be sure the lip of the cup sits ON TOP of the cardboard’s edge, and not below it.
Tape the other cup to the bottom left corner of the cardboard, so that it hangs off the edge of the clipboard and onto the table. Be sure the lip of the cup sits BELOW the edge of the cardboard, and not on top of it.
Cut out the Tiny Town houses, fold, and place them next to the cup at the bottom of the ramp. Stick the pushpins into the top left corner of the assembly, and the game station is ready to go.
Grade K
Forces, Machines, & Engineering
Direction of Motion & Engineering
K-PS2-2, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3
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