Forces and Motion

This book is in the Science Detective Investigates Series

Forces and Motion

Written by Katie Dicker

Published by Windmill Books, 2011

Nonfiction, Science, Physics, Relatable to reader's daily lives, interactive  

Summary:   

Tackles the topics of the science curriculum with accessible self-contained spreads. Each book contains questions experiment panels and fact boxes. An extensive project spread builds on the information in the book with a practical experiment. Children are encouraged to experience science in action and learn from their own results and conclusions. - Amazon.com

Reading Level: Lexile Unavailable, but Dewey 530, Grade 5.9

Suggested Delivery: Independent research, text book supplement

Description: Nonfiction, Science

Key Vocabulary: forces, gravity, friction, resistance, pulley, inertia

Teaching Suggestions:

1. There are several scientific "investigation" questions throughout the book that focus around students' literal and inferential comprehension. The teacher should have students discuss these questions as an entire class.
2. There is a "final project" in this book involving all concepts from the book, such as friction, inertia, and levers. Students should be encouraged to work on this project. Perhaps students could be split in half and there could be a competition for the finest project!
3. Science is hard for some students, who may have trouble relating science to daily life. While this book focuses around real world instances, it would still help students to pause while reading and have students provide their own examples.

Comprehension Strategies

Pre-Reading- Before reading, students should be given time to do a picture walk of the book. Discussion time should be set aside to discuss the many text features that are prominent in this book, such as the table of contents, index, timeline, and the places where key vocabulary words are highlighted. This way, students will be prepared to read the text as smart readers.

During Reading- While reading, students should keep a graphic organizer to help them keep track of the content. I found this graphic organizer on Pinterest, which leaves room for students to list three facts, two questions they have, and one thing they found interesting. If collected, teachers could even use this organizer as an informal assessment. 

Post-Reading- There is a saying that the best way to learn something is to teach it to others. Students should be assigned into groups to cover various concepts from the book, such as "inertia" "force" and "friction." In groups, students will present the different concepts in a way that their classmates can understand. With the teacher's help, they should also be able to perform an activity that shows their concept, such as rubbing feet against the carpet and then feeling for heat for friction.

Writing Activity: This book contains several inferential and literal comprehension questions. In fact, there is one on each age of the book. As individuals, students should write a one paragraph response to a question of their choice, using vocabulary words and examples from the text in their response. 

Electronic Resources:

Force in Action

Science for Kids, a New Zealand based website, has so many fun games and interactives that help kids to understand scientific concepts. "Forces in Action" allows students to measure the distance that a truck goes when it contains different weights, ad has parachutes attached. The interactive involves math as well, with students being asked to fill out a table of their experiments, one that eventually shows a pattern in the distance that the truck travels.

Force and Motion Flash Cards
Fifth graders should start to experience secondary teaching methods in order to make their transition easier. This link brings students to flash cards about the vocabulary found in the book that they can use to review for a quiz, or just to practice.

Dicker, K. (2011). Forces and motion. New York, NY: Windmill Books.