Open Wide, Look Inside

Move It!: Motion, Forces, and You, written by Adrienne Mason, illustrated by Claudia Davila, is a great introduction to motion and force for students.  The book is filled with concise descriptions of force in the form of pushing, pulling, throwing, kicking, lifting, and stopping.  Force is described in situations that students are familiar with:

“To throw a ball to someone far away, you need to use a lot of force (a big push).  To throw to someone closer, you need less force.  The more force you use to move something, the greater the distance it will move” (p.12).

Move It! also discusses gravity and friction.  This book is very student-friendly as it uses pictures of children engaged in games and playground activities to depict the use of force.  In addition to the descriptions of force, there are fun activities throughout the book, as well as a section of additional information and activities for parents and teachers at the end.

Curriculum Connections
Move It! Motion, Forces, and You is a wonderful resource in the teaching of motion and force.  The book nicely correlates with the Virginia Science Standard of Learning 1.2.  According to this SOL, students are expected to grasp the concept of moving objects exhibiting different kinds of motion.  This includes pushing and pulling and its effect on objects, as well as the observation of motion in toys and playground activities.

Additional Resources

• Football Activity: This is an easy activity to get students talking about force and motion using rubber balls and straws.  The summary section of this link also provides good information for teachers to share with students.
• Washer Lesson Plan: This is a lesson plan dealing with force using scrap paper and metal washers.  There is also a very good homework worksheet at the end of the lesson.
• Push/Pull Worksheets: This link will take you to three easy worksheets dealing with pushing and pulling forces.

Book: Move It!: Motion, Forces, and You
Author: Adrienne Mason
Illustrator: Claudia Davila
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: August 2005
Pages: 32
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN-10: 1553377583

It’s Not Magic, It’s Science! by Hope Buttitta, illustrated by Tom LaBaff and Orrin Lundgren is a great book told from the perspective of a boy named Tim. Tim loves showing off his magic in front of his friends and he begins this book by explaining that magic really is science.

“Since it looks strange to see a magician wearing a lab coat (just look at Lucinda!), most scientists who perform their tricks dress up and act out a fun personality.”

Tim first lists the materials needed for each magic trick followed by detailed steps of what the magician/scientist must do. He then explains the science behind the illusion. “These tricks work because of science, from Newton’s laws of motion and Bernoulli’s principles about fluids to simple electricity, and more. So after you amaze your audience with the magic you can triple wow them with the science.”

It’s Not Magic, It’s Science! is a great book to use to demonstrate various laws of motion, fluids and electricity. Each “trick” is easily explained so that a third or fourth grade student could easily read, understand and perform them.

Curriculum Connections
It’s Not Magic, It’s Science! is an extremely versatile book containing 50 tricks exemplifying numerous scientific concepts such as: laws of motion, fluids, simple electricity, simple machines, pressure, sound waves, and more. (VA SOL 1.2, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2, 5.2) This book will add excitement to science lessons from kindergarten through sixth grade. First and second graders will be amazed by your magic show and excited to learn the secrets behind the trick. Older students will enjoy learning the tricks inside and out and performing them for the class. I suggest having students follow up their performance with an explanation of the science for a well-rounded activity. The glossary found in the back of the book is an added bonus.

Additional Resources

• Physics 4 kids
• Lesson plan teaching force
• Isaac Newton Lesson

Book: It’s Not Magic, It’s Science
Author: Hope Buttitta
Illustrator: Tom LaBaff and Orrin Lundgren
Publisher: Lark Books
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 80
Grade Range: useful for grades 1-6, but 3rd-4th grade reading level
ISBN: 978-1579908836

Forces and Motion  by Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein, and Laura Silverstein Nunn, is a book introducing readers to contact forces, forces at work, simple machines, motion and gravity, etc.

When you are sitting still in a chair, what forces are at work?  What happens if you tilt the chair on its back legs, or if ten people sit on your lap?  How do the forces change?  It is easy to see forces at work in a football game or at a theme park, but forces and motion happen in your daily life all the time without you even realizing it.  Well-known science writers Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn explain different types of forces, how forces and simple machines work, the laws of motion, an dhow the laws act in different substances.  The authors also reveal current research on forces and motion, showing ways that scientists and engineers are using this knowledge to improve almost every part of our modern lives. Here are a few excerpts.

1. Are you ready to kick the game-winning field goal?  the football player asks himself.  He swings his leg back and kicks the ball with tremendous force, sending it flying way up in the air.  The ball twists and turns until finally the referee throws his arms up and yells:  “It’s good!”  Without that hard, forceful kick made my the football player, the ball might now have reached its target.  Forces at work keep the action going in a football game. (pg. 4)

2. Many people do not like working.  But work is more than having a job, doing your chores, or getting your homework done.  In science, work has a very specific meaning.  Work is what happens when a force makes an object move.  Work is done when you sit down, lift weights, dance, or kick a soccer ball. (pg. 30)

Curriculum Connections
Forces and Motion is an attractive and inviting book with full-color photographs and diagrams for children in  third and forth grade. For third grade, this book will allow students to investigate and understand simple machines and their uses (VA SOL 3.2).    For fourth grade, Forces and Motion will allow students to investigate and understand characteristics and interaction of moving objects (VA SOL 4.2).

Additional Sources

1. An Invisible Force is a book student can read and follow the quest to understand the laws of motion and gravity.
2. This website has various activities the students can conduct to understand force, matter, energy, and motion.
3. This lesson plan introduces simple machines and how we see and use them in everyday life.

Book: Forces and Motion
Author: Alvin Silverstein, Virginia Silverstein, and Laura Silverstein Nunn
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 112
Grade Range: 4-8
ISBN: 978-0-8225-7514-6