4th Grade Friction Force Lesson Plan (Science)

Topic: Friction force

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to understand the concept of friction force and how it helps us in our daily life.

Materials

• Solid block of wood
• Pulley with a heavy weight attached
• String
• Hand towels or cloth

Warm-up

• Show the students a solid block of wood and ask them to push it across a table. Ask them if it is easy or hard to push the block on the table.
• Next, set up a pulley with a heavy weight attached to one end of the string and the other end of the string tied to the block. Ask the students to pull the block along the table using the pulley. Ask them if it is easy or hard to pull the block using the pulley.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of friction and explain that friction is a force that opposes the motion of two surfaces that are in contact with each other.
• Show the students the different materials (e.g. wood, plastic, paper) and ask them to predict which material is more likely to have friction and which is less likely to have friction.
• Have the students rub their hands together to generate friction, and then use a meter stick to measure the distance the students are able to move the stick before the friction force stops them.
• Repeat this process with each of the different materials and compare the results.

Guided Practice

• Have the students work in pairs and rub two different materials together to generate friction.
• Have the students use the meter sticks to measure the distance they are able to move the stick before the friction force stops them.
• Have the students compare their results and discuss why some materials generate more friction than others.

Independent Practice

• Have the students design and conduct an experiment to test the effect of different surface properties on friction force. Examples could include testing the effect of surface roughness, surface smoothness, and surface moisture on friction force.
• Have the students record their observations and make conclusions based on their results.

Closure

• Review the concept of friction force and how it is dependent on the surface properties of two interacting objects.
• Ask the students to share their observations and conclusions from their independent practice experiment.

Assessment

• Observe the students during the guided practice and independent practice tasks to assess their understanding of friction force and its dependence on surface properties of two interacting objects.
• Collect and review the students' data from their independent practice task to assess their ability to conduct a controlled experiment and collect and record accurate data.
• Ask the students to explain their observations and conclusions from their independent practice task and provide feedback on their explanations.