4th Grade Hardness And Flexibility Lesson Plan Example (Science)

Topic: Hardness and flexibility

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify and describe the properties of hardness and flexibility.

Materials

• Indentation hardness tester (e.g. ball bearing on plastic sheet)
• Firm rubber or plastic block
• Poster board
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencils of different sizes

Warm-up

• Ask students if they have ever broken or damaged a piece of hard or flexible material, such as a toy or cellphone.
• Ask students to describe what happened and how the material felt.
• Ask for volunteers to demonstrate the breaking of a hard or flexible object by hitting it with a pencil.

Direct Instruction

• Show students a variety of objects made of hard and flexible materials, such as a metal spoon, a rubber eraser, and a piece of paper.
• Ask students to describe the characteristics of each material (hard, flexible, etc.).
• Ask students to try to break the hard and flexible objects by bending them or hitting them with a pencil.
• Discuss the differences in how hard and flexible materials respond to force and how they feel when they are being manipulated.

Guided Practice

• Give students pairs of objects made of hard and flexible materials, such as a metal spoon and a rubber eraser.
• Have students experiment with the different objects, identifying their characteristics and how they respond to force.
• Ask students to share their findings with the class.

Independent Practice

• Ask students to choose one hard and one flexible object and conduct a simple experiment to measure their hardness and flexibility.
• Have students record their findings in a chart or table, and create a class graph or chart showing the results.

Closure

• Review the definitions of hardness and flexibility, and have students share their findings from the experiment.
• Ask students to explain how hardness and flexibility relate to one another, and how they can be measured using simple experiments.

Assessment

• Observe students during the independent practice activity and provide feedback on their ability to conduct a simple experiment and gather and present data.
• Evaluate students' written reports on their chosen material (such as steel or rubber bands) for their ability to demonstrate an understanding of hardness and flexibility.