Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and explore how different objects move and experiment with various ways to make things move.

Materials and Prep

• Various objects such as toy cars, balls, feathers, and blocks
• A smooth surface like a table or floor
• A ramp (you can use a sturdy board or a book)
• A timer (optional)

Before starting the lesson, make sure to clear a safe space for the activities and gather all the materials listed above.

Activities

1. Rolling Race: Set up a starting line and a finish line on the smooth surface. Take two toy cars and let's have a race! Roll the cars from the starting line and see which one reaches the finish line first. You can try different cars and compare their speeds. What makes a car go faster or slower?
2. Ball Drop: Find a high place, like a table or a step, and hold a ball above it. Count down from three and let the ball drop. Observe how it falls and hits the ground. Does it bounce? Try dropping balls of different sizes and materials. How do they move differently?
3. Ramp Experiment: Set up the ramp by placing a sturdy board or a book on an incline. Place different objects at the top of the ramp and let them slide down. Observe how they move down the ramp. Do heavier objects move faster than lighter ones? What happens if you change the angle of the ramp?
4. Feather Floating: Take a feather and gently blow air towards it. Observe how it moves and floats in the air. Can you make it move in different directions by blowing from different angles? How does the feather move differently compared to the other objects we experimented with?
5. Timing Challenge (optional): Set up a short obstacle course using blocks or other objects. Use a timer to see how quickly you can move different objects through the course. Can you find ways to make them move faster or slower?

Preschool Grade Talking Points

• "Today, we are going to explore how things move. We will experiment with different objects and see how they can go fast or slow."
• "We will use toy cars to have a race. We will roll them and see which one goes the fastest."
• "We will drop different balls from a high place and see how they move. Some might bounce, and some might roll."
• "We will use a ramp to slide objects down. We can change the angle of the ramp and see how it affects their movement."
• "We will also try blowing air on a feather to make it move. Feathers are very light, so they move differently than other objects."
• "If you want an extra challenge, we can time how quickly we can move objects through an obstacle course."