Graphing Motion: A Day In the Life of . . . (AIG IRP)

Lesson Overview

Brief Description of Lesson/Task/Activity: Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on the motion of objects. In this task, students assume the role of a xenobiologist and explain the motion of a fictional organism over a given time period. Students will then trade narratives and graphs and are challenged to identify the graph based on the information provided in the fictional narrative.  Students will critique the accuracy of each other’s graph-based narratives. The interdisciplinary and writing aspects of this lesson allow students to build meaningful connections among curricula while promoting creativity and 21st Century Skills.

Time Frame: 2 class periods (120 minutes) 

Type of Differentiation for AIGs:

  • Extension

Adaptations for AIGs:

  • Process
  • Product

Explanation of How Resource is Appropriate for AIGs: AIG students in the middle grades often are advanced in mathematical reasoning skills. As a result, they quickly grasp the concept of line slope in relation to speed and position. To challenge these students, it is necessary to engage them in novel ways to examine graphs.  Explanatory writing is essential in advanced courses (AP sciences, etc.), so any opportunity to develop this skill is beneficial to AIG students. Self and peer assessment using defined criteria also further develops the metacognitive and evaluative/evidentiary reasoning abilities of these students.

Needed Resources/Materials:

  • 2 Position-Time graphs with teacher-prepared narrative statements (see attached)
  • Graph Paper for student use in creating graphs and writing fictional narratives
  • Index cards for student narratives
  • Rubric for self/peer assessment

Sources: The Science Education for Public Understanding Program’s  “Motion and Forces” module contains an example on which this engagement activity is based.  In that instance, students are traveling by car to/from school.

Teacher Notes: Some prerequisite knowledge/skills are required. Students should have previously demonstrated success at interpreting distance-time graphs and calculating the speed of an object using either the speed formula (s=d/t) or the formula to determine the slope of a line (m=y2-y1/x2-x1) aka “rise over run.”  Students should also understand the differences between distance-time graphs and position-time graphs prior to the end of the engagement activity.