(Bottle) Rockets Lesson Plan

Your Name: Tamia Williams

Unit Name: Nature of Science
Course Name: Scientific Investigation
Lesson Number: 1
Length of Lesson: 1 Day
Common Core Standards MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process
to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
State Standards Addressed
National (SPA) Standards: MS-PS2-2. Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an
object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of
What standard(s) are most relevant to the object.
the learning goals?
MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and
modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design
can be achieved.

Throughout this lesson plan students will be addressing different

aspects of the following standards.

Instructional Context:

The class that I will be teaching is a general 6th-grade science class. My lessons are designed for
students who have little to no knowledge of what science is as well as those who may have some prior
knowledge of the subject. The science investigation lesson will get the students acquainted with some of the
beginning terms and ideas of science. Much of the content that will precede this lesson will include diving
into common physics terms such as drag, center of mass, Newton’s 3rd law and momentum. I expect that
there will be difficulty when it comes to learning new content as physics can be a difficult subject if not
taught with the proper scaffolding.

Disciplinary Rationale:
The general purpose of the central focus for our unit on the lab will be to give students a first-hand
experience in observing and manipulating materials of science. Before they build and fly their rockets, they
will be asking questions that can be investigated within the scope of the classroom, and outdoor
environment, to frame a hypothesis based on observations and scientific principles. A common
misconception of this content is that the activity is purely creative. This activity gets students into the minds
of scientists and learning how to develop a full scientific investigation.

Theoretical Principles/and or Research-Based Practices

- Popham: Classroom Assessments

Academic Language:
The academic language function students will grapple with in this lesson are:
- assessment
- concept
- interpretation
- source
- research
- model
because they will learn how to research, design, construct and test a model rocket, apply scientific and
mathematical concepts to the design of a model rocket.
Some content vocabulary that some students need to know to support their learning in this lesson would
include:
- center of mass
- center of drag
- force
- momentum
- pressure
- stability
- drag

The Big Ideas:

What is the course or unit- level big What is the essential question for the lesson?
idea/enduring understanding that this
lesson helps students to understand? What physics concepts make rockets fly straight?

The main idea of understanding this lesson is to Why use water to make the rockets fly far?
help students understand how to have a successful
rocket launch that incorporates the key vocabulary How can a force affect the motion of an object?
terms and is designed with careful and creativity
In connecting this to the overall unit on the nature How do the laws of motion affect our daily lives on
of science, students will understand how to earth?
develop a hypothesis, calculate their initial & final
height, launch and relaunch their rockets

Assessments:
Learning Goals/Objectives for this lesson How will you determine if these lesson goals
and objectives have been met?
SWBAT sketch and design bottle rockets to learn 1. Students will be assessed informally and
about the 6 different physics concepts (Pressure, informally.
Mass, Thrust, Center of Mass, Drag, Momentum) a. KWL
involved in aerodynamics. b. Exit Tickets (Final Thoughts)
c. Student Classwork
I will know that students have achieved their
learning goals when they are able make
connections from the lesson to their classwork.

Materials:
What materials do you as the teacher need for this lesson?
- Bottle Rocket Lesson 1 (Slides)
- PearDeck
What materials do students need for this lesson?
- KWL
- Design Worksheet
- Final Thoughts

Instructional Sequence:
I would start the activity by asking my students if they want to launch a rocket. I would then lead into asking
the following questions:
 - Does anyone know what organization in America flies rockets?
- Do Aeronautical Institutes want a rocket to fly willy-nilly, and crashes to the ground right after you launch it?
I would then proceed to Show the class a 5:40-minute video (I will only play about 3 minutes), Numerous
US Launch Failures, about rocket disasters.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks:

Time Instructional Strategy/Task

10 mins Introduction/Mini Lesson/”I Do”

15 mins Guided Practice/”We Do”

Play a matching game (using PearDeck). We are going to get familiarized with some concepts that I
think are important when you design, build and launch your rockets. We will be learning about these
concepts more indepthly throughout the unit.
● Define Pressure
● Define Mass
● Define Thrust
● Define Center of Mass
● Define Drag
● Define Momentum

7-10 mins Independent Practice/”You Do”

Sketch your rocket design and label the parts of your rocket. Give students examples.

5-7 mins Assessment and Closing

Students will collaborate over JamBoard and complete the following
questions.

(1) Since we are using plastic bottles to build our rockets, is it better to use water to launch our rockets
or air?

(2) How can we get our rockets to fly straight? Are there any other materials we would need to build
our rocket?

(3) Do you know any other physics concepts that we should consider when building our rockets?

Differentiation/ Planned Support: How will you provide students access to learning based on
individual and group needs?

Notes, worksheets and accompanying articles will be provided as a hard copy as well as digital copy. For auditory
learners a recording to articles will be provided and all directions will be read out loud during class. Terms will be
scaffolded, by giving examples visually (pictures) on the board for visual learners. Students will also design, build &
present projects in heterogeneous groups collaboratively.

Add a copy of the student facing documents be and the assessment as well as a snapshot of how the assessment will be
scored. Please include what differentiation and scaffolding examples.