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The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Roller Coaster Design

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Roller Coaster Design

A 5th grade STEM lesson

Author:

Arianna Johnson

Date

6/17/2023

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Notes for teachers

Taught in Classroom

  • Foam tubing should be cut in half.
  • Students will be given a “budget” to purchase materials from the teacher to create their coaster. (I recommend $100, but this could change depending on the needs of your kids). This will include:
    • Athletic tape
    • Scissors
    • popsicle sticks

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List of Materials

  • Pipe Insulation Foam Tubing (3-4 pieces per group
  • Metal towers (2 per group)
  • Marbles (1 per group)
  • Athletic tape
  • Scissors
  • Popsicle
  • Informational Resources about:
    • Force and Motion
    • Roller Coaster Design

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Essential

Standards

SCIENCE

5.P3U1.4 Obtain, analyze, and communicate evidence of the effects that balanced and unbalanced forces have on the motion of objects.

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ENGINEERING

5.P3U2.5 Define problems and design solutions pertaining to force and motion.

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Supporting

Standards

ELA

5.RI.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

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MATH

5.NBT.B.7: Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, connecting objects or drawings to strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between operations.

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Objectives:

Today, I will be able to…

  • Design an effective roller coaster with two hills and one loop.
  • Communicate evidence of the effects that forces have on the motion of marbles.

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Agenda (2-3 days)

Day 1

  • Anchoring Event (10m)
  • Discussions (5-10m)
  • Building Background Knowledge (20 m)
  • Instruction (10m)

Day 2

  • Planning (10 m)
  • Design (20-30 m)
  • Test (10m)
  • Collect Data (10m)
  • Redesign (20m)

Day 3

  • Test (10m)
  • Collect Data (10m)
  • Assessment (20-30m)

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Agenda

(Day 1)

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  • Anchoring Event (10m)
    • Students will watch a POV video about roller coasters.
    • Discussions: (5-10m)
      • What did you notice?
      • What do you wonder?
  • Building Background Knowledge (30-45m)
    • Students will listen, read and discuss a book about the science behind roller coasters.
      • Were any of your questions answered? If so, what?
    • Students will work with a narrative, non-fiction summary sentence frame to tell a story about a time when they had an experience with roller coasters.
    • https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dwk5nRbs_IryCCY7DGHims0OTUgHvU71VrzsWIwB2VU/edit?usp=sharing
  • Instruction (5m)
    • Teachers need to inform students that they will be making a roller coaster, using the provided materials, with the following guidelines:
      • 2 hills
      • 1 loop

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Intro

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  • Anchoring Event (10m)
    • POV video about roller coasters. Example
    • Discussions: (5-10m)
      • What did you notice?
      • What do you wonder?

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

(Days 2-3)

Group Structure: 3-4 people per group, student choice (depending on your class’ needs).

  • Planning (10m)
    • Students will work as a group to start planning, using the materials they have and managing their budget for purchases, based on what they need.
  • Design (20-30m)
    • Students will purchase any necessary items during this time and start creating their roller coaster “prototypes”.
    • Emphasize kind collaboration during this piece.
  • Test/Collect Data (10m [day 1] and 10 m [day 2])
    • When students are ready to test, they will use a marble. They will know it works when their marble can run from beginning to end of the track without stopping or flying off.
    • During testing, students will record their test results on the following sheet for DAY 1:
  • Redesign/Retest (20m)
    • After testing they will answer the questions on their worksheets and discuss how to improve their coaster. They will be implementing these changes on day 3 and retesting after the changes to see how it works. They will then retest and collect data for DAY 2 on their worksheets.

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Assessment

Formative

  • Verbal Check-ins
  • Walk around and ask groups questions about their designs.
    • Why did you decide to do that?
    • What do you think that will do for your design?
  • 1-3-5 on hands. How do you feel? 1; I’m not getting it at all. 3; I’m kind of getting the idea. 5; I’m a total pro.
  • What do you still wonder? (On a notecard before leaving the room)

Summative

  • A successfully tested roller coaster shows mastery of the first objective. Use data sheets to evaluate.
    • Design an effective roller coaster with two hills and one loop.
  • Students will complete a paper assessment that will focus on the second objective.

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Differentiation

If students are struggling with the content and need a supporting activity, you can have them…

  • Grab a large piece of paper and draw out their design. Have them color coat the loops and hills with 2 separate colors. Then, they will use those colors to draw arrows showing the direction of force on each part of their coaster.

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  • Have students record the test trials of their coaster. This will help give them a visual on what they are doing well, and what could be improved upon.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

If students are demonstrating mastery of concepts and need an extension activity, you can have them…

  • Create a recorded advertisement for your roller coaster. As if it were being promoted on TV. Make sure they create a script and time out their ads You can even give them a time requirement, such as, it needs to be at least 60 seconds long.

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  • Use the remaining budget to decide on another ride that they would want in their amusement park. How much would it cost to build? What supplies may you need? What challenges may you come across? How many new rides could you make with your budget?