Each small group shows their giant marble run to the rest of the class. They describe how they created their pathway.
Share your giant marble run with the class.
What force is making the marble roll down the track? Yes, gravity!
Materials
- Ramps Journal app on the iPads used during Guided Small Group sessions
- Projector (if available)
- Large marble runs built in Guided Small Group time
- Large marbles
- Gravity Song: Lyrics (PDF)
- Optional: Toy cars (to use instead of marbles)
- Optional (for acting out the song): Small rolling or sliding toy, a flat ramp surface, block or other object to prop up the ramp
Preparation
- Identify which iPad(s) have the Slow It Down slow-motion videos from the digital Ramps Journal for each group’s giant marble run.
- If using, set up a projector to display the iPad.
- Optional: Gather props for acting out the song “Gravity Song: Lyrics.”
Directions: Lesson 12
Circle Time: Wrap-Up
- Invite each small group of children to share their marble runs. Have them demonstrate how a marble runs along the large pathway they made during the Giant Marble Runs Guided Small Group activity. They can choose to use the actual marble run and/or the slow-motion video they recorded with the Slow It Down Videos tool. Encourage children to talk about their structure, including the materials they used, the problems they encountered, and how they changed their marble run to solve the problems.
- Model science talk and vocabulary as you engage children in the discussion about their structure and the marble’s movement. Possible discussion ideas:
- What kind of incline did you start with: a steep ramp or a gentle ramp?
- How does the marble move along this steep part of your structure: fast or slow? What about along this flat part?
- What force is making the marble roll down this ramp?
- Watch the slow-motion video and talk about the marble run.
- Where on the path does the marble roll slowest? Fastest?
- Why did the marble roll off the pathway? How did you change it, so the marble stayed on the pathway?
- Did your marble reach the finish line? Did the track fit in the space available? Did you create a way to make the marble stop rolling? If you did, then you created a successful marble run!
- To wrap up this final session of the Ramps unit, the class can sing and act out the “Gravity Song.” Invite volunteers to help you use the toy, block, and ramp to act out the words of the song. The rest of the class can act out the words with hand and body motions.
SAFETY NOTE: Marbles can be a choking hazard to children. Make sure children understand that they are never to put marbles in their mouths. Monitor children when they are playing with marbles to ensure that they are using them responsibly and safely.
