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Grade 6 Lesson 1
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Lesson Plan
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Student Activity Handout 1
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VISION-SETTING
Marlins Think Tank: Sixth Grade Science
Lesson Plan #1
OBJECTIVE.
KEY POINTS.
What is your objective? 
What knowledge and skills are embedded in the objective? 
SC.6.P.11.1 Explore the Law of Conservation of
Energy by differentiating between potential and
kinetic energy. Identify situations where the kinetic
energy is transformed into potential energy and
vice versa.

SWBAT identify situations that represent potential
energy and situations that represent kinetic energy
and describe the transformation of potential energy
to kinetic energy in the path of a baseball player.
ASSESSMENT.


Energy cannot be created or destroyed
but it can be transformed from one type
of energy to another
Potential (stored) energy: the ability for a
system to do work due to it’s position or
internal structure; an object at rest
Kinetic energy: the energy possessed by
a system when it is in motion
Describe, briefly, what students will do to show you that they have mastered (or made progress toward) the objective. 
Students will design a comic about a baseball player that tracks the transformation of potential energy
to kinetic energy during the game.
OPENING (10 min.)
How will you communicate what is about to happen?  How will you communicate how it will happen? 
How will you communicate its importance?  How will you communicate connections to previous lessons? 
How will you engage students and capture their interest? 
Ask one student to stand up in front of the class. Position that student so that his/her
arms extend outward from their shoulders to form a V, and his/her legs are spread
apart to form an inverted V.
DETERMINING METHODS
Ask students if the student volunteer’s body is in motion or at rest.
Ask students to make predictions based on the positioning for what I will ask the
student volunteer to do next.
Tell all students to stand up and position themselves to look like the student volunteer.
When I clap, I want you to complete 1 jumping jack, and then return to this position and
freeze. Clap. Wait for students to return to the initial position and freeze. Clap again.
Allow students to return to their seats.
MATERIALS.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL (10 min.)
How will you explain/demonstrate all knowledge/skills required of the objective, so that students begin to
actively internalize key points? 
Which potential misunderstandings do you anticipate? How will you proactively mitigate them?  How will
students interact with the material? 
Today we are going to be looking at the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states
that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be transformed from one type of
energy to another. The jumping jacks that you just did are a perfect example of one
type of energy changing into a second type.
Potential energy is the ability for a system to do work based on its position or internal
structure. When an object is at rest, it has potential energy. We can think of potential
energy as stored energy, because the energy is all stored up and contained in the
object that is at rest, just waiting to be transformed into something else. When we were
performing our jumping jacks, we froze in this position (demonstrate). When our bodies
are stopped in this position, they are filled with potential or stored energy. Our energy
is stored up waiting to be transformed. We know this because the positioning of our
body makes it possible for our bodies to do work or move.
A second type of energy is kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of an object in
motion. Anything that is moving is demonstrating potential energy. When I clapped, I
asked you to complete 1 jumping jack. At that moment, your bodies converted their
potential energy (from the resting position) into kinetic energy in order to move and
complete one jumping jack.
When thinking about the transformation from potential energy to kinetic energy and
back, it is important to understand that we are never losing or creating energy, we are
simply transforming potential energy into kinetic energy. Remember, the Law of
Conservation of Energy—energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be
transformed from one type of energy to another.
GUIDED PRACTICE (25 min.)
How will students practice all knowledge/skills required of the objective, with your support, such that they
continue to internalize the key points? 
How will you ensure that students have multiple opportunities to practice, with exercises scaffolded from
easy to hard? 
Tell students: I am going to show you a short video sent to us from the Miami Marlins.
While you watch, I want you to think about the transformation of potential energy to
kinetic energy. Show a short clip of a pitcher and a batter. The pitcher will throw the
ball to the batter, and the batter will swing and hit the ball.
Ask students to describe to you the transformation of energy in the video.
Tell students to fold their paper in fourths, and then orient their paper vertically. We are
going to watch the video again. This time, we will look for instances of potential energy
and kinetic energy and show them on our paper using words and pictures.
Play the video again, freezing at moments that show potential/kinetic energy. Each
time you stop the movie, ask students to describe what they see and guide them to
illustrate on their paper and write down what type of energy is being represented.
1.
Pitcher holding the ball behind his head (potential)
2.
Pitcher releasing the ball (kinetic)
3.
Batter waiting with the bat over his shoulder (potential)
4.
Batter swinging and hitting the ball (kinetic)
Allow students time to color and finish their illustrations (with written explanations).
Ask students to describe what they know about potential and kinetic energy.
Marlins
video: pitcher
and batter,
http://m.mlb.c
om/video/?co
ntent_id=310
27729&topic_
id=8878534
paper,
crayons/mark
ers
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (10 min.)
How will students independently practice the knowledge and skills required of the objective, such that they
solidify their internalization of the key points prior to the lesson assessment? 
Students will answer questions:
1) Identify potential/kinetic energy in the illustrations below
2) Explain the transformation of potential to kinetic energy (and back) for one of
the illustrations above
Lesson Assessment: Once students have had an opportunity to practice independently, how will
they attempt to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge/skills required of the objective? 
Students will turn in their worksheets for a grade.
CLOSING (5 min.)
How will students summarize and state the significance of what they learned? 
Ask students to stand up. What type of energy are they demonstrating?
When I say kinetic, I want you to show kinetic energy. When I say potential, I want you
to freeze and show potential energy. Play a few rounds.
Name____________________________
1) Identify potential/kinetic energy in the illustrations below
2) Explain the transformation of potential to kinetic energy (and back) for one of the illustrations
above