Energy in Motion 5E Unit Plan for Fourth Grade

This 5E Unit Plan for Energy in Motion is a science resource fourth grade teachers can use to plan and implement inquiry-based science instruction about Energy in Motion.  The 5E lesson plan provides the right amount of scaffolding at each 5E phase of the learning cycle to ensure a depth of learning.

What is the 5E Instructional Model?

In 5E Instructional Model, teachers facilitate student learning in an inquiry-based model of instruction. Using questions, experiences, and research, students gain a deep understanding of the science concepts.  You can find out Why I Love the 5E Model of Science Instruction and Why Use the 5Es? in Parts one and two of the series.

There are five phases of the 5E Instructional Model are Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Extension, and Evaluation. Read more about each phase by clicking on the links in the previous sentence.

What are the 5E Unit Plans?

The 5E Unit Plans guide students through their learning experience. Teachers facilitate discovery through questioning, encouraging, and supporting research projects. The 5E Unit Plans provide teacher support, questions to ask, materials lists, and three options for inquiry-based activities at each stage of the process.

They include hands-on activities and high-interest lessons to engage all styles and levels of learning. There is also flexibility within the unit plans to allow for longer or shorter teaching periods and to allow for correlation with the Science Stations.

There are three parts to each of the 5E Instructional Model phases, for a total of 15 lessons in the unit.

This post is all about the Energy in Motion 5E Instructional Unit.

What standards are addressed in the 5E Unit Plans?

The 5E Unit Plans correlate with the NGSS Performance Expectations, not the DCI.

In each Unit Plans, we have outlined in great detail how the specific Unit Plan fit into the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Three Dimensional standards. Within the unit, we explain how we have met the Performance Expectations, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Science and Engineering Practices in the Unit Plan.

In fact, the 5E Instructional Model is the method that NSTA (National Science Teacher’s Association) and Achieve (authors of NGSS) recommend for best teaching practices.

Click here to learn more about how we have used the NGSS in designing our science units.

What are the Energy in Motion 5E NGSS Standards?

These are the standards taught in the Energy in Motion Unit:

• Performance Expectation: 4-PS3-1: Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.   
• Disciplinary Core Idea: 4-PS3.A: Definitions of Energy. The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses.
• Science and Engineering Practice: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems. Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct an explanation.  
• Cross-Cutting Concept: Energy and Matter:  Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects

A Closer Look at the Energy in Motion 5E Unit

The images below come from the Energy in Motion 5E Unit.  All of the units follow a similar format and include:

• Teacher Notes that Explain the 5Es and the NGSS Science Topic
• Common Misconceptions for the Science Topic
• Teaching Timeline that includes four options from 5 to 10 or 11 days
• Vocabulary Cards that correlate with the vocabulary in the Science Stations
• Big Idea Posters
• Engage (three parts)
• Explore (three parts)
• Explain (three parts)
• Extend (three parts)
• Evaluate (three parts)
• Exit Tickets
• Google Slide Teacher Presentation
• Google Slide Student Sheets
• Google Form Exit Tickets

While we offer three parts for each section of the 5Es, we also outline a condensed teaching timeline that explains you which parts to focus on if you are not able to teach the entire unit. Also included are details about which options are easily adapted to a virtual teaching.

Vocabulary Cards / Big Idea Posters / Exit Tickets for Energy in Motion

Each unit comes with teacher notes and materials that include background knowledge, a timeline, materials, misconceptions for the topic, and detailed lesson plans. 

Also included are vocabulary cards that match the vocabulary in each science station as well as big idea posters and exit tickets.

Here are the big idea posts for Energy in Motion:

Here are some of the vocabulary cards for Energy in Motion. The vocabulary cards can be cut apart into three-part cards and used in a pocket chart or within table groups to monitor student understanding.

The Exit Tickets come in three formats: multiple choice, short answer, and fill-in-the-blank and are available in a the printable PDF and as a Google Form.

The exit tickets, vocabulary cards, and big idea posters can be used throughout the unit to check for understanding and guide student learning.

Engage with Energy in Motion 5E Science Lessons

The purpose of the Engage section of the 5E instructional model is to pique student interest and spark curiosity in the current topic. Students are encouraged to connect their prior knowledge to a current situation or example given to them by the teacher.

Like all of the main sections, there are three lessons in the Engage section. In this specific lesson, students look at images and rank them by which has less or more energy.

You can find out more information about the Engage section in this blog post.

Explore Energy in Motion 5E Science Lessons

The purpose of the Explore section of the 5E instructional model is to allow students to explore the new topic and gather information about it. In this section, students are given the opportunity to think creatively and build science skills.

In the above activity, students create racing spools. They wind up the rubber band with a set amount of rotations and then race the spools to see the effect on motion. Students record their observations and use the data in future activities.

Another activity in this section is exploring the force of motion on mables. Students flick one, two, and three marbles at different amounts of marbles and see how many marbles moved on the track. Students record the data and create a bar graph of their results.

Remember at this stage students are not yet taught the vocabulary and key concepts, but they are exploring those topics through hands-on investigations. These explorations are used during the Explain section and Extend sections.

You can read more about the Exploration phase in this blog post.

Explain 5E Science Lessons

The purpose of the Explain section of the 5E instructional model is to allow students to analyze their findings from the Explore station and make explanations of their observations. Students are able to analyze their findings and listen critically to others’ explanations.

In the Explain section, students are taught the key concepts and vocabulary. Again, we provide three parts to the sections.  One part has students reflect on their Explore activities and analyze it, which you can see above.

Another part has students read a passage.  We have provided the passage in three formats.  One with just the text, one with a note-taking column, and another with fill-in-the-blanks for students to use during a read-aloud of the text.

You can read more about the Explanation phase in this blog post.

Extend 5E Science Lessons

The purpose of the Extend section of the 5E instructional model is to elaborate on the instruction and the learning that has so far taken place. The Extension phase is where students solidify their learning and have fun with their new knowledge. 

This section has three parts. One part is a game like the one pictured above, where students answer questions with different point values. This came can easily be set up in a pocket chart or played online.

Another activity in the Extend section is where students investigate how a throwing force affects the depth of marble indents in flour. Students record their results and analyze them based on what they have learned so far in the unit.

You can read more about the Extension phase in this blog post.

Evaluate 5E Science Lessons

The purpose of the Evaluate section of the 5E instructional model is for students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts and vocabulary. Students will also demonstrate the skills they’ve developed in this unit.

The Evaluate section also has three parts, including a student self-evaluation. Students will be able to analyze their own learning, and teachers will be able to determine the depth of student understanding. The image above is part of the performance assessment.

The unit does not include a unit test.  The intent of the Explain section is for students to analyze their own understanding and demonstrate their fluency with the new science concepts and for teachers to determine whether students know and understand the science concepts.

You can find out more information about the Evaluation section in this blog post.

Google Slide Resources

Our Google Slide Resources include a Teacher Presentation, Student Sheets, and Google Form for the Exit Cards. The Teacher Presentation can help you present the content to students and engage them with colorful photos and directions.

The Student Sheets are available in Google Slides and provide a paperless option.  Not all of the student sheets lend themselves to a paperless option as students are asked to draw some things.  In this instance, students can take a photo of the drawing to add to the Google Slides. Use the slides that work best for your classroom and students.

Also available is a Google Form of all of the Exit Cards. These are intended to be used as quick checks, not as a formal assessment.

How long does it take to teach the 5E Energy in Motion Unit?

For each Performance Expectation, we have created a unit plan that can be tailored to your needs and schedule.

There are options for finishing the process in 5 days, 7-10 days, and two weeks. You may use this product on its own or weave in our Fourth Grade Science Stations.

We have specific suggestions where each station fits best into the different phases of the 5E Instructional Model.

Fourth Grade 5E Units

Below are our fourth grade 5E units that we have completed so far. There are 15 units for each of the NGSS 4th grade standards.

The 5E units can also be purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers.

5E Instructional Model Blog Post Series

This blog post is all about the Energy in Motion 4th grade science Unit. We also have a blog post series that focuses on the 5E Instructional Model for teaching science.

Here are links to the articles in this series:

• Part 1: Why I Love the 5E Model of Science Instruction
• Part 2: Why Use the 5Es?
• Part 3: What are the 5Es?
• Part 4: Engage Lessons
• Part 5: Explore Lessons
• Part 6: Explain Lessons
• Part 7: Extend Lessons
• Part 8: Evaluate Lessons
• Part 9: Our 5E Science Lessons

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Are you interested in receiving a set of 5E Posters?  These posters can be displayed individually or taped together to create a chart like you see here.