How to Teach Physics to Elementary School Students

Use a skateboard and some props to demonstrate Newtonian physics.

Even today, Newton's laws of motion are the basis of understanding the movement of objects in the world around us. Through the use of toys and clear explanations, your elementary school students can understand the basics of Newtonian physics.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden ramp
• Skateboard
• Toy bricks
• Toy animals
• Toy cars
• Marbles
• Newton's cradle

Instructions

1. Put a small toy animal or doll on top of a skateboard. Give the skateboard a shove. When the board starts moving, the animal will slide back. When the board hits the wall and stops, the animal will slide forward.

2. Use the skateboard to explain the concept of inertia, the first law of motion. The toy on top resisted moving at first when it slid back. Once it was moving, it resisted stopping by sliding forward. So things at rest tend to remain at rest, and things in motion tend to remain in motion.

3. Set up a wall made out of wooden bricks in the center of the room with a ramp in front of it. Run a small toy car or marble down the ramp and have the students observe it not knocking over the bricks. Then run a larger, heavier toy car or marble down the wall and watch it knock over the bricks.

4. Explain that force equals mass times acceleration. The second car had more mass, so it had more force.

5. Set up the wall again. This time, start the heavy car from low down the wall and watch it not knock over the bricks. Then, start it higher up and have students observe it knock over the bricks.

6. Explain that the car had more acceleration when it started higher on the ramp, which caused it to knock over the bricks.

7. Use a Newton's cradle to teach the third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Explain that when the first ball hits the second ball, the second ball reacts by hitting the third ball, and so forth, sending the last ball flying. Use marbles, Hot Wheels cars and other toys to demonstrate this principle again.

8. Have students use marbles, Hot Wheels cars and other toys to demonstrate the third law of thermal dynamics. If nothing else, they will appreciate the chance to crash cars into each other.

References

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Physics Department: Q & A: Teaching Kids Physics