3-PS2-2
The standard
Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to watch an object move, measure or record what happens, and use the pattern to predict what will happen next. They are not naming physics terms. They are using evidence from repeated motion, such as back and forth, up and down, or around and around.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “It went left, right, left, right, so next it will go left,” and pointing to observations or measurements that support that claim. Students often get stuck by guessing without evidence, measuring only once, or describing where an object is instead of how its motion repeats.
Ways to teach it
- Hang a washer on string, let it swing, and have students record left-right positions every few seconds for three trials.
- Ask students to write: What pattern did you observe, and what do you predict will happen next?
- Show three positions in a repeating motion and ask students to draw the next two positions with one evidence sentence.
- Connect to playground swings by having students explain how they know when a friend will swing back toward them.
Plan a lesson for 3-PS2-2
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- 3-PS2-1
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
- MS-PS2-2
Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
- 1-ESS1-1
Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.
- 4-ESS2-1
Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.