Mikkel H. Jensen
NSF GK-12 fellow 2008-2009

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Sample Lessons

Below is a selection of the lessons I developed for our 10th grade physics students.  The lessons are designed to be centered on the student, with the teacher playing a supporting role.  They leave room for the students to explore the topics on their own with minimal intervention from the teacher.  When possible, I also tried to create lessons that get the students out of their seats, actively performing the lesson rather than just observing.

Feel free to use or modify them to best fit your own curriculum!

Note that some of the lessons refers to the MCAS equation sheet, which can be found here.
Weighing and Graphing
Lab exercise that introduces / refreshes simple graphing and data analysis skills.  Touches upon accuracy, precision, sources of error, and significant figures.

Newton's 1st Law
A class demonstration which introduces students to the idea of inertia as resistance to acceleration.  The class explores how an object moves under different conditions, leading to a formulation of Newton's 1st Law.

Energy Conservation
Students explore how types of energy can be converted from one form to another.  They also calculate the energy converted to heat as a ball bounces off the floor.
Elastic Collisions
This class demonstration demonstrates the conservation of momentum and kinetic energy during elastic collisions.

Revolving Bucket
Class demonstration showing how water stays in a bucket being swung in a circle.  Students explain the phenomenon using their knowledge of forces and circular motion.

Water Balloon Heating
A water balloon can survive over a burning candle, illustrating the high heat capacity of water.  The demonstration also touch upon types of heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation).