Here is another exciting activity to complement my Mad Science Station Lab Series! If you are not familiar with this yet, you can download it here for free. This free start-up pack will as well provide you all the necessary signage and best practices to run the station lab properly.
The average speed station lab deals with calculating the average speed of an object using distance and time. This concept seems to be too simple but is often misunderstood by students because of the math and graphing involved.
Before using station labs my students were a bit bored when this topic was being discussed. I created this activity to engage students and allow them to take charge of their own learning.
For my average speed station lab you will need a measuring tape and a timer (can be phone). Groups must also be created. You can decide how many members each group has but I suggest no more than 2-3. Directions written on larger task cards must be read by the group’s leader. The smaller task cards must be read by the members. Let them work individually with their lab write-ups which I included at the end of the lab. They can use this as a reference later on as you discuss more about the topic.
There are a total of 8 station labs. There is a page dedicated for teacher’s directions so you can be guided with the activity accordingly. You can start students at whatever lab station you want, but I make some recommendations based on how information is presented.
Let's take a look at the stations. The Explore It! station is where I dedicate much time in this part since this requires movement in the class. I mark out a start and finish line, usually 10 meters apart, and ask my students to walk forwards, hop, and walk backwards and enter their times on the data sheet. There is a table where they can write their observations (distance and time). After that they will be asked to compute for the average speed.
Next is the Illustrate It! Station. Students will be asked to illustrate or draw something that explains what they have learned. I tell my students to be creative in doing this. They can use the colored pencils and markers I provide. They can also make up numbers for their model, but I like them to use realistic numbers if possible.
During the Read It! Station I print six copies of the reading passage so that multiple students can read at their own pace. After reading the passage, I let my students answer four questions about average speed which are mostly multiple choice.
The Watch It! Station is often the favorite part of my students. I provide the URL and a QR code that you can scan. (I always make sure that my links and codes are working, but if they will not work on you, contact me so I can provide you with the right and updated code or link.) After watching the video, there are three task cards waiting for the students to be answered.
In the Organize It! Station, the aim is to simply differentiate between distance, time and direction using task cards. I have several task cards organized in Ziploc bags for easy reference. The task for this station is to categorize the cards into Time, Distance and Average Speed. A bonus point will be given to the groups who can put them in correct order using math.
In the Write It! station students will answer three task cards as a follow-up for the previous activities done. I require them to answer in full sentences so they can practice their writing skills. The questions include what two quantities are involved in solving average speed as well as how to solve it. Also, there is a more in-depth question that asks what will happen if a certain quantity increases while the other decreases.
In the Research It! Station, another link is provided. Students are tasked to read through the unit and examples sections. There are several Practice Sections, students are required to answer (a) and (b) on their lab sheets, and check their answers using the Show Me button. After that, they will be asked to complete questions 1 to 3 in the Exercises Section.
The last station is the Assess It! This is where I usually take a closer look generally grade my students. There are four task cards which include 2 multiple choice questions and 2 problem solving. If the students understood the lab well they shouldn't have any problems with this station
Station are a ton of fun. Teachers only act as a facilitator of learning when conducting station labs – meaning there will be less effort when the activity is ongoing. More on the effort comes in preparation, but that is all taken care of for you. Simply print out the cards and set them up. Bingo...you're set! You can download the Average Speed Station Lab here and enjoy conducting it in your own class.
I also prepared several other Station Labs regarding Force and Motion. You can download all of the 8 here and enjoy a huge discount.
