Compare and Contrast Energies Activity: 8 Hands-On Stations for Teaching Potential and Kinetic Energy (TEKS 6.8A)

Chris Kesler · 8 min read

Set a soccer ball on top of the tallest shelf in your classroom and ask a 6th grader, "Is anything happening to that ball right now?" They'll say no. The ball is just sitting there, doing nothing. Then push it off the shelf. Suddenly the ball has all the energy it needs to thump on the floor or knock something over. The energy didn't appear out of nowhere. It was already there, stored, waiting. That stored-versus-active distinction is the gateway into TEKS 6.8A.

The standard asks 6th graders to compare and contrast forms of energy, including potential energy (gravitational, elastic, chemical) and kinetic energy. They have to recognize that potential energy is stored and depends on position, shape, or chemical bonds, while kinetic energy is the energy of motion. They also have to predict how potential energy transforms into kinetic energy in real-world systems.

The Compare and Contrast Energies Station Lab for TEKS 6.8A closes that gap in one to two class periods. Kids drop bouncy balls from different heights and compare bounces (gravitational potential), shoot rubber bands of different thickness at a cup and measure how far it slides (elastic potential), and stick glow sticks in hot vs. cold water to see how chemical potential energy changes with temperature. They examine reference cards showing a roller coaster's energy at five positions, sort 12 examples into potential vs. kinetic columns, and finish with a free-form drawing of a real-world energy transformation. By the end, they can look at any object and tell you whether it has stored or moving energy and which type.

⏱ 1–2 class periods 📓 6th Grade Science 🧪 TEKS 6.8A 🎯 Built-in differentiation 💻 Print or Digital

8 hands-on stations for comparing and contrasting forms of energy

A station lab is a student-led activity where small groups rotate through 8 stations (plus a 9th challenge station for early finishers) at their own pace during one to two class periods. You become a facilitator instead of a lecturer. You walk around, spot-check, and break misconceptions while kids work through the rotation.

The Compare and Contrast Energies Station Lab has four input stations (where students take in new info on potential energy, gravitational energy, elastic energy, chemical energy, and kinetic energy) and four output stations (where they show what they learned). Here's what's at each one.

Inside the Forms of Energy Station Lab printed download — 6th grade physical science, TEKS 6.8A

Sample task cards from the Forms of Energy Station Lab — 6th grade physical science, TEKS 6.8A

4 input stations: how students learn potential and kinetic energy

🎬 Watch It! —

A short YouTube video shows astronauts playing with a basketball, a slingshot, and a ball on a ramp inside the International Space Station. Kids answer three questions: how a basketball's gravitational potential energy relates to kinetic energy on Earth, how elastic potential energy is used to move an astronaut across the space station, and why a ball doesn't roll down a ramp inside the space station (no gravity = no gravitational potential energy). The microgravity examples are the perfect setup because they isolate gravitational potential energy by removing it.

📖 Read It! —

A one-page passage called "The Hidden Power of Everyday Objects" frames the lesson as a detective hunt with three clues: a soccer ball on a high shelf (gravitational), a stretched rubber band (elastic), and a battery in a toy car (chemical). The passage walks through each form of potential energy and how it transforms into kinetic energy. Vocabulary is bolded throughout. Three multiple-choice questions follow, plus the vocab notes section. Comes in two reading levels (Dependent and Modified) plus a Spanish version.

🔬 Explore It! —

This is the heart of the lab. Three hands-on activities. Activity 1 (Gravitational): drop two same-size bouncy balls from different heights and compare bounce heights. Activity 2 (Elastic): use a ruler to stretch two different-thickness rubber bands the same length, release them at a plastic cup 50 cm away, and measure how far the cup slides. Activity 3 (Chemical): crack two glow sticks and put one in hot water and one in cold water, then compare brightness after a couple minutes. Each activity ends with a question about what variable affected the energy (height for Activity 1, mass/thickness for Activity 2, temperature for Activity 3).

💻 Research It! —

Students examine 11 reference cards: a roller coaster shown at 5 positions with a pie chart of potential vs. kinetic energy at each (100% PE at the top, 0% PE at the bottom, 25% PE on the loop, etc.), an explanation of how gravitational potential energy converts to kinetic energy on the way down, and a labeled diagram for matching. Eight questions follow, including identifying the form of potential energy at the top of the first hill and matching positions A-D on a final coaster diagram with their PE/KE percentages (50/50, 25/75, 0/100, 100/0). The roller-coaster sequence is the standout reference for this lab.

Forms of Energy Station Lab hands-on activity for TEKS 6.8A — 6th grade physical science

4 output stations: how students show what they learned

📋 Organize It! —

A two-column card sort. Kids sort 12 example cards into POTENTIAL ENERGY and KINETIC ENERGY columns. Potential examples: skier at top of hill, slingshot pulled back, wound-up wind-up car, picture frame on a shelf, a piece of fruit (food = chemical PE), a battery. Kinetic examples: skateboard rolling down a ramp, plane flying, meteor entering atmosphere, paddling a canoe, a seed growing into a plant (chemical PE becoming kinetic), pedaling a bicycle. The seed card is a great misconception catcher because the actual growth is the kinetic part. Easy to spot-check at a glance.

🎨 Illustrate It! —

Students draw a real-world or natural scene where potential energy transforms into kinetic energy. They label where each type of energy is present, use arrows to show the direction of the transformation, and add creative elements (characters, energy rays, motion lines). The free-form prompt encourages kids to pick something from their own life (a swing set, a ramp at the skate park, a bow and arrow) which makes the concept stickier than a generic example. Even kids who say "I can't draw" surprise themselves here.

✍️ Write It! —

Three open-ended questions: the difference between potential and kinetic energy, how to increase the potential energy of an object (raise it higher, stretch it more, store more chemicals), and a fresh scenario kids invent themselves where potential transforms to kinetic (with the form of PE specified). Forces kids to commit definitions to paper and produce an original example. This is the writing practice middle schoolers need and rarely get in science class.

📝 Assess It! —

Eight multiple-choice and fill-in-the-paragraph questions tied to TEKS 6.8A vocabulary (potential energy, gravitational energy, elastic energy, chemical energy, kinetic energy). Includes which option is NOT potential energy (a boat moving across the water), what type of transformation a bow and arrow shows (elastic potential to kinetic), and where gravitational potential energy is greatest in a dropped object (at the start of the fall). The fill-in paragraph weaves all five vocabulary words together. If you're grading the lab, this is the easiest station to grade.

Bonus Challenge It! station for early finishers

🏆 Challenge It! —

Four optional extensions: build a Venn diagram comparing potential and kinetic energies (with at least three details for each), interpret a graph showing total energy with kinetic and potential curves crossing (write a paragraph describing a scenario the graph fits), diagram a chosen scenario showing PE transferred or transformed into KE with pictures and labels, or create a five-page flipbook telling a story of potential energy transforming to kinetic energy. Requires teacher approval before they start.

How this fits into a complete compare and contrast energies unit

This Station Lab is the Explore day of our full Compare and Contrast Energies Complete 5E Lesson for TEKS 6.8A. The complete two-week unit follows the 5E method of instruction and includes an Engage hook, the Compare and Contrast Energies Station Lab for Explore, PowerPoint slides and interactive notebook pages for Explain, student choice projects to Elaborate, and an Evaluate assessment.

Most teachers grab the full 5E because the Station Lab lands hardest with the days around it. But if you just need a strong hands-on day on potential and kinetic energy, the Station Lab on its own does the job.

Two options

Compare and Contrast Energies 5E Lesson cover

Full 5E Lesson $13.20 Get the 5E Lesson

Compare and Contrast Energies Station Lab cover

Just the Station Lab $7.20 Get the Station Lab

Materials needed to teach compare and contrast energies

Materials beyond what's in the download:

Two same-size bouncy balls per station rotation for Explore It! Activity 1.
Two rubber bands of different thicknesses per station rotation for Activity 2 (a thin one and a thick one work best).
One ruler per station for stretching the rubber bands and measuring how far the cup moves.
One small plastic cup per station as the rubber-band target.
Two glow sticks per station rotation for Activity 3. A 12-pack covers a class easily.
Two cups per station, one filled with hot water (use a kettle and refill between groups) and one with cold/ice water.
Colored pencils or markers for the Illustrate It! drawing.
Pencils and the printed answer sheets (included)
A device with internet for the Watch It! station

Standard covered: Texas TEKS 6.8A —

Compare and contrast gravitational, elastic, chemical, and kinetic energies. Supporting Standard.

See the full standard breakdown →

Grade level: 6th grade physical science

Time: One to two class periods (45–110 minutes total). Plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab.

Common student misconceptions this lab fixes

"If something isn't moving, it doesn't have any energy at all."
This is the big one. Sixth graders see a still object (a soccer ball on a shelf, a stretched rubber band held in place, a battery on a desk) and assume zero energy. The Read It! detective passage flips it: each of those objects is packed with potential energy, just stored and waiting. The Explore It! Activity 1 (drop two bouncy balls from different heights) makes it physical. The ball at the higher height isn't moving any more than the lower one, but when released, it bounces higher because it had more stored gravitational potential energy. The Organize It! sort then puts "a skier at the top of a hill" and "a battery" in the same column, both potential. Once kids see stillness as storage, the rest of the lab makes sense.
"Food isn't really energy. Food is just food."
Many 6th graders treat chemical energy as something that only exists in batteries and fossil fuels. The Read It! passage makes the connection explicit: "Food that we eat also contains chemical energy." The Organize It! sort drives it home with "a piece of fruit" in the potential energy column. The Explore It! Activity 3 with glow sticks shows chemical energy releasing as light. By the end, kids realize the granola bar in their backpack and the glucose in their bodies are both chemical potential energy waiting to become kinetic energy in their muscles. That single connection (food = chemical PE) carries forward into the energy-transformations standard 6.8B.
"Gravitational potential energy depends on the size of the object, not its height."
Sixth graders often pick the bigger object as having more potential energy, even if it's lower down. The Watch It! astronaut clip catches it directly. Inside the space station, the basketball is the same size and mass as on Earth, but it has zero gravitational potential energy because there's no gravity to pull it down. Position and gravity matter more than size. The Explore It! Activity 1 reinforces it: same ball, different heights, different bounce. The Research It! roller coaster sequence is the strongest fix because the same coaster car at five positions has very different PE values at each height. Kids see the chart shift from 100% PE at the top to 0% at the bottom, with the car unchanged.

What you get with this compare and contrast energies activity

📷 Inside-the-product — add screenshot of Read It passage or sample answer sheet

When you buy the Station Lab, you get a single download with everything you need:

Print version at two reading levels (Dependent for on-grade, Modified for additional support) plus a Spanish Read It! passage
Digital version as PowerPoint files (works in Google Slides too) at both levels for 1:1 classrooms or Google Classroom
Teacher Directions and Answer Key for both versions, all keys included
Station task cards ready to print, laminate, and drop in baskets at each station
Reference cards for the Research It! station (5 roller-coaster position cards with PE/KE pie charts, a coaster sequence diagram for matching, and the rule-summary cards)
Sort cards for the Organize It! station (12 example cards plus two header cards for potential and kinetic)
Student answer sheets for each level

Tips for teaching compare and contrast energies in your 6th grade classroom

Two things make this lab go smoother the first time:

1. Boil water once before class for the glow stick activity.

The Explore It! Activity 3 needs hot water and cold water. The first time I ran a similar setup, I waited until the period started to boil water, and the first three groups got lukewarm water that didn't show a clear difference from the cold cup. Now I boil a kettle full before class and pour fresh hot water into each station's cup right before the rotation starts. The temperature contrast is dramatic, and the chemical-energy difference shows up clearly: the hot-water glow stick is much brighter.

2. Set up a clear pull-back zone for the rubber band activity.

The rubber band launch (Activity 2) requires a clear path from the ruler edge to the cup, 50 cm away. Without a defined work area, the cup ends up on the floor or under another group's table, and kids waste rotation time chasing it. Tape a piece of paper or a strip of cardboard to the table to mark the launch line and the target zone. Set the cup back at the same starting spot between launches so each rubber band gets a fair test. Less chasing, more comparing.

Get this compare and contrast energies activity

Compare and Contrast Energies Station Lab for 6th grade physical science — TEKS 6.8A

Buy the Station Lab — $7.20

Or if you want the full two-week experience with the Engage hook, Explain day, Elaborate extension, and Evaluate assessment all included:

Buy the full 5E Complete Lesson — $13.20

(Station Lab is included)

Frequently asked questions

What does TEKS 6.8A cover?

Texas TEKS 6.8A asks 6th grade students to compare and contrast gravitational, elastic, chemical, and kinetic energies. Students should be able to identify the form of energy in any given object or scenario, explain whether the energy is stored (potential) or in motion (kinetic), and describe the relationship between potential and kinetic energy in real-world systems. The standard pairs naturally with 6.8B (energy transformations and conservation) and 6.8C (energy of waves).

Is this kids' first time meeting potential vs. kinetic energy?

Yes for most 6th graders. They've heard the word "energy" since elementary school, but the formal split between stored (potential) and moving (kinetic) is brand new. The Watch It! astronaut video introduces it through microgravity examples, the Read It! detective passage uses three concrete clues (soccer ball, rubber band, battery), and the Explore It! station gives three hands-on tests where kids feel the difference. By the end, they can categorize any example.

How long does this compare and contrast energies activity take?

One to two class periods (45 to 110 minutes total). The Explore It! station's three activities (bouncy balls, rubber bands, glow sticks) are the longest piece, so plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab. Once your class has the rotation routine down, most groups can finish all 8 stations in one period.

Do I need a lot of supplies for this?

Pretty light. A pair of bouncy balls, two rubber bands of different thickness, a ruler, a plastic cup, two glow sticks, and two cups (one for hot water, one for cold) per station rotation. Total cost for a class of 30: under $20 if you're starting from nothing. The hot water can come from a tap or a kettle.

Can I use this in a 1:1 digital classroom?

Yes. The full digital version (PowerPoint or Google Slides) works in 1:1 classrooms and Google Classroom. Students drag digital cards for the Organize It! sort and complete the Illustrate It! drawing on a digital canvas. The Explore It! hands-on activities are harder to digitize, but you can substitute simulation videos or PhET energy simulations if you don't have the supplies. The hands-on version is still the strongest.