Gravitational Force Activities for 5th Grade Science

The Kesler Science Gravitational Force 5E Lesson is a comprehensive unit on gravitational force designed for elementary students. It includes editable presentations, worksheets, choice projects, and assessments, all requiring low to no prep. This differentiated, student-led lesson engages learners while allowing teachers to focus on student success.

Students explore key questions about the direction and consistency of Earth's gravitational force. The lesson follows the 5E Model, providing structured learning through engagement activities, a hands-on station lab, and flexible digital and print resources. The Exploration phase features a student-led station lab with nine interactive stations, offering multimodal learning through experiments, reading passages, videos, research, and hands-on categorization activities. 

Explanation includes editable PowerPoints, interactive notebooks in English and Spanish, and guided note-taking templates. Elaboration allows students to extend their learning through choice projects, while Evaluation provides assessments aligned with STAAR 2.0, review questions, and practice worksheets. 

This lesson supports flexible learning, making it ideal for both in-person and virtual instruction. Spanish translations of vocabulary, reading passages, and notebook pages ensure accessibility for diverse learners.

Engage your 5th-grade students in a hands-on, student-led exploration of gravitational force with this interactive station lab. Designed to promote independent learning, this low-prep resource allows students to support an argument that Earth's gravitational force pulls objects downward.

The lab features nine differentiated stations, including a challenge station for early finishers. Students interact with new concepts through videos, readings, hands-on demonstrations, and research-based tasks. They demonstrate their understanding by organizing information, illustrating models, writing responses, and completing assessments. The digital version includes interactive activities using PowerPoint or Google Slides, and Spanish and English reading passages provide differentiated support.

Perfect for in-class or virtual learning, this engaging resource encourages critical thinking and active participation.

The Gravitational Force Student Choice Projects lesson allows 5th-grade students to select a project that aligns with their preferred output style. A project page outlines six student-led options plus a “design your own” project, all with a grading rubric for teacher, peer, or self-assessment. 

These flexible, multimodal projects provide creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding. Two versions of the project page support differentiation, with modified options for students needing remediation and challenge opportunities for advanced learners. Teachers can adjust the rubric to fit grading needs and assign a combination of projects for deeper exploration. 

The projects require standard classroom supplies like paper, markers, and scissors, with many options available for digital completion. Some crafting materials may be useful for model-building.

The 5th Grade Physical Science Interactive Notebook is an essential resource for teachers looking to enhance student engagement in elementary physical science. This comprehensive set includes both print and digital versions, making it adaptable for traditional classrooms, 1:1 environments, and distance learning.  

The digital version features a unique interactive notebook PowerPoint that can be uploaded to Google Slides and shared via MS Teams, Schoology, or Canvas. It includes reflection pages for comprehension, space for student notes, a teacher answer key, and a modified version for students with accommodations. The paper version provides blank interactive notebook templates, pre-filled templates for students needing modifications or who were absent, and color photos demonstrating template use.  

Topics covered include particles of matter, conservation of mass, properties of matter, formation of new substances, gravitational force, the Sun’s energy, classifying matter, mixtures, solutions, uses of energy, closed circuits, reflection and refraction, and testing forces.  

These interactive notebook templates are also available in the Kesler Science 5E Lessons, which include presentations, notes, homework, student projects, station labs, assessments, and engagement activities.