LocoMotion

Goal: Find which of two methods of moving takes you farther in 5 seconds

1. Decide on locomotion methods and demonstrate

Mark the starting line with tape or chalk.

With children’s input, pick two methods of locomotion that everyone will use: hopping and jumping, crawling and dancing, or walking forward and backward.

The first time you do this activity, choose a volunteer to demonstrate each step:

• Take predictions: Do you think Luna can hop or jump farther in 5 seconds?

• Time 5 seconds while the volunteer hops forward from the starting line.

• Mark the ending point with tape or chalk.

• Repeat, with the volunteer now jumping forward.

• Compare the two distances.

 

2. How far in 5 seconds?

Children pair up. They take turns moving and marking the distance moved while you time them.

 

2. Debrief

Gather children to discuss how far they went.

Who covered the most ground in 5 seconds? Did everyone jump farther than they hopped?

 

Variations

How Likely? (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Children make and test predictions about the distance it’s possible to travel in 5 seconds. For instance:

Prediction: In 5 seconds, someone in the group will be able to dribble a ball across the gym.

Children vote on whether the prediction is possible or impossible, then they try it.

 

Double Time (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Each person moves for 10 seconds. Before they begin, children predict how far they’ll travel:

If you can crawl past 10 floor tiles in 5 seconds, do you think you’ll crawl past 20 floor tiles in 10 seconds?

 

Estimate 5 Seconds (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Explain the procedure, and then try it: 

Shut your eyes. I’ll say “Start!” when I’m going to start timing. Raise your hand when you think 5 seconds are up.

Note whose estimate is too little, exactly right, and too long. Once all hands are up, share the results

Books and Other Resources

First Morning: Poems About Time (Grades: 3, 4)
Siegen-Smith, Nikki (ed.). NY: Barefoot Books. 2001.
                                         
Scholastic Book of World Records 2006 (Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Bay, Georgian. NY: Scholastic, 2005.

Spotlight

Understanding seconds

Seconds are so fast, they seem like no time at all. Yet, seconds add up quickly. In this activity, children learn about seconds by connecting them to physical activity: how far they can run, climb, hop, or jump in 5 seconds.

Connections

When seconds matter

As children take increased responsibility for structuring their time, they need to know how long it takes them to get from one place to another. In school, as they go from class to class in crowded hallways, they need to plan when they will have time to go to their lockers, and they need to make judgments about whether they have to go to the bathroom or water fountain. In some schools, arriving a few seconds after the bell means detention.

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©2008 TERC, Cambridge, MA. All rights reserved.