Grow Up Great
Millions of people use cars as a means of transportation every day. Many vehicles, including all cars, have wheels. The wheels rotate and move what they are connected to – a wagon, a car, a bike, a bus, or a skateboard. Wheels move faster and more easily on a smooth surface than they do on a bumpy or textured surface. For example, cars would go really fast on ice and would go more slowly when driving on sand. Why does this happen? This happens because when wheels roll along a surface, they cause friction. Friction is what occurs when you rub two surfaces against each other.
These lessons are aligned with the Common Core State Standards ("CCSS"). The CCSS provide a consistent, clear understanding of the concepts and skills children are expected to learn and guide teachers to provide their students with opportunities to gain these important skills and foundational knowledge.**
Millions of people use cars as a means of transportation every day. Many vehicles, including all cars, have wheels. The wheels rotate and move what they are connected to – a wagon, a car, a bike, a bus, or a skateboard. Wheels move faster and more easily on a smooth surface than they do on a bumpy or textured surface. For example, cars would go really fast on ice and would go more slowly when driving on sand. Why does this happen? This happens because when wheels roll along a surface, they cause friction. Friction is what occurs when you rub two surfaces against each other.
When a surface is smooth, there is less friction between a wheel and the surface. When a surface is rough, there is greater friction between a wheel and the surface. Greater friction makes it more difficult for wheels to turn on a surface. When we experiment with different textures, we are testing to see how much friction is between a wheel and a surface.
- Make sure the felt, foil, and bubble wrap are taped securely to the ramps.
- Do the experiment in an area where children have enough space to gather comfortably around the ramps and watch.
- If you are unable to create ramps in the classroom, you could do the experiment on a playground slide.
- The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky
- What Do Wheels Do All Day? by April Jones Prince
- I Spy Little Wheels by Jean Marzollo
- Peg + Cat: The Race Car Problem by Jennifer Oxley; Billy Aronson
While we believe that the books and resources recommended may be of value to you, keep in mind that these are suggestions only and you must do your own due diligence to determine whether the materials are appropriate and suitable for your use. PNC has no sponsorship or endorsement agreement with the authors or publishers of the materials listed.
There are currently no Common Core Standards for pre-k, but these lessons are aligned as closely as possible to capture the requirements and meet the goals of Common Core Standards. However, these lessons were neither reviewed or approved by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices or the Council of Chief State School Officers, which together are the owners and developers of the Common Core State Standards.
Read a summary of privacy rights for California residents which outlines the types of information we collect, and how and why we use that information.