Have you ever tried explaining force to your students and been met with blank stares? I get it. Force is one of those tricky science concepts because it’s invisible. You can’t hold it in your hands or put it under a microscope. Instead, you have to convince your students that something they can’t see is what’s making the world move (literally!).
My students LOVE Doodle sheets. I try to incorporate them as often as possible to help with engagement and help them remember information. We’ve begun our chapter on force in Earth Science, and doodle notes are perfect to help with this!
There is some overlap on forces and matter in my Earth Science and Physical Science class, and these notes work for my middle schoolers and high schoolers.
My students always do better when they can see their thinking on paper, and that’s what this Force Doodle Sheet provides. It takes the abstract, hard-to-grasp ideas and breaks them down in a way that feels approachable, visual, and even fun!
Here’s why your students have a hard time understanding force:
- Force is invisible. Unlike a rock, a leaf, or even a chemical reaction, force doesn’t show up right in front of them!
- It’s everywhere and so common, we don’t even consider it.
- The vocabulary words in this chapter feel like a foreign language to the students and can get overwhelming. They’ve never quite heard these terms, and if so, not in this way.
Because of this, it’s so important to pair clear explanations with visuals and examples.
Use this doodle sheet as a visual organizer of the two types of forces. My curriculum calls them contact forces and field forces. Then, use the examples of each type so they can connect science to real-life situations. The chance to color, doodle, and interact with the content helps it stick to their memory.
I even included a differentiated version with fewer words so you can adjust the level of support to fit your class.
Here’s EXACTLY how my class session goes when I teach about types of force:
- I ask students to turn to their books and do popcorn reading. I use this sensory duck to make this more engaging. Both my high school and middle school students literally fight to read so they can hold the duck.
- Next, we move to my slides. I hand students their doodle sheets and we go through each section along with the slides.
- Before I show each of the answers to the doodle section, I ask the students out loud – “Does anyone know what a force is”? I then share the definition with them and continue in that manner for the rest of the doodle notes until I get to the example section.
- Once we are on the example side of the Force Doodle Notes Sheet, I release the students and allow them to use their textbooks and work with their group to find which type of force matches each example.
- We then return to the slides as a group. I have a picture that corresponds with each example and we go through each example together. I explain to the students why each of these examples corresponds with each type of force.
If you’ve been searching for a way to make this “invisible” science concept a little more tangible, this doodle sheet is a game-changer. Your students will leave with a stronger grasp of push, pull, and the forces at work in their everyday lives.
Find this resource on TPT!