TeachersFirst's Energy, Force, and Motion - Science Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections

This collection of resources will help you research information about energy, force, and motion. Read the descriptions to find out whether a site sounds right for what you want to know. Some sites may be more challenging reading, while others may offer solid basic information. Some of the sites also provide interactives or lesson plans/activities.
View our entire list of resources that are tagged energy, force, and motion
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Q-Files The Great Illustrated Encyclopedia - Q-Files Ltd
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): aircraft (25), amphibians (21), animals (324), asia (74), aztecs (10), birds (52), china (65), cultures (116), dinosaurs (51), earth (226), earthquakes (52), ecosystems (90), electricity (95), energy (212), erosion (19), europe (72), forces (47), insects (73), literature (263), mammals (33), mayans (14), medicine (64), microscopes (13), moon (81), oceans (164), photography (145), planets (139), polar (18), population (64), religions (74), rocks (52), romans (37), scientists (71), solar system (125), space (233), sports (102), telescopes (10), vikings (12), weather (211)
In the Classroom
Use Q-Files as an informational reading source for a variety of subjects. In science and social studies use as a way to provide background information for inquiry-based projects. Redefine learning and challenge students use resources for multimedia projects such as Slidestory, reviewed here, Sway, , reviewed here, or modify learning using Flipboard, reviewed here, to share their findings. Pair these articles with literature to provide a better background information base, such as information on ancient China or Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Add as a bookmark to student computers and on your class website.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Physics Central - American Physical Society
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): experiments (68), scientists (71)
In the Classroom
Be sure to place a link to this free resource on your teacher page. Use this resource when discussing Physics in the news. Add excitement to your lessons with various demonstrations or bits of information about real Physics studies and cutting edge science. Use the Spectra comic books as a pre-reading assignment for Middle School classes. Ask students to annotate the comic noting questions they have and highlighting important facts using Hypotheis, reviewed here. Compare student notes from the comics before beginning the lesson for the day. Encourage students to create comics about other Physics concepts as part of a team effort or an extra credit opportunity. Comics can be drawn conventionally or created using online tools. First have students create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. Then students can create and share their comics online using a tool like Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Minute Physics - Minutephysics
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): matter (64)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an introduction to a physics lesson or new topic. In your blended learning or flipped classroom have students view the video at home using VideoAnt, reviewed here. With VideoAnt you and your students can write comments and add questions right to the video saving class time for discussion of the questions and comments. Consider encouraging students to create their own video explanations of concepts in Physics to teach others what they have learned. Use a tool such as Biteable, reviewed here, for the explainer video. Share them using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here. Gifted students will love these videos. Share this link on your class web page and have students choose a favorite video to explain in detail to the class as a "student teacher."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Physics Games - PhysicsGames.net
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): energy (212), forces (47), gravity (53), motion (69)
In the Classroom
Advertising is quite pervasive on the site. You may want to introduce the site on your interactive whiteboard and discuss how to avoid the advertisements before allowing students to explore on their own. This is a great tool to use in the science classroom. Younger students can interact with the games successfully even without much background knowledge. Each of the activities encourages trial and error learning. Ask students to explain to a peer how it works, and they will discover the principles. Older students can try these interactives and write about the physics concepts introduced and explored. If you have a class website, blog, or wiki, embed in your site for easy access. Extend student learning by challenging them to create their own physics game using Stencyl, reviewed here. Stencyl is a download and works perfectly in 1:1 or BYOD classrooms as it works on any and all devices (DAT).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CK-12 - CK-12 Foundation
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): atoms (55), cells (104), charts and graphs (204), decades (10), energy (212), engineering (130), equations (154), fractions (232), genetics (91), inequalities (25), landforms (47), measurement (178), oceans (164), organisms (22), periodic table (55), probability (135), pythagorean theorem (34), rocks (52), scientific method (68), seasons (37), solar energy (39), solar system (125), statistics (133), STEM (211), test prep (87), variables (20)
In the Classroom
Introduce CK-12 to your students (and parents) on your interactive whiteboard and demonstrate ways to use the site at home. Be sure to create a link to the site on your class website or blog for easy access at any time. Create an account and upload your own resources and activities to create your own flexbooks for use with students. CK-12 is available in many languages. Use this site with your ESL/ELL students as a supplement to classroom resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Bridge Ocean Education - Virginia Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): animals (324), geology (77), habitats (113), marine biology (36), oceans (164), plants (175)
In the Classroom
Use lesson plans offered on the site during your science units. Allow older students to explore the site to gather specific information about marine explorations and share through multi-media projects. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Visme, Adobe Spark For K-12, Plotagon, and My Simpleshow. Teachers of gifted students may want to use the site as a supplemental resource for students to do self-study projects geared toward individual interests.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science IQ - Science IQ. com
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): area (71), carbon (24), carbon footprint (10), chemicals (51), coal (13), earthquakes (52), energy (212), engineering (130), fossil fuels (17), fossils (44), glaciers (17), machines (26), matter (64), moon (81), natural resources (58), ozone (8), ph (3), planets (139), prime numbers (31), pythagorean theorem (34), questioning (38), space (233), square roots (21), stars (71), sun (76), volume (52)
In the Classroom
Try using this site's questions on a weekly or daily basis in science or math class to start discussions and provoke student thinking. Allow students to view the question on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then brainstorm possible answers. Once enough thoughts have been seeded, share the real answers. Or, allow students to work at the answer as the lesson continues for a few days and reveal the correct answer as a finale to the lesson.This site could also be used as a learning station for the question of the day or the week.
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Physics To Go - APS, AAPT, and NSF-NSDL
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): experiments (68), motion (69), photography (145)
In the Classroom
Use this site to encourage your students to read about science outside of the classroom. Share the link on your website or class wiki. Start by assigning an article to students and have them highlight and annotate important information and questions they have and discuss it in class or on a blog. Have students use a digital tool like Hypothesis, reviewed here, for highlighting and annotating. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Loose Leaves, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Or, if you are teaching a unit on something specific, such as Earthquakes, once students have learned essential vocabulary, have them read the issue and follow the links on the page. Have students discuss in class what they have learned. Then, have small groups create "Top Five Facts" to summarize what they have learned. Challenge students to create a talking avatar using a photo or other image (legally permitted to be reproduced). The avatars can be used to explain the "Top Five Facts" the group wishes to share with the class. Use a site such as Blabberize, reviewed here. Reading teachers can also use the articles on this site for reading comprehension practice with nonfiction selections.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Newton's Laws of Motion - School For Champions
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): newton (26)
In the Classroom
Use this as an alternative to the textbook. Post the site to the class wiki and have students read or listen as part of homework and answer questions about the information. Even better, have students take the mini quiz at the end of the lessons and post their answers to the wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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School for Champions - Physics - Ron Kurtus
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): friction (13), magnetism (41), matter (64), motion (69)
In the Classroom
Add this site to your class website or wiki. Have students view pages of this site rather than textbook readings and ask them discussion questions about the content. The audio feature is very useful! Have cooperative learning groups investigate one specific topic at this site and create a multimedia project to share what they learned. Have your students create an interactive online poster using Canva, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Physics Front - American Association of Physics Teachers
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Find great lessons, demonstration ideas, and laboratory activities to use with students of all ages and abilities. Search instead for specific lesson plans, activities, labs, or assessments. Use these ideas to create your own inquiry activities. Allow students the opportunities to teach a concept to the other students in class using these great plans. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create an online graphic to share using Genial.ly, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science of the Olympic Winter Games - Nantional Science Foundation
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): olympics (52)
In the Classroom
Share these videos on an interactive whiteboard or projector, being sure to have student use the whiteboard tools as you pause the video so students can draw lines to illustrate forces and other concepts. Have student groups watch different videos and report back on the theoretical science AND the actual results from that sport, connecting the science concepts to the actual results they see in competition. Use a video annotation tool such as RooClick, reviewed here, for easy sharing with the class. Even younger students can benefit from the videos as an overview of more advanced concepts, provided you preview vocabulary, then stop and discuss more challenging words during the video. Your students will want the link to this site, so share it on your class web page. You can also embed the videos right in your web page, blog, or wiki. Have students write about the embedded piece, adding their own commentary of the actual Olympics based on the video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science and Sports - The Exploratorium
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share this interactive site with your students to excited them about learning physics! Although some of the pages are "text heavy," this is a great site for research.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fear of Physics
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): gravity (53)
In the Classroom
Share this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. If you teach physics, be sure to save this site in your favorites and reference the activities when applicable in your class. Challenge students to create their own physics explainer video using Rawshorts, reviewed here. Rawshorts is a drag and drop format site designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on TeacherTube, TeacherTube reviewed here, YouTube and other social media sites.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Discover Primary Science - Forfas
Grades
K to 7tag(s): heart (41), human body (132), pollution (67), structures (22)
In the Classroom
View the movies to gain background information and learn basics. With older students flip your class and have them view the movies at home using Vizia, reviewed here. With Vizia you can add questions and quizzes to videos, saving class time for discussions and questions. Share the interactives and video clips on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Use related lab activities or research to to reinforce the topics with hands-on experiences.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Science for Kids - Kidipede
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): atoms (55), diseases (73), earth (226), earthquakes (52), electricity (95), medicine (64), rocks (52), weather (211)
In the Classroom
Use portions of this site as an anticipatory set in your science or math class. The information is simple to understand and would be useful for students struggling with a topic. Use the site for research about specific topics. Have teams of students explore each of the "sub-topics" within the main topic. Ask them to record their findings in a digital portfolio of resources using WeLearned.It, reviewed here. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create informational videos sharing their research using a tool like My Simpleshow, reviewed here. Then share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Why not list this link on your class website, so students can access the page both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Moon Olympics - Scholastic
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): air (142), atmosphere (29), moon (81), sports (102), water (137)
In the Classroom
Share this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. This is a perfect addition to a physics unit or while teaching about the atmosphere. Take your students to the moon to play a different sport each day and then discuss the science behind that sport on both Earth and the moon. Ask students to predict what will happen before you start the game.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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