Physics Accelerate (Grades 3-7)

This curiosity-building physics curriculum bundle of six Accelerate-level Science Unlocked kits will engage your student in hands-on learning for an entire school year. This full-year physics homeschool curriculum includes:

• Full-colored student workbook
• Student assessments
• Supplies and equipment needed for experiments
• Real-world application

No prior teaching or science experience is needed! Teachers and parents, you will be well-equipped. Science Unlocked detailed teacher guides will help guide you through assisting with hands-on physics curriculum learning experiences with:

• Context and answers to student questions
• Options for including children of different ages and abilities
• Step-by-step experiment instructions
• Lesson planning timeline

The Physics Accelerate (Grades 3-7) Science Unlocked physics curriculum bundle includes the following kits:

Unit 1: Force and Motion (3 Kits)

Funny Forces

Incredible Inventions with Simple Machines

Experiment with air pressure, discover simple machines in everyday items, and design your own incredible invention.

Power of Magnets

Investigations into Magnetic Fields and Forces

Feel the pull toward this physics kit and get hands-on with magnets to find out what they can do and how they do it.

Controlling Collisions

Energy Transfer and Design

Crash into this physics kit to learn how materials and the structure of design impact the ability to withstand collisions.

Unit 2: Energy and Waves (3 Kits)

Wave Wisdom

Patterns of Energy and Information Transfer

Learn what waves are, what they do, and how people use them by doing some wavy water tricks, making gummies glow, and “catching” microwaves.

The Light Trap

Investigating Light and Pigments

Investigate light’s role in energy transfer and sight, and find out how pigments connect science, art, and society.

No Wires Necessary

Exploring Electricity with Circuits

Investigate the conductivity of materials, testing parallel and series circuits, and designing a model circuit of a home.

More information about the learning objectives in each kit can be found in the contents section below. This NAPPA award winning NGSS physics curriculum is based on NGSS science standards for 3rd through 7th grade science education. Read below in the contents section to learn more about the standards met in each kit. 

More Information

• Power of Magnets Safety Information (SDS)
• The Light Trap Safety Information (SDS)

This Accelerate level Science Unlocked bundle includes:

• Funny Forces
• Power of Magnets
• Controlling Collisions
• Wave Wisdom
• The Light Trap
• No Wires Necessary

• Funny Forces

• Learning outcome: Push, pull, and play your way to understanding force. Experiment with air pressure, discover simple machines in everyday items, and design your own incredible invention.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• 3-PS2-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
• 3-PS2-2 Make observations and/or measurements of an objects motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
• 5-PS2-1 Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.

• Power of Magnets

• Learning outcome: Feel the pull toward this physics kit and get hands-on with magnets to find out what they can do and how they do it.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• 3-PS2-3 Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
• 3-PS2-4 Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
• MS-PS2-3 Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
• MS-PS2-5 Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

• Controlling Collisions

• Learning outcome: Crash into this physics kit to learn how materials and the structure of design impact the ability to withstand collisions.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• 3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• 3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
• 4-PS3-1 Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
• 4-PS3-3 Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.
• 4-PS3-4 Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
• MS-PS3-1 Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
• MS-PS3-5 Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.

• Wave Wisdom

• Learning outcome: It’s nothing but good vibes here – learn what waves are, what they do, and how people use them by doing some wavy water tricks, making gummies glow, and “catching” microwaves.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• 4-PS4-1 Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move.
• 4-PS4-3 Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information.
• MS-PS4-1 Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.
• MS-PS4-2 Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials

• The Light Trap

• Learning outcome: Investigate light’s role in energy transfer and sight, and find out how pigments connect science, art, and society.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• 4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
• 4-PS4-2 Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen.
• 5-PS1-1 Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
• MS-PS1-3 Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

• No Wires Necessary

• Learning outcome: Does electricity need wires to work? Find out by investigating the conductivity of materials, testing parallel and series circuits, and designing a model circuit of a home.
• NGSS science standards alignment
• MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.