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Hello, I am a preservice teacher currently placed into a third grade classroom. We are currently going over force and motion. Many of the students seem to be slightly confused on the subject, so I was wondering what are some fun and engaging lessons that can help make force and motion more interesting for students? I would love to hear your feedback!

Having the students make car ramps can make the lesson on force and motion more fun. Also you can do the leprechaun balloon race with balloons and string, and have the students hold the string at different angles.   

Hello Abby, My name is Dr. George Mehler and I have been developing a YouTube channel filled with free demonstrations that cover a variety of science topics that young learners should know before they get to high school. We actually have a playlist of videos completely dedicated to Forces and Motion demonstrations. These engaging demonstrations are each a few minutes long and are easily replicated in the classroom. Check it out and subscribe to our channel as we release new video demonstrations biweekly! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLat8Jejmdx1vp2yUSilEEXBNEffnnLoYh Best of Luck, The FunScienceDemos Team Dr. George Mehler Ed.D., Temple University Jared Hottenstein Central Bucks School District

These marshmallow shooters are a fun way for kids of all ages to learn about force and motion! Check out the link below:
http://owlwaysbeinspired.blogspot.com/2014/10/marshmallow-shooters-force-motion.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

There are two activities that have to do with the force of gravity and how it affects motion of an object. The links for the activities are provided below:  http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/hoopster.html http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/roto-copter.html These two activities will help the students understand force and motion because they will be the ones doing the activities. They are safe activities for children to do. The links tell you all the materials required for each. 

I also agree that car ramps are great for teaching force and motion. I am currently enrolled in an Early Childhood Education program and was recently required to write a science lesson plan. I decided to write it on force and motion using car ramps. It was great because it taught students the concepts of force, motion, and incline. Each ramp had a different incline so students were able to see how incline affects motion. To make it interesting and understandable for them, I introduced inclines by connecting them to slides at a park. Students were able to understand that when a slide is steep, they will travel faster down the slide. They were then able to correctly predict that the steep ramp would result in faster motion of the car.