Twelve word bank words fill the blanks in this 3rd grade cloze passage on forces. Each word is used once across three paragraphs. The story moves from tug of war to two friends pushing a heavy toy box from opposite sides, then shows what happens when one friend pushes harder. Gravity and evidence round out the passage. The sheet fits NGSS 3-PS2-1, and the key reprints the whole passage with the answers filled in.
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.”
The toy box paragraphs, where equal pushes mean the box will not move and a harder push makes it slide, plus the final blank for evidence.
Twelve words: evidence, direction, pull, investigation, balanced, stop, push, strength, unbalanced, gravity, motion, and move.
The first paragraph defines a force and its strength and direction. The second covers balanced forces on the toy box, and the third covers unbalanced forces, gravity, and gathering evidence.
Reading block
Use it as a science text during literacy time. Students must read each full sentence to choose between words like push and pull, which only fit one order.
Act it out
Have two students push a box of books from opposite sides, then let one push harder. Do this before the second paragraph and the blanks make sense at once.
Vocabulary check
Cross off each word bank word as it is used. Students who have two words left over can see right away where they went wrong.
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