Balanced & Unbalanced Forces Station Lab - MS

This modular, student-led activity is the perfect way to engage your middle schoolers in exploring force and motion. With everything you need included, you’ll save a ton of prep time while giving students the chance to direct their own learning.

In this lab, students will identify and describe how unbalanced forces change the position, direction, and speed of an object through hands-on, visual, written, and digital activities.

Texas Teachers: This station lab aligns with the 2017 TEKS (not updated for the 2021 TEKS).

Differentiated, Modular, and Student-Centered

Each lab includes eight core stations plus a bonus challenge station to provide a personalized learning experience for all students. Teachers guide and facilitate while students work independently or in small groups to explore at their own pace.

All signage, readings, task cards, and resources are included. The Explore It! station may require a few basic classroom materials you already have.

Best of all, this resource is designed for in-person or virtual learning, with files fully compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides.

The Stations

Input Stations – Learn New Concepts

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or digital drag-and-drop activity

• Read It! – Differentiated passages (English & Spanish) with comprehension questions

• Research It! – Online tasks with guiding questions

• Watch It! – Short video with reflection prompts

Output Stations – Demonstrate Understanding

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts/manipulatives

• Illustrate It! – Students sketch or model concepts for visual reinforcement

• Write It! – Open-ended written responses in complete sentences

• Assess It! – Task cards + vocabulary-in-context writing activity

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Perfect for early finishers or advanced learners, with crosswords, games, and mini-projects that extend and enrich learning.

Why Teachers Love It:

• Differentiated to meet diverse learning needs

• Multimodal to keep students engaged

• Flexible for print or digital use

• Minimal prep, maximum impact

This station lab is also part of the Balanced & Unbalanced Forces 5E Lesson Plan, which expands into presentations, interactive notebooks, student-choice projects, assessments, and more.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.