Topic: Friction

Alaska Sled Dog Supply Challenge Force and Motion PBL Grades 3-5
Alaska Sled Dog Supply Challenge is a force and motion project based learning mission for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. A storm is closing in, a remote research station is waiting for emergency supplies, and your students are the team chosen to complete the delivery.

Students join the Alaska Winter Supply Team: they read about Denali’s real working sled dogs, build a team of four dogs, pack the sled under a 100-pound mission cargo limit, investigate how load and friction change the pull, choose a route, do the mileage math, and solve the challenges waiting along the trail. Every choice they make earlier decides how the mission ends.

This is a full PBL simulation, not a packet of worksheets. It works as a science unit, a winter unit, an early finisher project, or a week of cross-curricular lessons.

What’s Included:
- Student mission booklet, print and go
- Whole-class slideshow for projecting the mission
- Teacher pages, setup notes and answer keys
- Google Slides version
- Nonfiction passages with questions, including The 1925 Serum Run
- Mission Vocabulary
- Force and Motion Activity
- Meet the Sled Dogs and Build Your Sled Dog Team
- Pack the Supply Sled, with a 100-pound cargo limit
- Does Load Change the Pull? investigation
- Choose Your Alaska Route
- Trail Challenge Cards
- Mission Report
- Mission Letter
- Student Grading Rubric
- Optional extension pages
❤️ Why Teachers Love It:

✅ No prep. Print the booklet, open the slideshow, and teach. Nothing to cut, laminate or assemble.

✅ Cross-curricular by design. Science, math, reading and writing all belong to the same trip.

✅ Real force and motion. Students investigate friction and load with a fair test or a no-prep data option.

✅ Every answer key is done for you, including the math.

✅ Print + digital. Works on paper, in Google Classroom, or both.

Standards:

NGSS: 3-PS2-1, partial/supporting alignment with the hands-on investigation only (Option A). Supporting connections with either investigation option: 3-PS2-2 and 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, and 3-5-ETS1-3. Conceptual connections: 3-LS4-2 and 4-LS1-1.
Math CCSS: 3.NBT.A.2 and 4.NBT.B.4, 3.OA.D.8 and 4.OA.A.3, 3.MD.B.3, 4.MD.A.2.
ELA CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.4.1, RI.5.1; W.3.1, W.4.1, W.5.1; W.3.2, W.4.2, W.5.2; SL.3.1, SL.4.1, SL.5.1.

Please note: the sled dogs, the research station and the supply mission are fictional characters and settings created for this simulation. The Denali sled dog facts and the 1925 Serum Run are real and sourced.
October 22, 2026
Force and Motion Activity Pack with Issac Newton & Elijah McCoy

Your students will love these creative activities and flip book to learn all about Force and Motion! This Force and Motion Unit includes 11 reading passages, organizers related to each concept, comprehension & connections activities, vocabulary posters, unit test, and flip book. Plus there are two character studies where students will meet Isaac Newton and Elijah McCoy! **Newly Updated with a Unit Test that’s EDITABLE and Answer Key!

A force is a push or a pull that can make an object move. You use pushing and pulling motions all the time! You are using force when you write your name, open a door, tie your shoes, and even take a sip of your milk. Sometimes, force can change the speed and direction of an object. In this unit, students will learn all about different forces through the use of kid-friendly informational articles and hands-on activities.

Students will learn about force and motion with informational articles on:
✔ Force
✔ Force on an object
✔ Friction
✔ Speed & Acceleration
✔ Gravity
✔ Laws of Motion
✔ Mass
✔ Magnetism
✔ Electromagnetism

Plus there are character studies where students will meet two influential scientists and inventors:
✔ Isaac Newton
✔ Elijah McCoy

This unit includes many interactive activities and learning opportunities for students including:
✔ Vocabulary Posters
✔ Vocabulary Flip Flaps
✔ Cloze Passage
✔ Force Comprehension Organizers (4)
✔ Biography Organizers
✔ Force Mystery Flaps
✔ Unit Test (4-pages) with Answer Key
✔ Unit Test EDITABLE Version
PLUS…
✔ 6 page Force and Motion Flip Book

There are three main activities:
Vocabulary:
Introduce the vocabulary words with the real-life photo posters included. You could post these posters around the classroom and have students travel around to match up and define the words in their flip flaps or use as a center activity. These posters are excellent for a bulletin board display too.

Reading:
Next, have students read the informational articles about force, motion, gravity, mass, speed and acceleration, friction, magnetism, and electromagnetism. Have students complete the comprehension and connection questions and organizers. There are two character studies for students to read about and meet Sir Isaac Newton and Elijah McCoy. There are also biography organizers to do additional research on these two scientists. You could have students work with a partner or in small groups or even as a center/station activity.

Activities:
Have students complete the student activities like graphic organizers, mystery flaps, cloze passage, and Force & Motion Flip Book. Students can build the flip book page by page. I usually have them do one page at each center or station. They can use the articles as a reference source to help them complete the pages of the flip-up. Lastly, they cut, color, and assemble the booklet. Flipbooks can be glued or stapled inside their interactive notebooks, file folder, or a 12×18 piece of construction paper folded like a book cover. Evaluate student learning with the Unit Test (4-pages). Answer Key is included!

October 22, 2026

Topic: Friction

Alaska Sled Dog Supply Challenge Force and Motion PBL Grades 3-5

Force and Motion Activity Pack with Issac Newton & Elijah McCoy