Simple Machines Teacher Resources
Find Simple Machines lesson plans and worksheets
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Lesson Planet Curated
Simple Machines
A collection of five lessons and activities introduce young engineers to simple and compound machines. Groups use the engineering design process to design a Rube Goldberg machine to move a circus elephant into a rail car, a pulley system...
Lesson Planet Curated
STEM: Elementary Inquiry
Encourage scholars to investigate and think critically with a collection of 14 STEM lesson plans. The following inquiry-based lessons explore the concepts of life cycles of plants and animals, measurement, magnets, evaporation,...
Science Companion
Simple Machines Design Project
Make your work as a teacher a little easier with a physical science project on simple machines. After introducing young scientists to these devices and identifying their different uses around the school, this project engages...
Curated OER
Simple Machines IV - Levers
The principles of levers and simple machines are presented here. An easy-to-make lever is constructed by each group of scientists, and they use it to explore how this simple machine makes heavy things so much easier to lift and move. A...
Curated OER
Simple Machines Worksheet
Simplify students' lives with this physical science note-taking guide. From inclined planes to moveable pulleys, this resource supports young scientists with defining each type of simple machine while identifying their mechanical...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Simple Machines
Here is a tri-faceted resource that has a slide show, a quiz, and a vocabulary list that you can use to teach simple machines. Six machines are introduced: wheels and axles, planes, levers, pulleys, wedges, and screws. Slides contain...
Colorado Unit Writing Project
Simple Machines
Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning...
Norwich Institute for Language Education
Simple Machines
Planning a unit on simple machines? Save some time and energy with this collection of lessons and activities that explores how these devices are used in the real world to make life a little easier.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Simple Machines
Simple doesn't mean useless. Individuals learn how simple machines benefit the user by changing the amount of effort. A seven-lesson unit begins with an overview of simple machines and then incorporates activities that allow the user to...
Bozeman Science
Simple Machines
Sometimes simple machines don't seem so...simple. The video lesson explains the principles of simple machines. Viewers also discover the concept of mechanical advantage and how it affects the forces related to simple machines.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Here is an inventive plan that should get your young scientists excited! In it, groups of pupils test out the work done by six different simple machines. The machines are: the wedge, the lever, the inclined plane, the pulley, the screw,...
Curated OER
Simple Machines IV - Levers
The lever is an everyday simple machine. Youngsters learn the principles of levers and explore their many uses. Groups of pupils perform a simple lab where they lift objects with a fulcrum while placing the load in a variety of...
Curated OER
Simple Machines IV - Wheels and Axles
Youngsters are introduced to the basic principles and uses of the wheel and the axle. They come up with every day examples of simple machines and look into why the wheel and the axle are best-used as a paired machine instead of used...
Curated OER
Simple Machines III - Pulleys
The principles behind pulleys, levers, and simple machines are the focus of a science lesson. In it, learners take part in a whole-class activity. There are two groups of pupils who each must lift objects with fixed pulleys and multiple...
Workforce Solutions
Simple Machine Scavenger Hunt
How are simple machines used in professional settings? To find out, scholars examine various pictures, cross-reference a list of simple machines, and write or verbally share how those items are used in specific jobs.
Curated OER
Matching Types of Simple Machines
In this matching types of simple machines worksheet, 5th graders read the definition and examples of simple machines, then match 10 pictures of devices with 4 categories.
Curated OER
Move it! With Simple Machines
Students know the six simple machines and explain what they do and how they have changed the lives of humans.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Simple machines and the relationship between work and force are defined. Inclined planes, the wheel and axle, pulleys, levers, wedges, and screws are detailed. This video consists entirely of typed white print appearing across a purple...
Purdue University
Simple Machines
What's the best way to use a simple machine to solve a real-world problem? Scholars construct their own simple and complex machines to explore the concepts of work and force. They discuss examples of simple machines they have found in...
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...
Purdue University
Simple Machines – Dog Gone It!
How can people use simple machines to solve real-world STEM problems? Learn about simple machines using a hands-on, project-based learning activity. First, pupils investigate and evaluate simple machines. Then, they receive a task that...
Curated OER
Teaching About Simple Machines
Students identify six different simple machines. They investigate the difference between the ideal and actual mechanical advantage. Students calculate the actual mechanical advantage for several simple machines.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Students examine six simple machines and investigate who Rube Goldberg is. They explore various websites, write an article, write ten interesting facts about Rube Goldberg, and design and construct a simple machine.
