Introduce your class to to the remaining three simple machines-- the lever, pulley, and the wheel-and-axle with a plan that includes the three different types of levers in the discussion of levers. The lesson continues with the...

Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science lesson. Using the included templates, young scholars first create paper models...

Class members are challenged to design a device that will move a circus elephant into a train car. Groups brainstorm ideas that use simple machines to load the elephant. They then choose one of their ideas, sketch a plan, and present it...

Show your learners how to make their work easier. The first lesson plan in a series of 10 introduces the class to work and the way simple machines can be make work easier. The simple machines scholars can find in everyday items are...

Compound machines, nothing more than a combination of simple machines working together, are the focus of an activity that asks class members to use the provided information to take a look at the way innovators combine simple machines to...

A lever comes in handy when scholars build a launcher for a ping-pong ball. They test the launcher and redesign it to send the ball higher or to accommodate a tennis ball. This is the third lesson in a five-part unit.

Class members work in pairs to build a catapult to launch a grape a given distance. The catapult project, a compound machine, reinforces pupils' understanding of simple machines.

The choice is simple: create a PowerPoint presentation, write a book, or invent a compound machine. Whichever project your young scientists choose, they will be engaged in creatively demonstrating their knowledge of simple...

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...

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...

Fourth graders observe examples of simple machines found in the school, playground, and work environment. In this simple machines lesson, 4th graders review simple machines by viewing three web sites. Students tour the school and grounds...

Students participate in a role play in which they use simple machines to do the work of retrieving their sibling from a tree which lost its ladder. They investigate how work is accomplished when an object moves in the direction of the...

Students apply the principles of simple machines to create events in a wacky obstacle course. They work with a partner to prepare a visual presentation and an expository description of the obstacle course. Each group sequentially...

Refreshed with an understanding of the six simple machines; screw, wedge, pully, incline plane, wheel and axle, and lever, student groups receive materials and an allotted amount of time to act as mechanical engineers to design and...