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...

An excellent lesson awaits your young scientists! In it, learners are invited to explore the world of pulleys, levers, and planes; simple machines that make lifting heavy things much, much easier. They watch video, and engage in hands-on...

Students explore how various ramps affect the rate of speed of a rolling object. In this physics lesson, students work in groups to build a ramp out of various materials. Students test and record the rate of speed of a rolling object by...

Students plan and build a ramp designed for maximum distance a car can travel. In this physics and data collection math lesson, students work in groups to design a ramp using various household materials. Students test small cars on their...

Young scholars explore the simple machine of a wedge. In this wedge lesson, students test wedges on different materials including wax, soap, clay and foam. They learn how a wedge was used to build the ancient pyramid and modern day...

Fourth graders participate in activities to examine how simple machines help build things. They identify the six types of simple machines. They discover how simple machines where use historically to build pyramids and how they are still...

Fourth graders examine the simple machine known as a plane. They build their own pyramid and identify the role of screws. They participate in a hands-on activity in which they determine the angle in which to make it easier to pull.

Learners perform the following activity as a group so that they can gain experience with how ramps work. Students will first construct a simple ramp and then time how fast different objects roll down that ramp.

Pupils use gymnastics beams, benches, mats, and wedges to practice gymnastics skills. In this gymnastics lesson plan, students practice balancing, tumbling, and jumping skills.

Eighth graders examine the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane through experimentation.

Get the ball rolling with this upper-elementary science unit on forces and motion. Offering over three weeks of physical science lessons, this resource is a great way to engage the class in learning about simple machines, friction,...

Students using clay and a toothpick, shape the clay into a "mountain" upon which they make a road that is the shortest in distance. They measure the length of their road and then make a road that is the longest in distance without...

Fifth graders investigate the relationship between mass and speed. In this physics lesson, 5th graders experiment with motion by being given a ramp, two balls, and blocks or books for elevation. Students determine how different variables...

Build learning by breaking atoms! Young scientists study the way energy changes with a hands-on activity. As they roll steel marbles down a ramp, learners test the hypothesis that kinetic energy does not go away with friction...

Students compare and contrast simple machines and their functions. In this cross-curriculum science simple machines lesson, students observe examples and read about simple machines, then use body movement to demonstrate how 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...

Learners examine the names and images of simple machines in a matching activity. They build a simple machine using K'NEX before taking and printing out a digital picture of their example. They complete five station activities based on...

Pupils explore agriculture and the current technologies and research that continue to make Earth a viable planet. This four lessons unit introduce students to simple machines and the concepts of force and friction through a variety of...

Young scholars examine what lies within the Earth. They research and create scale models illustrating the layers of the Earth and write skits advocating a travel plan to send a probe into the Earth's mantle.

Fifth graders discuss prior knowledge of slope and force. They relate steepness of slope to the force needed to get an object up the slope. Students read from their text the information about inclined planes. They answer the questions...

Young Einsteins experiment with the acceleration of Hot Wheels™ toy cars down inclined planes at various angles. This classic physics lab activity is thoroughly explained in both a teacher’s guide and a student lab sheet. Science...

Students write the slope of a linear equation. In this algebra lesson plan, students follow a robot along a coordinate plane and create an equation to represent the ramp created. They identify the points the ramp passes through.

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...

Legos in science class? Watch your pupils fall in love with this activity. After learning to measure potential and kinetic energy, young scientists create their own ramps using Lego Mindstorm sensors and software.