Teams design and build a windmill, under budget, that can lift an object. The groups evaluate and reflect on their own design, then on those produced by other teams. The goal is to determine which design is the most...

Students experiments with levers to determine if the amount of force needed to lift a load is always the same. In this physics instructional activity, students use Lab-Pro data collector as they experiment with the fulcrum placement to...

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 instructional activity...

Read Just a Little Bit, by Ann Tompert as an introduction to levers. Discuss playground seesaws and then turn learners loose to experiment with the placement of a fulcrum. Their goal is to determine where to place it in order to lift ten...

Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff? After viewing a trailer for the film, Anonymous and reading Stephen Marche’s article “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t Shakespeare?” class groups read articles about the Shakespeare...

It is plane to see that simple machines help reduce the force needed to perform a task.  This resource introduces three of the simple machines--the inclined plane, the wedge, and the screw, and  the formulas in order to be able...

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...

Students use simple machines that demonstrate force, friction, work and power. They investigate and explain simple machines.

Using boats along in the Port of Albany as the focus, learners practice adding single-digit numbers and interpreting data. This lesson comes with the worksheets, resource links, and other materials to make it a worthwhile experience.

Students explore the relationship between force and the distance of the load from the fulcrum.  In this experimental lesson students get into groups and make a lever and record the force that is needed to move it, they then try this...

Fifth graders take a close look at the types of ships that travel through the Hudson River Valley on the Hudson River. They utilize worksheets embedded in the plan in order to answer questions about exactly what is being shipped, and how...

Fourth graders lift objects with the fulcrum and load in various positions and then experiment with how much force is exerted by the effort and load arms of the lever. They place 5 paper clips in the load and move the fulcrum to match...

Learners engage in a lesson that concentrates on the use of a lever and fulcrum. They define how a lever is used to lift a load. The lesson has background information to justify it. Students demonstrate how to use the lever while lifting...

Students use problem solving skills to lift a load using a balloon rocket. They construct a rocket out of a balloon and use it to carry a paper clip payload.

Students connect the events of early space exploration to their lives today. After viewing a teacher created gallery, they discuss how the launch of Sputnik and how space exploration in general has positively or negatively affected...

High schoolers use data from real-life models to calculate and compare the force required for an airplane of a given weight to become airborne. They use a graphing calculator to evaluate data and use the World Wide Web to access data.

Students investigate how levers help to lift heavy loads. They view and discuss examples of levers, explore various websites, experiment with the levers brought to the class, and watch the video for the book "Mike Mulligan and His Steam...

Students explore electromagnetism, simple machines and the design process. They use the concepts of electromagnetism to design and build a device that uses an electromagnet, a pulley and a lever using the provided Engineering Design...

Students investigate pulleys and see how they have a mechanical advantage in lifting heavy loads.  In this pulley activity students make a hypothesis, complete and experiment then complete a worksheet. 

Fifth graders discuss ways to move large rocks. They relate this to building a rock garden, and the ways people might load boulders into a truck. Students discuss the use of a ramp vs. lifting the boulder straight up onto the bed of the...

Students investigate how levers can be used to lift objects. They participate in hands-on activities to explore the distance a load is lifted when comparing the amount the lever arm was pushed down. Students discover the how placement...

Third graders view a demonstration of a teeter totter as a basis for assessing pre-knowledge of a lever. They create a KwL chart. Students work in small groups to conduct a variety of experiments. The first requires students to tie books...

Students explore the significance of the Federal Reserve in the United States economy by defining key economic terms through the presentation of skits and the creation of a student book.

Rivers aren't just a place for animals to live, they also provide industrial transportation. The class will examine the Hudson River on a map, discuss all the commercial vessels that use the River to transport materials, then complete a...