Curated OER
Electrical motors
Young scholars investigate and experiement with a 9-volt motor. They will use the connecting wire and battery pack to discover fans.
Curated OER
Egyptians as Engineers
Student design and build Lego vehicles that drag given amount of weight up an incline. They show how this demonstrates Egyptian methods of pyramid construction.
Curated OER
What's Hiding in the Air?
Fifth graders conduct experiments to study the effects of invisible air pollutants including one with a bean plant. They examine methods of invisible air pollutants.
Curated OER
Wheel & Axle Tractor
Young scholars design and build a tractor using LEGO materials. They write and draw their designs.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Inventions Using Simple Machines Project
Students will have completed a unit on the six simple machines (lever, inclined plane, pulley, wedge, screw, and wheel and axle) before beginning this project. Students will choose to investigate an invention composed of one or more...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Simple Machines
This instructional activity will teach young scholars about simple machines. Students will have an opportunity to explore and identify simple machines used in their everyday lives. Young scholars will enjoy learning as they play a game...
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Build a Cam Mechanism
Create a simple machine that transfers a rotational motion into linear vertical motion with this challenge. The site gives more details on the challenge as well as tips and place to document your design process. Teachers can find a...
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Build a Joint Mechanism
This website challenges students to make a simple machine out of a straw to mimic the movement of joints in your body. The website includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their design process.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Build a Robotic Face
Build a robotic face that can make facial expressions using simple machines on this website. This website includes the challenge, tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Make a Mechanical Theater
Make a simple machine that creates characters for a theater show on this site. This site contains a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Build a Crank Mechanism
In this challenge, students will transfer rotational motion into linear motion by building a simple machine. The site also includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Construct a Crane
Can you build a crane that uses simple machines and mechanical advantage to move heavy objects? This website contains a challenge, tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
PBS
The Math of Bicycles: Wheel Figure This Out (Grades 4 7)
Several good activities here. Look particularly at Wheel Figure It Out (which is the opening page) and Gearing Up. There are answers to the very good questions at the bottom of each.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Make a Wave Machine
Take the design challenge to make a wave machine with simple materials on this site. Site contains a design challenge and an interactive journal to document the challenge. Find a video with an example of one way to make the wave machine.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Make a Root System
Inspire students to make a root system to help a plant stay put with simple materials like pipe cleaners, string, and marbles. This STEM challenge allows students to not only solve a problem but get tips and document their process all on...
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Create a Circuit to Light an Led
This website contains a challenge for students to build a simple circuit that enables you to turn on a small LED. The website includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their design challenge.
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Make a Flat Ball
Using simple geometric shapes cut out of paper and taped together to create a ball that is as round as possible with this challenge. This page also includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering...
Technovation
Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Build a Wind Powered Sailboat
Powered by the wind watch your boat move through the water. This challenge has students making a boat using simple household materials. The website also includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering...
Math Science Nucleus
I. Science Ma Te: Integrating Science, Math and Technology
This site offers a wealth of online textbook-related materials that encourage the discovery of science in the world around us. Enter the site to access material on specific topics. Each section contains reading material (complete with...
Integrated Publishing
Integrated Publishing: The Wheel & Axle
A solid chapter explanation of the wheel & axle simple machine. Examples, the basic math, explanation of mechanical advantage, drawings, solved problem. Use the Next button. There are four pages in this chapter.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Incline Plane and the Crashing Marble
Students will measure the effects of the height of an inclined plane on the force a marble produces to move a plastic, foam, or paper cup across a table. Students will discover that the higher the incline plane, the more force produced...
Other
R Campus: Rubric Studio & Rubric Gallery
This is a great free rubrics site. The Rubric Studio is a comprehensive rubric design and assessment tool. Teachers can build simple rubrics or complex rubrics with multiple sections and flexible number of rows and columns. In addition,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Cyberchase: Bianca Gets in Gear
Bianca visits a bike shop and learns how bicycle gears work in this Cyberchase video segment. [3:26]