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Simple Machines
Students explain how simple machines work and design their own machine. They use the Internet for research.
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Simple Machines: Levers
Learners discover the fundamentals and daily applications of simple machines. They investigate basic engineering theory through their hands-on demonstrations of levers.
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What is a Class One Lever?
Fifth graders understand what a lever is, how it works and what the parts of a lever are. For this first class lever lesson, 5th graders label pictures and design a lab lever. Students predict the outcome of experiments with their lever...
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Simple Machines
Students investigate to use simple machines for the purpose of maximizing the work provided by mechanical advantage. They design an experiment that illustrates how to move a load easier and then calculate the amount of work performed...
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Finding Simple Machines in Farm Machinery
Students identify simple machines and how they must work together to form a piece of equipment used in agriculture. They create a diagram of a piece of farm equipment and write about two of the simple machines they drew.
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Simple Machines
Fifth graders study how simple machines can help us alter forces and discuss the term mechanical advantage. They then identify dysfunctional simple machines and discuss in groups how the dysfunctions will decrease the effectiveness of each.
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Simple Machines
Students design objects in the Museum of Modern Art's collection of simple machines. In this simple machines activity, students explore the machine age in the MoMA's design collection. Students identify simple machines and the elements...
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Simple Machines IV - Wheels and Axles
Fourth graders study everyday examples of simple machines. They examine how the combination of a wheel and axle works more efficiently than either in isolation. In a demonstration lesson, they see how a spring scale shows a force pulling...
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The Time Machine
Challenge your class with this lesson! Learners read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, discuss context clues, identify main ideas and details, and analyze story elements. Discussion questions and activities are broken down for each chapter...
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Physics Around the School: Simple Machines In and Out of the Classroom
Students explore different machines and the components that encompass the science of physics. In this physics lesson students explore how things move.
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Farming 1: Farming Machines
Second graders explore different farm machines. In this farm instructional activity, 2nd graders discover the importance of farmers, and crops. Students discuss healthy eating and how crops are packaged. Students read books about farms...
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Wheels, Gears, and Compound Machines
Fifth graders read selected pages from their science text and explain forces affected by wheels and axles. They read and discover that gears transfer forces and that gear combinations relate to compound machines.
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Simple Machines
First graders discuss work, force, and energy. They study how work is done. Students discuss various types of work that are done. They act out how work is done. Student draw pictures of types of work they have done.
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Move It!
Third graders examine simple machines. For this simple machines lesson, 3rd graders observe simple machines at work in a video, then experiment with creating their own simple machines to move objects.
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Rube Rube
Learners examine and discuss simple machines and Rube Goldberg cartoons, listing real-world examples. They design and illustrate a Rube Goldberg device, identify the simple machines involved, and write a paragraph explaining how the...
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Powerful Pulleys
Students explore the building of a pyramid and how pulleys were used to change the direction of applied force. They demonstrate the mechanical advantage of using a pulley and apply it to modern engineering.
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Using Fulcrums
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...
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Levers: What Can Leverage Do For Me?
Learners determine the identity of the three classes of levers while explaining how each works. They wait a video clip that shows uses for different types of levers and work as a class to write a KWL chart. Finally, they make a model fo...
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Is a Pulley a Special Kind of Lever?
Fifth graders use information from their text to read and discuss pulleys and levers. They examine a top sketch of the arrangement of a fixed pulley. Working in groups, 5th graders perform experiments to test the effect of using a pulley...
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Incline Planes
Students determine the forces necessary to move a truck on an inclined plane with weight and slope as variables. They identify the cheapest way to transport trash to local garbage disposal sites.
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Simple Machines
Third graders listen to a short story entitled, "Phil's Adventures" from a book called Animal Stories. They stop at each obstacle in the story and do a quick write about how they would overcome the obstacle and draw a picture to...
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Simple Machines/Technology
Third graders examine the concept of work as the movement of an object through a distance. They define gravity and determine what type of work is caused by gravity. They measure how far an object is moved by a force. They make a...
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Machinery In Society
Students explore technology by completing a worksheet in class. In this common machinery lesson, students define the different designs that make simple machines work such as wheels, pulleys and gears. Students utilize verbs to describe...
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Gadget Anatomy
Fifth graders examine and identify different simple machines that make up complex machines. They analyze and discuss different gadgets and appliances brought in from home, then in small groups examine one of the machines in detail. ...