Curated OER
Wheel & Axle Tractor
Young scholars design and build a tractor using LEGO materials. They write and draw their designs.
Curated OER
AP Biology Chordates - Birds/Mammals
Students participate in a layered curriculum units with a variety of activities like: Library Research and choose one topic. Find 2 articles on the topic, cite the article, and summarize each article.
Curated OER
The Silk Roads Big Map
Students generate oversized rendition of the Silk Roads from Europe to East Asia, apply elements such as political and topographic features, the Silk Roads, products of the regions, and the routes of key travelers.
Curated OER
Magnetism: Magnet, Magnet, Where are you?
Students study the characteristics of magnets including polarity, and the concepts of attraction and repulsion. They examine how magnets are used industry.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Simple Machines
Activities reinforce the concept that all simple machines transfer force.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Forces & Motion With Simple Machines
Third graders will sort simple machines according to an applied force --push or a pull.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Simple Machines
The purpose of this lesson is to learn about the different types of simple machines and their uses. PDF (requires Adobe Reader) and RTF (requires Word or Notebook).
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Just Plane Simple
This lesson introduces students to three of the six simple machines used by many engineers. These machines include the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. In general, engineers use the inclined plane to lift heavy loads, the wedge...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Not So Simple
Students expand upon their understanding of simple machines with an introduction to compound machines. A compound machine - a combination of two or more simple machines - can affect work more than its individual components. Engineers who...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Advantage of Machines
For this lesson, students learn about work as defined by physical science and see that work is made easier through the use of simple machines. Already encountering simple machines everyday, students will be alerted to their widespread...
NASA
Nasa: Simple Machines
A lesson plan site that contains activities designed to give grades 3 and 4 experiences in using simple machines.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Engineering: Simple Machines
Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier. Students are introduced to the six types of simple machines - the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, and pulley - in the context of the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Levers That Lift
This lesson introduces students to three of the six simple machines used by many engineers: the lever, the pulley, and the wheel-and-axle. In general, engineers use the lever to magnify the force applied to an object, the pulley to lift...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Rube Goldberg and the Meaning of Machines
Simple and compound machines are designed to make work easier. When we encounter a machine that does not fit this understanding, the so-called machine seems absurd. In this lesson, the cartoons of Rube Goldberg are introduced and engage...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Simple Kitchen Machines
Team lesson focuses on the different types of simple machines, how they work, and how they can be found in daily life.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How a Faucet Works
Students learn about the underlying engineering principals in the inner workings of a simple household object - the faucet. Students use the basic concepts of simple machines, force and fluid flow to describe the path of water through a...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Simple Machines
Good combination of teacher demonstration and student interaction for this simple machine instructional activity. Great for talking about force and work. Plans are for grades 2-4, yet are adaptable.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Pyramid Building: How to Use a Wedge
Students learn how simple machines, including wedges, were used in building both ancient pyramids and present-day skyscrapers. In a hands-on activity, students test a variety of wedges on different materials (wax, soap, clay, foam)....
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Construction of a Complex Machine Through Classroom Collaboration
Students take a simple task and make it much more complicated using a cardboard box. Each group must use a minimum of six simple machines utilizing at least four types of simple machines. The goal is to keep the initial impulse moving...
Other
Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing and Testing a Crane [Pdf]
By the end of this project, students will be familiar with the 6 different simple machines and will be able to identify how these machines are used in products and tools they use on a daily basis. They will investigate how mechanical...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Levers Weight Lifters
During this lesson, students will have the opportunity to explore levers through hands-on experiences and by navigating the Internet. This lesson allows students to use their experiences to determine how levers and other simple machines...
Other
How to smile.org: Building Pulleys
An activity where students use pulley systems to pick up a paint can and move an eraser from the ground to the top of a desk. After completing this activity, students will understand how pulley systems can help us do work.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Engineering Solutions
Anyone who has attempted one of those "claw machine" games at local restaurants or retailers knows how impossible it seems to win. This activity will get students using the engineering design process to develop a claw that will actually...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Trb 3:3 Investigation 3 Weighty Mistakes
Understand the concept of "work" and the use of levers.