The choice is simple: create a PowerPoint presentation, write a book, or invent a compound machine. Whichever project your young scientists choose, they will be engaged in creatively demonstrating their knowledge of simple...

Make your work as a teacher a little easier with a physical science project on simple machines. After introducing young scientists to these devices and identifying their different uses around the school, this project engages...

Planning an elementary science unit has never been simpler! These twelve lessons guide young scientists through an exploration of simple machines and their many uses in the real world before asking them to apply their learning...

What's the best way to use a simple machine to solve a real-world problem? Scholars construct their own simple and complex machines to explore the concepts of work and force. They discuss examples of simple machines they have found in...

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...

Students are introduced to a scenario: a ramshackle house is in need of repair. The roof leaks, the refrigerator is broken, it needs paint, etc. They are explained that in order to repair the home, students must use tools. Students...

Fifth graders divide into teams and select a simple science topic to explain and illustrate. They should pick a topic that they can illustrate with a very short (about 15-20 seconds) video clip, or QuickTime movie.

Students make a simple machine. For this physics lesson, students learn about six types of simple machines and the purpose of each and brainstorm examples of simple and complex machines in the classroom. Students create a simple or...

Fourth graders predict, observe, and compare what happens when a force is applied to an object. In this forces lesson, 4th graders complete a 'swinging hammer' activity to learn about forces and motion.

Students read The Gadget War by Betsy Duffey. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding inventors and inventions. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library connections.

Students explore the concept of space. In this space instructional activity, students pretend to be aerospace engineers. Students build space ships out of cardboard tubes. Students discuss what aerospace engineers do. Students model...

Students create an invention, or simple machine, out of items taken from the recycling bin. Students draw diagrams of their proposed inventions, then create simple machines.