Colorado Unit Writing Project
Simple Machines
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...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Simple Machines
Simple doesn't mean useless. Individuals learn how simple machines benefit the user by changing the amount of effort. A seven-lesson unit begins with an overview of simple machines and then incorporates activities that allow the user to...
Norwich Institute for Language Education
Simple Machines
Planning a unit on simple machines? Save some time and energy with this collection of lessons and activities that explores how these devices are used in the real world to make life a little easier.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Here is an inventive plan that should get your young scientists excited! In it, groups of pupils test out the work done by six different simple machines. The machines are: the wedge, the lever, the inclined plane, the pulley, the screw,...
Curated OER
Simple Machines IV - Levers
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...
Curated OER
We Have Work to Do!
An excellent lesson awaits your young scientists! In it, learners are invited to explore the world of pulleys, levers, and planes; simple machines that make lifting heavy things much, much easier. They watch video, and engage in hands-on...
Curated OER
Allowing Students to Explore Simple Physics and Marketing in English Class
Scientific method, linear measurements, friction, inertia. Imagine learning scientific vocabulary in an ELA class. Before researching and developing a presentation about simple machines, class members build a common, but decidedly...
Purdue University
Simple Machines
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...
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Simple Machines, Ben Franklin and the Technology of the 1700s
Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, and he was fascinated by the mechanics of machinery. Using a fun exploration, pupils examine simple machines from the pre-Industrial era. Then, they must identify and build their own using common objects.
Teach Engineering
Just Plane Simple
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...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Eighth graders work together in groups to introduce themselves to the six types of simple machines. They are to record what the machine does, its mechanical advantage and identify real world situations in which they are used. They...
Curated OER
Teaching About Simple Machines
Students identify six different simple machines. They investigate the difference between the ideal and actual mechanical advantage. Students calculate the actual mechanical advantage for several simple machines.
Curated OER
Identify and use Simple Machines
Students are exposed to simple machines and their uses. In this everyday tools lesson, students watch a demonstration on how a lever, pulley, ramp, and wheel works. Students are given the opportunity to use hands-on techniques to explore...
Curated OER
Creating My Own Rube Goldberg Machine
Students dissect simple machines. In this simple machines lesson, students gather simple machines from their home to dissect in class. Students investigate the working parts of simple machines and construct a machine based on the designs...
Curated OER
Lever as a Simple Machine
Young scholars study the three different types of levers and develop a simple machine. In this levers and simple machines lesson, students look at different types of levers, and experiment with a ruler and a marshmallow to determine how...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Students investigate what simple machines are and how they work. For this simple machine lesson, the students create simple and compound machines and test each machine's ability to perform a task. Students compare simple machines to...
Curated OER
Konnecting Simple Machines and K'Nex
Students study and identify different types of simple machines and how they work. They design a simple machine.
Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)
Use Simple Machines to Help Stuart Little
Third graders study six simple machines while working in expert groups. They use the information from the research to decide which simple machine the Littles could use to move a package. They demonstrate how their simple machine works in...
Curated OER
Not So Simple Machines
Middle schoolers design a simple machine for a simple machine contest. For this simple machine lesson, students design a simple machine that will solve a problem. They draw a diagram, label it, and test the machine before they present it...
Curated OER
Brown Paper Bag Simple Machine
Students explore simple machines. In this simple machines science lesson, students work with a partner to identify what kind of simple machine is represented by a variety of household objects placed in paper bags. Students...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Fourth graders examine a machine and how its parts work together. In this simple machines lesson, 4th graders work in groups to study different gadgets, analyze how the parts of the gadget work and draw sketches of the gadget. Students...
Curated OER
Simple Machines, Engines and the Environment
Fourth graders calculate the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane. In this physics lesson, 4th graders identify the different types of simple machines and their uses. They give examples of compound machines.