Curated OER
Levers and Wedges in the Human Body
Young biologists identify parts of the body that serve as wedges (teeth and fingernails), and as levers (jaw, arms, and legs). The hands-on activities described here should be exciting for learners to perform, and should also lead to a...
Curated OER
Levers and Wedges in the Human Body
Learners identify the various parts of the body that serve as wedges and levers, identifying the fulcrum for each body lever. They bite into carrots and apples to analyze how their jaws and teeth work, then complete three worksheets that...
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Museum of Science and Industry
In this museum student guide worksheet, learners make a mini-book about simple machines to be used during a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry. They locate the exhibits that demonstrate the wedge, inclined plane, screw, lever,...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Six Kinds Do It All
Teach young engineers that all machines, no matter how complicated or complex, are made up of just six simple devices with this hands-on physical science lesson plan. Using the included templates, students first create paper models...
Teach Engineering
The Advantage of Machines
Show your students how to make their work easier. The first lesson in a series of 10 introduces the class to work and the way simple machines can be make work easier. The simple machines scholars can find in everyday items are...
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Inclined Plane, Lever
Learners brainstorm ways of using an inclined plane or lever and demonstrate using materials such as a board, fulcrum, etc. They divide into two groups and figure out to lift a crate using materials for a simple machine. Once they...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Technology (1B) Pre Lab
First graders explore simple machines. In this technology lesson, 1st graders review pulleys, levers, wedges, and ramps. They experiment with lifting items with and without these simple machines.
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
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
Simple Machines III - Pulleys
The principles behind pulleys, levers, and simple machines are the focus of a science lesson. In it, learners take part in a whole-class activity. There are two groups of pupils who each must lift objects with fixed pulleys and multiple...
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...
Curated OER
Farming in the 1930's
Students research and conduct experiments with several types of simple machines. They examine levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wheels, axles, wedges and screws and then consider the physics behind "Green Eggs and Ham".
Purdue University
Simple Machines – Dog Gone It!
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...
Teach Engineering
Not So Simple
Compound machines, nothing more than a combination of simple machines working together, are the focus of an activity that asks class members to use the provided information to take a look at the way innovators combine simple machines to...
Curated OER
Simple and Complex Machines Used In Agriculture
Pupils explore agriculture and the current technologies and research that continue to make Earth a viable planet. This four lessons unit introduce students to simple machines and the concepts of force and friction through a variety of...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Students explore the concepts of force and effort by observing simple machines. In this physics lesson plan, students attempt to sharpen a pencil without any help, bite into an orange with their lips curled over their teeth, and other...
Curated OER
Engineering: Simple Machines
Fourth graders participate in activities to examine how simple machines help build things. They identify the six types of simple machines. They discover how simple machines where use historically to build pyramids and how they are still...
Curated OER
You are Uniquely You
Students compare and contrast simple machines and their functions. In this cross-curriculum science simple machines lesson, students observe examples and read about simple machines, then use body movement to demonstrate how machines...
Curated OER
Earth Movers and Shakers
Young scholars explore how the centuries-old invention of the lever led to today's applications in mobiles and crowbars. They watch a video on the lever, then utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan to guide their experiments.
Curated OER
Changes in Force, Motion, and Energy
Eighth graders construct various machines and compare the work done by them.
Chandler Unified School District
Art Masterpiece—Leonardo da Vinci Inventions
After getting to know the inventor, Leonardo da Vinci and his many inventions, scholars think up their own invention. Following a written description and a hand-drawn picture, learners use a method of mirror writing and antiquing to give...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Technology (2A) Lab
Second graders experiment with simple machines. In this machine lesson, 2nd graders go to different labs to see examples of a lever, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, gears, and wheel and axle. They discuss how a machine makes work a lot...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Students investigate simple machines. In this simple machines lesson, students explore how tools increase productivity and make life easier. Students experiment with simple tools and discover the parts of each tool.
Curated OER
Simple Machines and Modern Day Engineering Analogies
Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...