Flowing From Here to There

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 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. 

How are simple machines used in professional settings? To find out, scholars examine various pictures, cross-reference a list of simple machines, and write or verbally share how those items are used in specific jobs.

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...

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.

Simple machines and the relationship between work and force are defined. Inclined planes, the wheel and axle, pulleys, levers, wedges, and screws are detailed. This video consists entirely of typed white print appearing across a purple...

In this video segment from ZOOM, Jillian explains how her simple machine uses marbles, levers, flowing sand, and a spinning wheel to water a plant. [1:16]

Students examine six simple machines and investigate who Rube Goldberg is. They explore various websites, write an article, write ten interesting facts about Rube Goldberg, and design and construct a simple machine.

Students create a pyramid design based on the 6 simple machines that they are introduced to. In this simple machines lesson plan, students are introduced to the wedge, wheel and axle, inclined plane, screw, and pulley.

Through a five-lesson series with five hands-on activities, students are introduced to six simple machines - inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, pulley, wheel-and-axle - as well as compound machines, which are combinations of two or...