Roll with the Punches: Depression Era Machinery

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.

How many simple machines does it take to make a robotic arm? An inquiry-based lesson explores that topic and challenges pupils to build a robotic arm that can stretch, turn, and more. A few questions help guide them in the right...

Students explore how scientists build robotic arms that move similar to humans. For this robot lesson, students examine how scientists make robots. Students design and construct a mechanical arm that moves like a human arm. Students...

Build learning by breaking atoms! Young scientists study the way energy changes with a hands-on activity. As they roll steel marbles down a ramp, learners test the hypothesis that kinetic energy does not go away with friction or...

Wait til your class gets their hands on this! Aspiring engineers design a working robotic arm in the fifth and final installment in a series of ocean exploration lessons. Pupils learn about the use of underwater robots in ocean...

What's the best way to learn how watersheds work? Build one! Combining engineering, the water cycle, and ecology concerns, the activity is the perfect fit for an interdisciplinary unit. Teams construct a model watershed with simple...

Pupils activate prior knowledge about life in the South during the Great Depression in preparation for reading the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

Keep everything under control. The lesson, the 16th segment in a 22-part unit, provides a more detailed look at the parts of a plane, specifically the control surfaces. Pupils learn about the construction of the wings and the tails and...

Sixth graders create a simple airplane to show energy. In this energy lesson, 6th graders make an airplane from a pencil, thumb tacks, and a plastic lid. They make the propeller spin by pressing on the thumbtacks with a ball point pen. 

Make music. Class members construct a simple record player using a paper cone and a pin. The resource provides a description of what is happening and why listeners can hear the sounds through the cone.