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This
unit is
©Copyright 2004, 2010 by Cindy Downes. All rights
reserved.
Permission is given to homeschooling
parents to use these units free of charge in their own homeschool
only. These units may not be reprinted in any other form,
for any other purpose (commercial or otherwise) without
permission from Cindy Downes. Contact her at contact@oklahomahomeschool.com.
Six
Week Unit - Twelve Lessons
This
unit is designed to be completed in six weeks, completing
two, 1 - 2 hour lessons per week;
however, you can customize it to any length, depending
upon how much material you cover and how long you take
to cover it.
Read over General Directions
for Cindy's Unit Studies for information on how
to teach the unit.
To prepare yourself for this unit, print out and read through
“Simple
Machines.”
Textbooks
Needed: 
Simple Machines -ScienceWorks (Listed as
SSSW below.) Even though this workbook is written for grades
1-3, the worksheets can be used with most primary-age students.
These worksheets should be done orally with students in
grades 1 - 3 who are struggling with handwriting. Don't
use it as a handwriting lesson! Additional, grade-level
work can be added to older children by incorporating writing
projects and other unit
project activities, as well as the activities included
below.
For
$ .99 you can download this song that will reinforce this
unit especially for your Auditory
Learners:
Levers, Pulleys And Simple Machines [Music Download]
[Music Download].
See
below for Additional Study Recommendations.
Family
Reading Book Suggestion:
Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.
Eyewitness
Classics: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by
Jules Verne. Audio book and eBook. There are many editions
of this book available. If you want to use this as
a read aloud and increase their vocabulary, use an
unabridged version. If you prefer a story with lots
of illustrations (for your Visual
Learner), use a video. Find a condensed
version that is easier read for younger children.
Simple
Machines Introduction (PDF).
Lesson
1: Introduction
 How
Do You Lift a Lion?
by Robert E. Wells (ISBN
0807534218) Excellent intro to simple machines for primary
grades.
SSSW:
Reproduce pg. 3-5 for Individual Science Logbooks. Instructions
on Pg. 2.
SSSW:
Complete pg. 11 and place in logbook.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Internet,
the History
of Simple Machines.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
 Cool
Tools by Alison Auch. An introduction
to simple machines. 24 pgs. Illust. Gr K-1. ISBN
0756502306.
Simple
Machines (Rookie Read-About Science)
by Allan Fowler. A Rookie Reader. ISBN 0516273108.
Gr K-3.
Exploring
Machines, Buildings, & Weaponry of Biblical Times by
Max Schwartz. This fascinating book takes students
back to Biblical times to explore machines, buildings
and weapons. Boys will love this. ISBN 0529117940.
Grades 6-12.
Champions
of Invention by John Tiner. Short
biographies about great inventors: Gutenberg,
James Watt, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Morse,
Michael Faraday, Joseph Henry, William Thompson,
Thomas Edison, and Charles Babbage. The reason
I recommend this book is because John Tiner includes
information about how their spiritual life affected
their inventions. An excellent resource for your
home library. ISBN 0890512787. Interest level:
Gr 3-12. Reading level: 5+ Just Plain
Fun:
Simple
Machines Game.
Lesson
2: What is Work?
Read:
Machines
and How They Work by Harvey Weiss. An introduction to
six simple machines--the lever, the inclined plane, the
screw, the wheel and axle, the wedge, and the pulley--and
their use in more complex machines such as derricks, bulldozers,
and metal lathes. ISBN 0690043007.
SSSW:
Assign four household jobs to your children. Fill in the
names of these jobs on pg. 12. Complete pg. 12 as Jobs in
Our “Home”
Read
SSSW, A Push is a Force, pg. 8, to yourself. Explain "work"
to your children.
SSSW:
Complete Check for Understanding, pg. 9, 13
SSSW:
Complete Work at My House, pg. 14
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Simple
Machines by Cosi (Requires Flash)
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
Lesson
3: Some Jobs Take More Work Than Other Jobs
Read:
What
Holds It Together? by Harvey Weiss. Examines different
ways that separate parts can be held together to make larger,
stronger, or more complicated structures. ISBN 0316928887.
SSSW:
Complete Activities pg, 16-17
SSSW:
Complete pg. 19
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Internet:
How
Bicycles Work.
 Independent
Reading Suggestions:
Amazing
Bikes written by Trevor Lord. ISBN: 0679827722.
Bicycle
Safety by Lucia Raatma. Don't forget to mark this
as a safety lesson also! ISBN: 1592960855.
Bikes
for Rent! by Isaac Olaleye. Lateef, a poor young
boy living in a village in western Nigeria, works hard
so he can save enough money to rent a bicycle and ride
with the other boys. Gr. K-2. ISBN 0531302903
Bikes:
From Start to Finish by Mindi Rose Englart. Focuses
on the Cannondale bicycle factory in Bedford, PA, and
its daily operations. ISBN 1567114865.
Lesson
4: Machines Make Work Easier
Read
Mike
Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Burton. PreK-3.
ISBN 0395259398.
SSSW:
Read pg. 20 using pictures from pgs. 23 & 24.
SSSW:
Do activities on pg. 21 (materials needed-nuts, yarn, scrap
fabric, 2 unfrosted cake layers)
SSSW:
(opt) Do Moving a Classmate on pg. 22 (wagon, large cardboard
box)
SSSW:
Complete pg. 26, Making Work Easier at Home
Lab:
For real hands-on instruction, purchase a Simple
Machines Kit or
make your own.
 Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Video:
Biography
- Sir Isaac Newton (1998) by A&E video. Check your
library or purchase online. Gr 6+
Video:
Newton:
A Tale of Two Isaacs. Inventor's Special series. Devine
Entertainment Corporation, c1999. Starring Karl Pruner and
Tyrone Savage. At the Royal Academy in 1683, Isaac Newton's
theories on celestial movements and gravity create an uproar.
Newton and his young assistant, Humphrey, fight to change
how the universe is perceived while Humphrey learns that
even the greatest men must overcome personal hardships to
achieve success. Check your library or purchase online.
Gr. 3+
Internet,
Isaac
Newton Biography.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
The
Ocean of Truth: The Story of Sir Isaac Newton by
Joyce McPherson. Sir Isaac Newton is one of history’s
most renowned scientists. He independently developed
the mathematical techniques known as Calculus, wrote
a treatise on the properties of light and color that
is still consulted by scientists, and worked out the
mathematical details of the Law of Gravity. What is
less well known is the depth of his Christian faith
and the amount of writing, speaking, and research that
he put into a defense of the tenets of Biblical theology.
ISBN 1882514505. Read aloud for all ages. Gr. 5+
Isaac
Newton and the Laws of Motion by Andrea Gianopoulos.
Gr. 3+
Isaac
Newton, Sower Series by John Tiner.
Gr. 3-8 or read aloud for all ages. ISBN: 0915134950.
Lesson
5: Machines may have few, many or no moving parts.
SSSW:
Show children various tools and machines. (ideas pg. 27)
SSSW: Do activities on pg. 27, Machines and Their Moving
Parts.
SSSW: Complete Machines and Their Moving Parts, pg. 31
SSSW: Have your child interview someone who uses a machine
and complete the Interview worksheet, pg. 32
SSSW:
Have your child create a poster of a machine. Idea pg. 29.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Video:
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Simple Machines. 26 min. all ages.
Check your library.
Internet:
How
Pendulum clock's work.
Internet:
History
of clocks.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
 Clocks
and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins. Not one of Mr.
Higgins' four clocks kept the correct time until the
Clockmaker assured him they were all correct. ISBN 0027459217.
K-4.
The
Clock by Trent Duffy. 80 pgs. A history of time
measurement and the effect of the clock on the Industrial
Revolution. ISBN 0689828144. Gr. 5+
Make
Your Own Working Paper Clock by James Rudolph. Cut
this book into 160 pieces, glue them together, and have
a paper clock operated by weights that keeps perfect
time and can be rewound and regulated. ISBN 0060910666.
Lesson
6: The Lever
Read: Levers
by John Tiner. 24 pgs. I like this author because of his
Christian slant. PreK-3. ISBN 1583401350.
Read:
What
is a Lever? by Lloyd G. Douglas. 24 pgs. illus. Simple
text. ISBN 0516240226, K-6
SSSW:
Read Lesson overview pg. 33-34 as information for yourself.
Discuss the parts of a lever: fulcrum (turning point on
which the lever moves), effort (where pressure is applied
to create movement), load (holds the object being moved).
SSSW: Do activities on page. 35-38 (Levers)
SSSW: Complete worksheets, pg. 40-41
Internet,
Three
classes of levers.
Discuss
first class levers (fulcrum is located between the effort
and the load such as a seesaw), second class levers (load
is located between the effort and the fulcrum such as wheelbarrow
or nutcracker), and third class levers (the effort is located
between the load and the fulcrum such as stapler and rake).
Let
your children find as many levers as they can in your home
and identify as first, second, or third class levers. Have
them identify the effort, load and fulcrum of each.
Have
students create a page in their logbook for the lever. Draw
a picture of a lever, tell what job it does, label the fulcrum,
force arm, and load arm, and name some complex machines
that include it.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Lab:
For real hands-on instruction, purchase a Simple
Machines Kit or
make your own.
Internet:
Levers.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
Lesson
7: Wheel and Axle, Gears
Read:
Wheels
and Axles by John Tiner. 24 pgs. I like this author
because of his Christian slant. ISBN 1583401377.
Read:
 What
is a Wheel and Axle? by Lloyd G. Douglas. 24 pgs. illus.
Simple text. ISBN 0516240277.
book
- gears
SSSW:
Do
activities on Wheel, Axle, & Gears, pg. 42-46
SSSW:
Complete worksheet, pg. 48
Let
your children find as many wheel and axles as they can in
your home.
Have
students create a page in their logbook for the wheel and
axle. Draw a picture, label the wheel and the axle, tell
what job it does, and name some complex machines that include
it.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Lab:
For real hands-on instruction, purchase a Simple
Machines Kit or
make your own.
Lab:
Get in Gear Kit (published by Innovative Kids), check local
educational or book stores. 3-6+
Internet,
Wheel
and Axle.
Internet:
Read about wheel
and axle and gears.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
Lesson
8: Pulley
Read: Pulleys
by John Tiner. 24 pgs. I like this author because of his
Christian slant. ISBN 1583401369.
What
is a Pulley? by Lloyd G. Douglas. 24 pgs. illus. Simple
text. K-6. ISBN 0516240242.
SSSW: Do activities on Pulley, pg. 49- 54
Let
your children find as many pulleys as they can in your home.
Have
students create a page in their logbook for the pulley.
Draw a picture, tell what job it does, and name some complex
machines that include it.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Lab:
For real hands-on instruction, purchase a Simple
Machines Kit or
make your own.
Internet,
Pulley.
Internet:
Read about pulleys and
more
pulleys.
Video:
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? produced by Big
Kids Productions, Inc. A variety of construction equipment
is shown in action, including cranes, dump trucks, and earth
movers. ISBN 1885627009. Check your library.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
 Big
Machines by Melanie Davis Jones. 23 pgs. Rookie
Reader. A simple introduction to big machines--tractors,
backhoes, pavers, and cranes--and how they work. PreK-4.
ISBN 0516278290.
How
Can I Experiment With a Pulley? by David Armentrout.
32 pgs. Lots of color illustrations. Information and
experiments for Gr. 1-6. ISBN 1589523350.
Cranes
by Hal Rogers. 24 pgs. Describes the parts of a crane,
how it works, and the work it does at a construction
site. ISBN 1567666515. PreK-4.
Lesson
9: Inclined Plane
Read: Inclined
Planes by John Tiner. 24
pgs. I like this author because of his Christian slant.
ISBN 1583401385.
Read:
What
is a Plane? by Lloyd G. Douglas. 24 pgs. illus. Simple
text. ISBN 0516240234.
book
- screw
SSSW:
Create an inclined plane as suggested on top of page 55
SSSW: Complete worksheet, Inclined Plane Challenges, on
pg. 59
SSSW: Explore a spiral incline plane, pg. 56 & 60
SSSW: Let your children find as many inclined planes as
they can in your home. Complete worksheet, Inclined Planes
Around
Me, pg. 61
Have
students create a page in their logbook for the inclined
plane. Draw a picture, tell what job it does, and name some
complex machines that include it.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Lab:
For real hands-on instruction, purchase a Simple
Machines Kit or
make your own.
Internet,
Inclined
Plane.
Internet:
Read about inclined
plane and wedge.
Video:
Playground Fun by Disney. Huey, Dewey and Louie visit the
playground at Mickey's Safety Clubhouse to produce a video
about playground safety. First they review some basics like
no pushing, no jumping off high places etc., and then check
their surroundings for dangers such as old cans or broken
glass. They discuss the safe way to use the slide and merry-go-round.
Don't forget to mark this as a safety lesson also! Gr 1-6.
Check your library.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
Inclined
Planes and Wedges by Sally Walker. 48 pgs. Illus.
An Early Bird Physics Book for Gr 1-6. ISBN 0822522152.
Chicken
Chickens by Valeri Gorbachev. On their first visit
to a playground, two little chickens are afraid to play
until a beaver helps them go down the slide. ISBN 0735815410.
Lesson
10: Screw
Read: What
is a Screw? by Lloyd G. Douglas. 24 pgs. illus. Simple
text. ISBN 0516240250.
Demonstrate types of screws (screws, Vise, screw-type tire
jack, corkscrew, jar lid, C Clamp)
SSSW: Let your children find as many screws as they can
in your home. Complete worksheet, pg. 65, Search for Screws
Have
students create a page in their logbook for the screw. Draw
a picture, tell what job it does, and name some complex
machines that include it.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Internet,
Screw.
Internet:
Read about the screw.
Video:
The Way Things Work-Screws. A Millimages, Pearson Broadband
and Schlessinger Media based on the book. Gr 3-6. In Screws,
the Islanders create a giant screw out of a tower by building
a ramp around it. Check library.
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
How
Can I Experiment With a Screw? by David Armentrout.
32 pgs. Lots of color illustrations. Information and
experiments for Gr. 1-6. ISBN 1589523369.
Screws
by Angela Royston. 32 pgs. Gr. 2-4. Examines the different
types of screws and how they are used in the world around
us-in jar lids, nuts and bolts, drills and borers, and
aircraft propellers. ISBN 1575723220.
Lesson
11: Wedge
Read:  What
is a Wedge? by Lloyd G. Douglas. 24 pgs. illus. Simple
text. K-6. ISBN 0516240269 .
Demonstrate how a knife cutting bread is a wedge. Demonstrate
examples of other wedges: chisel, screwdriver, nail, ax,
saw, needle, tooth, hoe, pickax, scissors, and razor blade.
(See SSSW, pages 67-68 for ideas.)
SSSW: Let your children find as many wedges as they can
in your home. Complete worksheet, Find the Wedges, pg. 70
Have
students create a page in their logbook for the wedge. Draw
a picture, tell what job it does, and name some complex
machines that include it.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Internet,
Wedge.
Review:
Complete the activity on pg. 71-73
Independent
Reading Suggestions:
How
Can I Experiment With a Wedge? by David Armentrout.
32 pgs. Lots of color illustrations. Information and
experiments for Gr. 1-6. ISBN 1589523377.
The
Wedge by David Armentrout. Text and pictures introduce
the wedge, a simple machine placed between objects to
split, tighten, or secure a hold. ISBN 1589525973.
 Lesson
12: Complex Machines. All Machines are made up of one or more
simple machines.
Read
through pgs. 71-72 for your own information.
Show
your children an eggbeater and how to analyze it for simple
machines. Pg. 72.
Show
a can opener, a bottle opener, a broom and dustpan, a tape
dispenser, a pair of scissors and have your children analyze
them for simple machines.
Field
Trip: take your children to a factory. Have them
take a blank notebook and pen with them as they go through
the factory. As they go through the factory, help them discover
what types of machines are used in the process of creating,
packaging, storing, and shipping the products. Then have
them draw pictures of these machines or write a description.
Have them list the simple machines used in each complex
machine.
Add
composition
projects and other activities
as needed.
Explore
Inventor's
Toolbox.
Internet:
Simple
Machine Quiz.
Internet:
Simple
Machine Review and Quizzes.
Internet:
What
in the World is That? Ingenious Inventions.
For
Additional Study or Review:
 For
additional hands-on activities: Simple
Machines - Hands-On Series. This resource includes
lots of hands-on activities for your Kinesthetic
Learner
that could be incorporated with this unit as needed. In
addition to working with gears, wheels, levers, etc.,
your child will work with turbines, simple motors, compound
machines, communication, morse code, and much more.
Optional
Hands-on Activities: Science
Experiments with Simple Machines by Sally
Nankivell-Aston. 32 pgs. Color illus. A collection
of easy experiments that WILL work! Most of what you
need is probably in your home. A few experiments need
inexpensive equipment such as a Spring
Scale - 100g Metric
(approx
$6) or Pulley
- Single
(approx $1.50) which can be purchased
from educational stores. or purchase K'NEX
EDUCATION Intro to Simple Machines: Levers and Pulleys-178
pcs
as a kit.
Review
Game: Gadget
Anatomy.
For
review, have students create a Venn Diagram of two machines,
listing their similarities and differences.
Machine
Scavenger Hunt. Hang a 13 foot long sheet of butcher paper
around the room. Divide the paper in half horizontally
with a line. Divide each half vertically into 13 sections
each 1 foot wide. You should have 26 boxes or areas. Label
each area with one letter of the alphabet - A through
Z. Have your children draw or paste pictures (cut from
magazines) of machines the begin with each letter of the
alphabet.
Internet:
Optional
Labs for Simple Machines.
Do
a study on Newton's Laws of Motion. Resource
#1. Resource
#2.
For
further reading: Physics
Lab in a Hardware Store by Bob Friedhoffer. 112 pgs.
Explains the principles behind sandpaper and screws, wheelbarrows
and wrenches, hatchets and hammers. Learn why scissors cut,
how to fix a creaking door, and what a ladder and an axe
have in common. Gr. 5th+ ISBN 0531158233.
Be
sure to enter these topics on your copy of The
Checklist.
Please
let me know if any of these links do not work. Email:
contact@oklahomahomeschool.com.
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