Simple Machines Simple Machines Written by: Deborah Hodge Photographs by: Ray Boudreau Published by: Kids Can Press, 1998 Pages: 32 Lexile Score: 580L ISBN: 978-1-55074-399-9 Major Topics Simple Machines, Motion and Stability, Forces and Interactions, Engineering Design Generalization Students will learn that simple machines make work easier for people. Summary Simple machines help with work, making life easier. Six simple machines: the lever, pulley, inclined plane, screw, wedge, and wheel and axle are presented. Students learn about these six simple machines through the use of interactive experiments that give them firsthand experience with possible uses for each one. Simple Machines includes a section for parents and teachers with key information, definitions, and an index of terms. Using the book to conduct simple experiments will require additional materials. Science & Literature Connections Book Correlation Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Written and Illustrated by: Leo Lionni U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Job 35
Simple Machines Concept Map Push Pull Move Lift Friction Forces Work uses Split Simple Machines Deborah Hodge Inventions Impact on life Change life Improve things Before simple machines Future Engineering design Life today 36 Science & Nonfiction Connections
Simple Machines Thinking Questions Based on Bloom s Taxonomy 1. Knowledge/Remember: What are the six simple machines? Can you define each of them? Do you see examples of these six machines in everyday objects or activities? What are some of those examples? 2. Comprehension/Understand: How can the six simple machines help people with their work? In what ways do the machines make work easier for people? What do you think life was like before the invention of simple machines? 3. Application/Apply: How could you use each of the six machines to help you accomplish a task? How would this make your work easier? Look around you for evidence of the six simple machines in use. What tasks were made easier by the simple machines you found in use around you? Are there other applications of simple machines that you think should be put in place? 4. Analysis/Analyze: Compare a task being done with and without a simple machine. What are the differences? In what ways did the invention of simple machines change life for people? What kinds of things became possible once simple machines were invented that may not have been possible without them? 5. Synthesis/Create: How would you use one of the simple machines to invent or create a tool to help you with your work? In what ways could you combine more than one simple machine to design a new tool? Using your imagination, design a tool that would help you: travel, cook, move large objects, build a home. 6. Evaluation/Evaluate: Which of the six simple machines do you believe has had the most impact on how we live? Explain your reasons for your choice and give examples of how this simple machine has changed life or work for people. How would life be different today if the six simple machines had not been invented? Follow-Up Activities Create a list of all the uses of simple machines you can find in your school, home, and neighborhood. Use this list to categorize the kinds of work done by each machine. Compare your list with others in your class. U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Job 37
Simple Machines Compare and contrast the accomplishment of tasks with and without the use of simple machines (e.g., building pyramids in Egypt or Latin America, moving large amounts of soil to build roads). Design a simple machine to help you accomplish a task. Draw your simple machine and explain how it works. Develop an advertisement to promote your invention describing how it will make life easier for the user if they buy it. Write a story about life without the use of simple machines. Show how things would be different for the characters in your story if they only had simple machines. Imagine life on the moon or on another planet. How would simple machines be useful to you in an environment where there was little gravity, making objects much lighter. Explain how you think simple machines would work in this nearly weightless environment. Using criteria that you develop, decide which simple machine has most greatly improved the world. Use your criteria to critique the choices your classmates or other people have made if they differ from your selection. Hold a debate with those who selected a different simple machine by comparing and contrasting your choices. Next Generation Science Standards K-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object. K-PS2-2: Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or pull. K-2-ETS1-1: Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. K-2-ETS1-2: Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem. K-2-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs. 3-PS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. 3-PS2-2: Make observations and/or measurements of an object s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion. 38 Science & Nonfiction Connections
Simple Machines Common Core State Standards English Language Arts: RI.K1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. W.K.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). SL.K.3: Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. RI.2.1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. W.2.6: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. W.2.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. SL.2.5: Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. RI.3.3: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence). W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. W.3.8: Recall information from experiences to gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories. SL.3.3: Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail. Mathematics: MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically. U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Job 39
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Written and Illustrated by: Leo Lionni Published by: Dragonfly Books Major Topics: Living and Non-Living Things Organisms Animals, Basic Needs, Behavior National Science Education Content Standards (1996) Life Science The Characteristics of Organisms Organisms and Their Environments Science and Technology Abilities to Distinguish Between Natural Objects and Objects Designed by Humans Summary: Alexander, a real living mouse, spends his days scurrying around his home searching for food and avoiding danger. One day, he comes across a mouse of a different sort a wind-up toy mouse named Willy. Alexander is surprised to find out that the people living in the house love Willy, but they do not like him. Although Willy can only move about when he is wound up with a key, he and Alexander become friends. Alexander begins to envy Willy's life as a toy mouse until Willy ends up in a "toy discard" box. Alexander then works to have Willy changed into a living mouse, like himself. U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Shah-Coltrane 33
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Science Concept Map Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Communal Leo Lionni Behavior patterns Living organisms (i.e., mouse) Non-living organisms (i.e., toy mouse) Behavior pattens Shelter/ safety Physical characteristics Physical characteristics Basic needs Nutrients Energy Air Water 34 Science & Literature Connections Council for Exceptional Children 2010
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Thinking Questions Based on Bloom s Taxonomy: Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse 1. Knowledge: What did the people in the house do when they saw Alexander? What types of things did Alexander do inside the house? Did the people in the house like Alexander? What was Willy the Mouse? What happened to Willy? Did the people in the house like Willy? Did Alexander ever become a toy mouse? 2. Comprehension: How did the people in the house treat Willy and Alexander differently? Why did the people not like Alexander? Why did the people like Willy? Why did Alexander like Willy? Explain what types of things toy Willy needed to survive. Explain what types of things Alexander needed to survive. Why did Alexander want to be a non-living toy mouse like Willy? 3. Application: In your own home, do you have animals or toys that you like and don t like? Why do you like them? Why do you not like them? Mice are communal animals, meaning they like to belong to a community or group of mice. Give examples of the kinds of groups to which you belong. What needs do the groups meet for you? 4. Analysis: Compare and contrast Alexander and Willy. How were they alike and different physically? How were their needs alike and different? Determine characteristics of living and non-living things. If Alexander became a toy like Willy, predict what would have happened to him. How did the people treat Alexander and Willy? 5. Synthesis: Pretend you have a real living pet. What would you need to do in order to take care of your pet? What kinds of things does your family do to take care of you? How do you take care of yourself? Tell about a time when you felt that you didn t belong and wanted to be someone else like Alexander. At the end, why did Alexander change his mind and instead have Willy become a living mouse? 6. Evaluation: The people living in the house tried to get rid of Alexander. What would you do if you had a mouse in your house? Explain. Would you rather be a real mouse or a toy mouse? Justify your answer. In your opinion, was it a good or bad choice for Alexander to have Willy changed to a real living mouse? U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Shah-Coltrane 35
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Follow-Up Activities Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Create a visual project categorizing living and non-living things. Use magazine pictures, words, student-created artwork, and so forth. Have students justify their choices. Observe animals in the classroom, in and around school, and in the community. Determine their basic needs. How do animals survive in man-made habitats? In natural habitats? Conduct experiments with plants to learn about the basic needs of organisms. Grow several plants with different variables, possibly limiting each to one basic need (i.e., water, nutrients, light). Compare the plants in the experiment to one which receives all the basic needs. Compare and contrast various natural habitats versus man-made habitats. How do each meet the needs of its inhabitants? Consider plants and animals. Talk to students about personal needs and wants. How do family and community help them meet their needs? Develop a creative piece of literature, song, poem, and so forth that conveys needs/wants and how the world around the students supports them. Research other specific interests, curiosities, and basic information about animals, basic needs of organisms, and living and non-living things. Provide and encourage the use of multiple sources of information. Have students share their learning in a variety of ways. 36 Science & Literature Connections Council for Exceptional Children 2010
Moving Places Objects, Movement Lower Primary
Moving Places Teacher Notes Key Concepts Objects have observable properties, including size, weight, and shape. These properties affect the movement of an object. National Science Education Content Standards (1996) Unifying Concepts and Processes Evidence, models, and explanation Systems, order, and organization Constancy, change, and measurement Science as Inquiry Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Understandings about scientific inquiry Physical Science Position and motion of objects Properties of object and materials Process Skill Objectives Collecting data, communicating, experimenting, formulating hypotheses, inferring, interpreting data, observing, predicting Lower Primary U-STARS~PLUS, Coleman and Shah-Coltrane Council for Exceptional Children 2010 99
Moving Places Teacher Notes Family Science Packet Summary In this activity, students will observe the properties of four different objects and compare their motion in different experiments. Students will investigate the objects movement by rolling them down an inclined plane. Activity Duration Allow 4 5 days to complete this activity. Materials Needed From School: Per Student 1 marble, 1 ping pong ball, 1 die, 1 ziti pasta noodle, 1-gallon plastic bag, 1 Observation Record From Home: An inclined plane 100 Family Science Packets Council for Exceptional Children 2010
Teacher Notes Background Information Newton s laws of motion and gravitation can be used to describe and predict the motion of most objects. Scientific terms such as inertia, speed, velocity, acceleration, friction, dynamics, perpetual motion, and momentum are related to motion. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Potential energy is the energy an object has because of its position rather than its motion. An object held in a person s hand has potential energy, which turns to kinetic energy when the person lets it go and it drops to the ground. The size, shape, and mass of an object affect its ability to move. The mass of an object is constant, but the weight of an object can change due to gravity. An inclined plane, also a simple machine, is a ramp used to reduce the effort needed to raise or lower an object over a vertical height. Examples of inclined planes include loading ramps, stairs, wheelchair accesses, mountain roads, playground slides, and ladders. Pre-Activities Introduce the activity to the students by discussing the following questions, When something is not moving, how does it start to move? What causes objects to move? What types of objects move easily? Review the basic steps of the activity, including setting up the experiment, predicting, and collecting data. Study/review simple machines and how they help make work easier for humans. Create an inclined plane by placing a board on an angle to show children how it helps us to move things from one level to the next more easily. Take students around the school to identify inclined planes and discuss how they are used at their school. Create initial experiences where students can explore properties of objects and objects in motion. Provide exploration time with random objects in a learning area with guiding questions. Use various spherical and/or nonspherical objects from around the classroom. Set up different experiments to see which objects move at which speeds. Encourage students to plan their own investigations. Make sure to include predictions. Structure activities to involve recording and analyzing observations in a variety of ways. Moving Places Lower Primary U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Shah-Coltrane 101
Moving Places Teacher Notes Have students design and create an object that moves, given certain materials. Test the invention for speed and movement. After studying related topics, have students revise and retest their inventions based on their newly constructed knowledge. Provide opportunities for students to research specific interests and basic information about objects in motion and simple machines. Provide and encourage the use of multiple sources of information. Have students share their learning in a variety of ways. Integrate literacy with science learning. Read The Sun, the Wind and the Rain (Peters, 1988). U-STARS~PLUS Science & Literature Connections Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse Leo Lionni The Listening Walk Paul Showers Follow-Up Activities Compile, analyze, synthesize, and share the data returned from home in a variety of ways. Discuss and interpret student hypotheses and data. Investigate the similarities and differences among the objects properties and rolling results. Study the various structures of inclined planes used. Generalize the data to determine their findings and discoveries. Ask related questions to understand and expand students thinking about object properties and movements. Provide opportunities to investigate further questions and related topics. Design and invent cars using vegetables such as cucumbers and baby carrots. Test designs for speed and distance and revise plans. Discuss how different properties affected the car movement. Create other experiments with other types of objects around the classroom, such as different types of paper or writing utensils. Look at their ability to travel and study their properties. Compare and contrast the data to the original home experiments. Allow students to design paper airplanes based on their generalizations about properties, including shape and mass. Which planes will fly the farthest? Allow students to provide evidence for knowledge applied to their designs. 102 U-STARS~PLUS, Coleman and Shah-Coltrane Council for Exceptional Children 2010
Family Science Activity Moving Places Due Date: This activity helps you learn about Objects: Properties and movement This activity involves Collecting data, communicating, experimenting, formulating hypotheses, inferring, interpreting data, observing, predicting Packet Duration Allow 4 5 days to complete this activity. What do we need? From School: 1 marble, 1 ping-pong ball, 1 die, 1 ziti pasta noodle, 1-gallon plastic bag, 1 Observation Record From Home: An inclined plane What are we doing? Objects travel in different ways and at different speeds. But why? What makes one object move faster than another? How do shape, size, and mass affect how objects move? Using a ping pong ball, a marble, a piece of pasta, and a die, your scientist will explore these questions. How are we going to do this? In this activity, you will compare how four objects move in various experiments. You will test how the objects move by rolling them down a hill (an inclined plane) that you find or create. Lower Primary U-STARS~PLUS, Coleman and Shah-Coltrane Council for Exceptional Children 2010 103
Moving Places Day 1 Family Science 1. Find or make an inclined plane (a type of hill) to roll your object down. A cardboard ramp made inside or a playground slide or steep hill outside could work. You can make a simple hill by putting a flat object such as a board, large box, or large book at an angle and resting one side of it on a table, chair, couch, or stack of books. Be sure the inclined plane is sturdy. 2. For Test 1, use the ping-pong ball and the marble. Look at both objects carefully. Feel them. Predict which of these objects you think will roll more quickly down your hill. Record your prediction on the Observation Record. 3. Hold the ping-pong ball and the marble at the top of your inclined plane. At the same time, let go of the objects and watch them roll down the hill. 4. Which one moved the fastest down the hill? Which object got to the bottom first? Why? Record your results on your Observation Record. 5. Repeat Steps 2 4 two more times. Day 2 Day 3 1. For Test 2, use the ping-pong ball and die. Repeat Steps 2 4 with the ping-pong ball and the die. 2. Repeat Steps 2 4 two more times. 1. For Test 3, use the marble and the pasta. Repeat Steps 2 4 with the marble and the pasta. 2. Repeat Steps 2 4 two more times. Days 4 5 1. For Test 4, use only the pasta and the die. Repeat Steps 2 4 with the pasta and the die. 2. Repeat Steps 2 4 two more times. 3. Finish your Observation Record and discuss the Family Time Questions that follow. 4. Return your Observation Record and packet with supplies back to school by the date due. 104 Family Science Packets Council for Exceptional Children 2010
Family Time Questions Family Science? 1. Look back at your test results. Did your predictions match your results of the tests? Why? Why not? 2. How is each of the objects similar to each other? How is each of the objects different from each other? 3. What properties affected how the objects moved? Think about the size, shape, and weight. Why do you think these properties made or did not make a difference? 4. Do you think the size of the object made a difference in how it moved? The shape? The weight? Why or why not? Moving Places Family Notes Help your scientist roll both objects at the same time and from the same place. The hill can be anything on an incline. You could use a piece of cardboard and some bricks. However, please remind your scientist that all testing needs to take place in a safe location. On the Observation Record, all responses are acceptable; no answer is right or wrong. For the I discovered section, any thoughts are welcome. Encourage your scientist to record what she or he observes and thinks about the activity. Words or drawings may be used to record the observations. Your scientist may need help to complete the activity and fill out the Observation Record. Please partner with your child on this activity. Lower Primary U-STARS~PLUS Coleman and Shah-Coltrane 105
Family Science Observation Record Family Science Moving Places Name: Date: Test 1: Ping Pong Ball and Marble Hypothesis (Circle your prediction.) Which object will roll faster down the hill? Ping Pong Ball or Marble Complete the chart below based on your trials. (Circle your observation.) Test Trial 1 Trial2 Trial 3 Trial Results Why? Which object rolled the fastest? Ping-Pong Ball Marble Ping-Pong Ball Marble Ping-Pong Ball Marble Test 2: Ping Pong Ball and Die Hypothesis (Circle your prediction.) Which object will roll faster down the hill? Ping Pong Ball or Die Complete the chart below based on your trials. (Circle your observation.) Test Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial Results Why? Which object rolled the fastest? Ping-Pong Ball Die Ping-Pong Ball Die Ping-Pong Ball Die 106 U-STARS~PLUS, Coleman and Shah-Coltrane Council for Exceptional Children 2010
Test 3: Marble and the Pasta Hypothesis (Circle your prediction.) Which object will roll faster down the hill? Marble or Pasta Complete the chart below based on your trials. (Circle your observation.) Moving Places Test Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial Results Why? Which object rolled the fastest? Marble Pasta Marble Pasta Marble Pasta Test 4: Pasta and the Die Hypothesis (Circle your prediction.) Which object will roll faster down the hill? Pasta or Die Complete the chart below based on your trials. (Circle your observation.) Test Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial Results Why? Which object rolled the fastest? Pasta Die Pasta Die Pasta Die Lower Primary U-STARS~PLUS, Coleman and Shah-Coltrane Council for Exceptional Children 2010 107
Moving Places I discovered Family Science 108 Family Science Packets Council for Exceptional Children 2010