rd
th
Strand:
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Standard: All students will describe how things around us move, explain why things
move as the do, and demonstrate and explain how we control the motions of
objects.
Benchmark: Identify and use simple machines and describe how they change effort.
Constructing and Reflecting:
SCI.I.1.1 - Generate reasonable questions about the world based on observation.
SCI.I.1.3 - Manipulate simple devices that aid observation and data collection .
SCI.I.1.6
- Construct charts and graphs and prepare summaries of observations.
SCI.II.1.4 - Develop an awareness of and sensitivity to the natural world.
SCI.II.1.5 - Develop an awareness of contributions made to science by people of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Vocabulary
Inclined planes, levers, pulleys, wedges, wheel and axle, force, distance,
Context
Block and tackles, ramps, screwdrivers and screws, can openers, seesaw.

Knowledge and Skills
Students will identify and use inclined planes, levers, pulleys, wheels and axles, screws and wedges. Students will demonstrate a simple machine and explain in simple terms, (more less, easier, harder) how the amount of effort (force needed) to complete the work has changed.
Examples of simple machines
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Inclined plane: wheelchair ramp, stairs, ladder
•
Screw: vice, jar lid
•
Lever: can opener, baseball bat, shovel, hammer
•
Pulleys: flagpoles, blinds
•
Wheel and axles: pencil sharpener, door knob
•
Wedges: door stop, pencil tip, knife
Coloma Resources:
Resources
Discover the Wonder (Scott Foresman) – Grade 3
Module C – Chapter 3 pages 42-47
Simple Machines Kit
Other Resources:
Graham, Ian. Cars, Bikes, Trains, & Other Land
Machines.
HOW THINGS WORK SERIES.
Kingfisher, 1993.
Nankivell, Sally. Science Experiments with Simple
Machines . Watts, 1966.

Instruction
Benchmark Question: How do simple machines change the effort needed to do work?
Focus Question: What are simple machines and what do they do?
Students will:
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Sort like machines when given words or pictures.
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Draw pictures of simple machines (incline plane, screw, lever, pulley, wheel & axle and wedge) found around the school.
•
Use technology to create drawings of simple machines.
•
Demonstrate the use of a common object and identify the machine used to do the work
•
Students will research for example: Maria Goeppert
Mayer, Robert McNair or Albert Einstein or any other scientist that is relevant to force and motion.
•
Students will participate in substantive conversation regarding how the amount of effort (force needed) to complete the work has changed.
Assessment
The students will identify the simple machine in the pictures or actual item, shown by the teacher and explain its purpose.
For example: lever: baseball bat, broom
Wedge: knife, scissors
Inclined plane: slide, wheel chair ramp
Screw: pencil sharpener, twist on cap
Wheel and axel: door knob, AV cart or computer cart
Pulley: flagpoles, blinds
Using the research from the Instructional Example, regarding the scientist, the student will assume the identity and share with the class who they are, what they’ve done for science and make a correlation between their work and simple machines.
(give rubric to students prior to assignment)
Scoring Rubric
Criteria: Identify and describe machines
Apprentice – Identify 1-3 machines and attempt to tell how they work.
Beginning - Identify 4-5 machines and tell how they work.
Meets - Identify 6 simple machine and tell how they work
Exceeds - Identify 6 simple machine and tell how they work plus offer other examples
Criteria: Presentation
Apprentice – Identifies erroneous information.
Beginning – Identifies 2 of the 3 requirements.
Meets – Identified who they are, what they’ve done and make the correlation.
Exceeds - Identified who they are, what they’ve done and make the correlation and bring in visual aid.

Teacher Notes:
Describe how things around us move, explain why things move as they do, and demonstrate and explain how we control the motion of objects.
Young children should become acquainted with the scientific descriptions of the motion of objects, which generally includes discussion of speed, direction and changes in speed or direction. The understanding of the force/motion relationship can become increasingly quantitative, as the students get older. Instruction should be included which will help students overcome a common belief that sustained motion always requires sustained force.
As older elementary children study motion, they discover that an object moves in a straight line and at a constant speed as long as balanced forces act on it. When a force acts on an object, it can change speed or direction. The greater the force acting on the object, the greater the change in the object's speed and/or direction. Scientists attribute all changes in motion to forces, pushes, or pulls exerted by people, machines, magnets, friction and gravity. As students reach middle school level, they will continue to find the description of motion challenging and need to be aware that changes in speed or direction are associated with unbalanced forces.
Early elementary students can develop a foundation for understanding magnetic attraction through various investigations of magnetism. Determining categories of objects that are attracted to a magnet, distances through which a magnet will attract objects and how many small objects a particular magnet will attract helps children consolidate their experiences into scientific knowledge.
Middle school students can analyze the attractive and repulsive forces exerted by electrical and magnetic fields and experiment to create magnetic objects with the use of electric current. Experiences with electromagnets, doorbells, speakers, and magnetic switches assist students in understanding the relationship between magnetism and electricity. Simple electric motors work when a permanent magnet is combined with an electromagnet. Electricity is converted into magnetic fields, which in turn causes something to move.
Electrical circuits are an aspect of electricity and magnetism encountered every day.
Elementary students should be able to understand that simple machines are devices controlling forces. A lever can transform a small downward force into a large upward force thus making a task easier. Simple machines help us to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Young children can see simple machines all around them. Homes and playgrounds offer rich experiences for children to experiment with concepts related to simple machines. By middle school, students should be able to not only identify the types of simple machines but also design applications for use of them. High school students should be able to analyze patterns of force and motion in complex machines. They should be able to explain how the machine works and predict the effect changing a component will have on the machine.