Making Work Easier
5th and 6th Graders: This week the 5th and 6th graders learned about simple machines and how they make it easier to do work. After learning about the 6 types of simple machines and where and how they are applied in our lives, the students did inclined plane experiment.
In the Inclined Plane experiment, the students learned how a ramp can help reduce the amount of force that is needed to be applied but increases the distance the object then has to travel.
Next, they went on a Scavenger Hunt to apply everything they had learned so far. Each team was given 11 clues that dealt with simple machines and had to solve them before moving on. Each team worked together cooperatively in order to solve the clues quickly.
Finally, to conclude the lesson, the students made catapults (example of levers) as their take-home activity. As a fun challenge, each team was allowed to tweak their catapult design in order to improve it. At the very end everyone used their catapult to fling a pom-pom to see whose catapult was the best, and which team overall had the greatest distance.