Simple+Machines+K-2

Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
 * Identify how people use tools to perform jobs.
 * Explain how parts of the human body act as tools that people use to perform jobs.
 * Identify a need and design a tool to meet that need.



Engage: Activate Prior Knowledge; Generate Interest

Bring a closed toolbox to class and ask students what they think might be in the toolbox. After you make a list with students of what might be in there, open the box. The toolbox should contain some traditional “tools” for construction: hammer, screwdriver, and pliers; but it should also contain less commonly considered tools, such as a wire, tape, ruler, fork, toothbrush, and stapler. Ask students what these tools are used for. Then tell students to begin to think about how to define the word **tool**. As you discuss this as a class, use this conversation to pre-assess student understanding about tools.

Discuss the tools in the toolbox with students. Work with them to name ways that the tool is intended to be used, and ways that it could be used for another job. Write down their ideas on the board.

Work with students to sort the objects into categories of the students’ choice. They may suggest “cutting things” or “pushing things” or “counting things” as different categories. Sometimes an object will fit into more than one category, so talk about how you should categorize it, or create lists to include items in several categories.

Explore: Allowing Students to Experience Content

Display for the students the following questions:


 * What is a tool?
 * How do tools make jobs easier?

Explain to students that they will now do activities to try to answer these questions.



Tell students that they will be watching a video about using tools to lift things. Ask students to look for how the students use tools to make their work easier. Show [|Anywhere Science Activity: Lifting Things]. Note that students may need to view this segment more than one time in order to fully grasp the concept. After students watch the video, ask: What work were the children were trying to do? (Lift heavy rocks) What did they use to move the rocks? (Levers – rocks and planks) After the clip, have volunteers list the different tools the children used in the exploration.

Next, tell students that they will complete an activity in which they move heavy things across a wide space. Students will complete the Hands-On Activity [|Use Tools to Move It!]



After groups complete the Hands-On Activity, bring the entire class back together to talk about how they were able to move the heavy rocks. (Answers will vary.) Discuss how students used the design process to solve the problem. Then allow students to confirm their understanding of the Essential Questions by drawing and labeling their designs and the outcomes in their Observation Notebooks.

Explain: Firm Up Understanding; Allow Students to Explain What They Know

Read together as a class [|What Are Tools]. ([|eBook] version also available). Ask students to look around the room and for items that make work easier. Are these tools? Have students say or write how their chosen item is a tool and makes work easier.

Show just the animation portion of each of the following interactive glossary terms. Have students describe or record in their journals how each tool made the work easier in the animation.
 * [|inclined plane]
 * [|lever]
 * [|wedge]
 * [|pulley]
 * [|wheel]



Elaborate: Allow Students to Apply What They Know

Have students read in pairs [|Where are Tools] [|?] ([|eBook version]) Have them brainstorm about tools around the classroom and house. Generate, as a class lists of tools around the classroom and/or house with a purpose for each tool.

Project Ideas**:** To help students apply their understanding of designing tools, you may wish to have them complete some or all of the following projects. The time required to complete each project will vary; some may require students to work outside the classroom.
 * Take a walk through the school or through the neighborhood and have students identify different tools and different needs that they observe. When you return to class, create a master list of tools and jobs they do. Then, have students brainstorm possible tools that could be used to meet the needs that they observed. Have students work with a partner to design a tool. Share tool designs with the class.
 * Select two tools used around the home (such as a broom and a vacuum cleaner, or a pot and pan) Encourage students to compare and contrast the tools using a Venn diagram.

Evaluate: Check for Understanding

Show the video [|Sid The Science Kid: Executing the Plan] Ask students to make a list of every tool they see and how it was used to make work easier. 

Throughout the lesson, use the [|Observation Checklist: Tools] to record tasks and evaluate completion for each student.