Force and Motion
Simple Machines
3rd grade
Timeframe
5 – 7 class periods (~45 minutes each)
Objectives
Science – mechanical energy, push and pull force, simple machines
Technology –tools
Engineering – design
Materials
 Student journals/pencils
 Various garden tools: wheelbarrow, shovel, rake, hand trowel
Engage (outdoor classroom) one class period
Pulling Weeds
 Take students to a weedy area of the outdoor classroom and talk about why they might need to
pull some of the weeds (they compete with the desirable plants for space, soil, nutrients, water,
etc).
 Setting up clear boundaries for where they can pull weeds, give students time to pull weeds using
just their hands, emphasizing the importance of removing the entire plant, including the roots.
 After students have had some time pulling weeds with just their hands, provide each student with
a hand trowel after demonstrating how to safely use it.
 Give students time to pull weeds using the hand trowel – is the work easier?
Explore (outdoor classroom) one class period
Using Simple Machines to Make the Work Easier
 Provide students with a task that needs to be completed in the outdoor classroom. For example,
plan a day when students weed out a garden or landscaped area or move soil or mulch into
existing beds.
 Provide students with a series of tools – shovels, hand trowels, wheelbarrows, rakes, etc. after
having reviewed important safety rules about using them (always keep sharp ends pointing
towards the ground when walking, keep tools low to the ground, they should never need to be
lifted above the waist).
 Present students with the task to be completed and give them time to use the different tools that
are available to them, making sure students spend time using at least 2-3 of the tools.
Explain (indoor classroom) one—two class periods
Garden Tools are Simple Machines
 Invite students to share their experience using the garden tools. How were they used? Did they
make the work any easier than using just their hands? Which tool was the most helpful?
 Introduce the term simple machines and explain that each of the garden tools represents one or
more simple machines functioning together to make work easier.
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Show students pictures of the six basic simple machines (lever, wedge, wheel & axel, incline plane,
screw, and pulley) and ask them to try and identify which simple machines are represented by the
garden tools (lever: handle of all tools, wedge: pointed part of any tool such as shovel or rake,
wheel & axel: wheelbarrow, inclined plane: sidewalk ramps to allow for easier maneuvering of
wheelbarrow, screw: holding parts of wheelbarrow together)
Review the six basic simple machines introducing the terms force, motion, push, pull, movement,
location, work, energy, etc.) using preferred teaching methods. Review mechanical energy and
explain how the tools represent this form of energy.
Elaborate (outdoor classroom) one–two class periods
Designing Tools That Work
 Bring students to the outdoor classroom and ask them to think about how they might complete the
same amount of work without having access to the tools that have already been invented. Could
they create their own tools with the materials available to them in the outdoor classroom?
 Give students time to work with natural materials to create garden “tools” that they can use to pull
weeds, dig holes, or move heavy loads. Students may need to work in small groups or individually,
fashioning different tools to accomplish different tasks in the outdoor classroom. Examples of tools
students might create include looking for sharp, flat rocks to dig holes, sharpening the ends of
sturdy sticks to pull weeds, or creating inclined planes for moving heavy objects.
 After students have had time to create their tools using natural objects, ask each student (or group
of students) to demonstrate their tool(s) for the rest of the class, explaining its usefulness. In their
demonstration, they should identify the simple machines they’ve used and any other contentspecific vocabulary (i.e. force, fulcrum, mechanical energy, etc.)
 Students should create a diagram of their home-made tools in their journal, labeling their tools
utilizing the content-specific vocabulary as it applies to their specific tool.
Evaluate (indoor classroom) one class period
 Provide students with pictures or real life examples of each of the simple machines and ask them
to identify and label them with the appropriate vocabulary.
 Ask students to choose one tool they used from the outdoor classroom and explain in writing how
the tool helps to make work easier.
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Page 2
Grade
Concepts
STEM in the Schoolyard
PreKindergarten - 5th grade lessons
Standards and Concepts
Math Common Core Standards
Technology and Engineering
National Science Education Standards
Engineering - design and construction
1st
Properties of soil
Natural resources
Construction
Sorting/classifying
E.D.3 Changes in earth and sky
b. Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons. Weather can be described by
measurable
quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.
E.F.5 Science and technology in local challenges
a. People continue inventing new ways of doing things, solving problems, and getting
work done. New ideas and inventions often affect other people; sometimes the effects
are good and sometimes they are bad. It is helpful to try to determine in advance how
ideas and inventions will affect other people.
E.E.2 Understandings about science and technology
c. Scientists and engineers often work in teams with different individuals doing different
things that contribute to the results. This understanding focuses primarily on teams
working together and secondarily, on the combination of scientist and engineer teams.
Technology - Compound Machines
Engineering - Design, construction, and use
of tools
Lesson
K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.
Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.
K.MD.A.2 Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in
common, to see which object has “more of”/“less of” the attribute, and
describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two
children and describe one child as taller/shorter.
MD.B.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in
each category and sort the categories by count.1
2nd
Weather
Weather tools
Data collection and analysis
E.B.2 Position and motion of objects
a. The position of an object can be described by locating it relative to another object or
the background.
b. An object's motion can be described by tracing and measuring its position over time.
c. The position and motion of objects can be changed by pushing or pulling. The size of
the change is
related to the strength of the push or pull.
Technology - Electrical circuits
Engineering - Design & problem solving
Prek/Kinder
E.D.1 Properties of earth materials
a. Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The
varied materials
have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different
ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we
use as food. Earth materials provide
many of the resources that humans use.
b. Soils have properties of color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to
support the growth of many kinds of plants, including those in our food supply.
Engineering - design and construction
3rd
Mechanical Energy
Force and Motion
Simple Machines
Tool technology
Design/Engineering
E.B.3 Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism
b. Heat can be produced in many ways, such as burning, rubbing, or mixing one substance with another. Heat can move from one object to another by conduction.
c. Electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, and magnetic effects. Electrical
circuits require a
complete loop through which an electrical current can pass.
Technology - Solar Ovens, Conservation of
Natural Resources
Engineering - Design Improvement
Rocks
Physical properties of solids
Construction
Sorting/classifying
1.MD.C.4 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories;
ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in
each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in
another
Technology - weather tools
4th
Chemical & Electrical Energy,
Circuits
Conductors/Insulators
E.B.3 Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism
b. Heat can be produced in many ways, such as burning, rubbing, or mixing one substance with another. Heat can move from one object to another by conduction.
E.D.2 Objects in the sky
b. The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the
earth.
E.D.1 Properties of earth materials
a. Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The
varied materials
have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different
ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we
use as food. Earth materials provide
many of the resources that humans use.
b. Soils have properties of color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to
support the growth of many kinds of plants, including those in our food supply.
2.MD.A.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate
tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
2.MD.D.9 Generate measurement data by measuring lengths of several
objects to the nearest whole unit, or by making repeated measurements of
the same object. Show the measurements by making a line plot, where the
horizontal scale is marked off in whole-number units.
5th
Solar and Heat Energy Conductors/Insulators
Reflection & transparency
Building
Rock Towers
Making
Bricks from
Clay
Weather
Observations and
Data Collection
Garden
Tools
PotatoPowered
Calculators
Pizza Box
Solar Ovens
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