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Simple Machines in the Community
Journal Article |
The community can be a powerful context and mini-laboratory for cultivating students’ common understandings of science and mathematics. On the island of Panay in the Philippines, the community was the starting place for…
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Simple Machine Science Centers
Journal Article |
One solution to the common challenge of teaching physical science for teachers who are not confident with the subject matter or comfortable with the material is inquiry based science centers. Science centers can engage…
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Using Simple Machines to Leverage Learning
Journal Article |
What would your students say if you told them they could lift you off the ground using a block and a board? Using a simple machine, they’ll find out they can, and they’ll learn about work, energy, and motion in the…
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Was the Great Pyramid Built with Simple Machines?
Journal Article |
In this integrated science and social studies lesson, fifth-grade students participated in hands-on activities using simple machines and speculated how the pyramids were built. Students extended the experience by…
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Teaching Through Trade Books: Simple Machines
Journal Article |
This column includes activities inspired by children’s literature. Engaging students with common machines such as playground equipment and tools will show them how machines make work and play easier as they gain an…
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Science Sampler: Simple machine junk cars
Journal Article |
During the month of May, the author’s eighth-grade physical science students study the six simple machines through hands-on activities, reading assignments, videos, and notes. At the end of the month, they can easily…
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Wacky Machines: A unit on simple machines gets a new twist with old junk
Journal Article |
The next community yard sale might be a repository of old, quirky items that are just the things to get students thinking about simple machines. By introducing some "wacky machines" at lab stations as mystery objects,…