Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• The six simple machines are the lever, screw, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, and wedge.
• Levers and pulleys are simple machines used to make work easier by changing the effort (force) to move a load or overcome a resistance.
• The greater the distance the force is applied, the less effort is necessary to lift the load.
• Machines do not increase the quantity of work, they spread the work out over a longer distance.
• A lever system can be changed by moving the position of the load, effort, and fulcrum.
• Effort is the force needed to move a load or overcome a resistance.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• What are some different simple machines?
• How can a lever and pulley make work easier and how much effort is needed to lift the load?
• Which lever/pulley system gives the greatest advantage?
• What are the parts of a lever system?
• How can a lever system be changed?
• What is effort and how does it apply to simple machines? How many ways can lever and pulley systems be assembled?

Standards 

Highest Frequency Standards  High Frequency Standards  Other Standards & E-skills

Standard 1: Students understand the processes of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations. (1.a., 1.b., 1.c., 1.e., 1.f., 1.g., 1.h., 1.i., 1.j.)
Standard 2: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy. (2.1.a., 2.2.a., 2.2.b., 2.3.a., 2.3.b.,)
Standard 5: Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology, and human activity and how they can affect the world. (5.c., 5.d.)
Standard 6: Students understand the processes of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations. (6.a., 6.d., 6.f.)

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

• Levers and Pulleys Lessons
• Levers and Pulleys Links
• Pulleys at Work - How can pulleys make it easier for you to do work without changing how much work you do? Find out by watching what happens when you use different pulley systems to lift a load.
• Simple Machines Around Your House
• Literacy Connection: Simple Machines Organizer   Simple Machines Answer Key
• Literacy Connection: Levers, Gears and Pulleys Organizer    Levers, Gears, and Pulleys Answer Key
• Literacy Connection: Machines Organizer    Machines Answer Key
• Literacy Connection: Forces in Motion Organizer    Forces in Motion Answer Key
• Leveled Reader Audio Book:  Exploring Forces and Motion  Level 2
• Leveled Reader Audio Book: Forces and Motion  Level 3
• Leveled Reader Audio Book: Forces in Motion  Level 5

Science Leveled Readers With Audio

Unit Vocabulary