When this group of kindergarteners arrived at the beginning of the school year, I noticed right away that many of them were interested in motion. In fact, ramps and marbles were such a big hit back in August that we put them away for a while because the kids' collaboration skills weren't yet strong enough to handle their level of interest. Over the past months I also noticed kids kept building things with wheels that moved really fast. Catapults made from our Lincoln Logs kept appearing as well. Right before winter break our sneaky gingerbread men ran away, so the kiddos came up with the idea of building traps to catch them. That's when I first noticed a real interest in pulleys too. Thus, our simple machines investigation was born. I had a feeling a simple machines investigation would be a productive and thought-provoking way to channel all their excitement and interest in movement!
I was curious to find out whether or not the kids already knew anything about simple machines. Our conversation was pretty flat, and it was clear we all had a lot to learn!
Bill Nye the Science Guy was a great place to start, as his video on simple machines helped us begin to build shared knowledge about them. We learned that simple machines help make our work easier.
I brought in some new (and slightly too large!) ramps, and the kids didn't waste any time trying them out.
Some general books about simple machines helped us better understand how they differ from other types of more complicated machines.
Then we started wondering...
We began by exploring inclined planes, as ramps had continued to be a been a huge source of interest among the kids.
We also started keeping track of new and important words on our "dictionary."
Reading about simple machines isn't a very meaningful way to learn about them when you're 5 or 6. So, we headed outside for our first hands-on experiment. I challenged the kids to figure out what simple machine on the playground could help them get a heavy box filled with blocks to the top of the play structure.
Their first thought was the teeter totter. Definitely a no-go!
It took a lot of teamwork, but they eventually figured it out.
I brought out the marble ramp toy which was a huge hit as well. The amount of planning, theorizing, testing, collaborating, communicating, and friendship-building that happened around the ramps was astonishing!
Some inclined plane art gave everybody an opportunity to better understand the force of the incline as they tilted their box all around.
The exploring continued in so many different forms...
Challenge #2- how can you manipulate your inclined plane to get your cylinder to stop exactly at the end of the string...
They even started making some of their own marble mazes.
Catapults were a big source of interest during our wonderings, so levers is where we headed next. Levers were a little hard for the kids to grasp since there are so many different types, so noticing that they all have a "fulcrum" helped us better identify them.
More experiments helped us learn how an object's weight changes depending on where the lever's fulcrum is situated.
Next challenge- use any materials in our classroom to create your own working catapult. Don't forget to make sure it has a fulcrum!
Books about simple machines are pretty dry, so luckily I found another helpful video at the library.
I challenged the kids to pay close attention so that at the end of the movie they could each tell me one new thing they had learned. One kiddo even requested to take notes during the movie so he could remember everything!
Our growing dictionary was a great way to help us notice and remember all the new vocabulary words.
Some of the kids couldn't wait to start building more pulleys, so that's where we went next. Unfortunately all the pictures got lost in a tragic iPhone/washing machine incident! But take my word for it...the excitement in the room as they collaborated and built working pulleys with classmates was electric. Knowing that their pulley had to be designed well enough to be able to hold a sweet treat after it was lowered and then raised back up probably helped add to the excitement.
Ms. Mathieson taught us even more about pulleys by telling us about how she used them to move a dead tree. She even had a video to show us of the big event.
Their first challenge was to use their imaginations to design and label their dream car.
Later that day they found out they would get to build their dream cars too...and their car would have wheels and axles and actually be able to move!
Needless to say, cutting wheels out of cardboard was definitely the hardest part of the project. I assured them their fine motor muscles would thank them later. They cut,
they painted,
they worked and worked and worked,
they met with a partner to share glows and grows to get even more great ideas,
and voila. I was BLOWN AWAY by how closely their actual cars matched their original designs. What a great lesson for kids - if you dream it and are willing to work hard, you can achieve it!
We even took some time out to reflect on why we were so proud of our cars.
The interest in marbles and ramps never died down, so I continued to bring in new materials and provocations to stretch their thinking in new ways.
It was exciting to see how a few inspirational pictures of marble ramps from other classrooms helped the kindergarteners begin to think of ways their ramp structures could became more complex as well. Notice how they used blocks to raise it up...
One thing I noticed throughout the investigation was that the more familiar they became with simple machines, the more they started noticing them everywhere...even in I Spy books.
There were two machines left (screws and wedges), but the kids weren't particularly interested in either. So, I decided to cover them quickly while also using it as an opportunity to learn to use bubble maps to record our thinking. We split up into two groups, learned all about our simple machine, recorded our new information on bubble maps, and then met with a partner to teach each other.
In order to prepare their little brains for learning about and experimenting with Rube Goldberg machines (which I knew the kids would love!) and as a way to incorporate some literacy into our investigation, we began a Laura Numeroff author study. Her "If You Give a..." books are great examples of circle stories (they always end where they began), and they perfectly illustrate the somewhat complex concept of cause and effect.
We read her stories, retold them, highlighted the causes and effects,
authored and illustrated our own class book titled If you Give a Kindergartener a Marker,
and we even tried our hand at writing our own circle stories. Writing their own turned out to be a little harder than I'd imagined (especially making it into a circle story), so I was really impressed by how many kids saw their story through to the end. Check out those proud faces!
At the end of our author study we voted for our favorite book and then analyzed our bar graph together.
At the same time that our author study was moving along, we began exploring Rube Goldberg machines. We watched a great Sesame Street clip that introduced us to Rube Goldberg machines and showed us how they could be created by combing several simple machines into a compound machine. We wondered if we could similarly use simple machines to cause things to happen (i.e. cause and effect).
Since these kids are always up for a challenge, they jumped right in and began trying to create their own. Can you even imagine how much focus, stamina, and perseverance went into creating these machines?
and got to work building and testing them out.
They really wanted to see each other's machines in action, so I compiled all their trials into a movie that we could watch (and learn from) together. Some of the machines worked and some of them almost worked...but we all learned a LOT from the process!
A few days later, Ms. Mathieson came in to show us an amazing video of a Rube Goldberg machine created by some 7th graders. The kids were in complete awe and begged to watch the video over and over again.
Their marble ramps kept growing more and more complex...
As we neared the end of our investigation, it was time to begin reviewing all six simple machines in order to informally assess what they had learned as well figure out what confusions remained. We sorted the machines as a class,
We also headed out on a hunt around St. Anne's to see what simple machines we could find. The kids were blown away to discover how many machines are all around us!
In order to culminate our investigation, the kiddos worked with a partner to create a simple machine museum containing models of all six simple machines and any other details they wanted to add. It was so interesting to see what models they each came up with as well as what details (pretend money, tickets, gift shop items, etc.) they decided to add.
Ms. Amy's class came over to visit our museums, and we taught them all about our simple machines.
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