4-6 : Lesson Plan #3
Invention
Objective: The students will create an invention, using items collected from the trash or recycling bin, which operates as a simple machine.
Materials:
- Letter to Parents to Collect Items
- Examples of simple machines – levers, pulleys, inclined planes, etc. – either pictures from a book or web site, or actual items.
- Objects brought in by students that would normally be thrown away or put in recycling bins.
- Art supplies, such as glue, tape, markers, crayons, string, paints, scissors, etc.
Procedure:
- A few days before the lesson send home the letter to the parents asking for items.
- Discuss/review garbage going into landfills and the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling to care for the environment.
- Depending on the students' background knowledge, introduce/review simple machines. Share pictures/examples of pulleys, inclined planes, levers, etc.
- Have the students work individually or in pairs. They may want to brainstorm their ideas and draw diagrams of their proposed inventions.
- Allow the students access to the collected items and the art supplies. They may then create examples of simple machines in their unique inventions using these objects.
- When the inventions are complete, have the students demonstrate them to their classmates. They may wish to “name” their inventions as well.