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Hello,
A few classmates and myself are creating a workshop for 5th grade students revolving around levers and pulleys, and their use in every-day life. I would love some suggestions of children's books on levers and pulleys. So far, I have "Pull, Lift, and Lower" By Michael Dahl. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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You might try How Do You Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells. It is a cute and informative book.
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Thank you so much! I will check that book out and try to integrate it into my workshop.
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Rachel, I love “How Do You Lift a Lion.” I have used it with my middle school students and they get a real kick out of it. There are some stories that just beg to be read aloud, this is one of them.
Another really fun thing I use with my middle school students that I also used with my nieces when they were younger was a piece of software called, “Crazy Machines,” http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Machines-Wacky-Contraptions-Game/dp/B000B642OI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1385514996&sr=8-5&keywords=Levers+and+pulleys+books
In the program you build machines that turn cranks, rotate gears, pull levers, and build contraptions. There are also 200 puzzles, some of which my students found easy, others were challenging. Of course the student favorites were when they got to use the explosives and robots in the virtual lab. A second Crazy Machines God edition came out with even more “3DGizmos, Gadgets and more,” http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Machines-Complete-Dimensions-Gadgets/dp/B004PG1FKO/ref=pd_cp_sw_1
Such a fun unit, I look forward to seeing all of the resources folks share.
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Disney has a great video - The science of Imaginary based upon levers and pulleys. They lift a ton ticki that my kids get into. There's also edheads.com that has a lesson for simple machines about levels and pulleys that is interactive.
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Vernier has a number of inquiry exercises that use force sensors. Also Vernier kindly puts labs from its manuals on its website. There are a number of activities in the Elementary Science with Vernier as well as the Middle School Science with Vernier manuals that are available for preview and if you do not have Vernier equipment, you may still share these inquiry labs and have students make their own force sensors or use others that may be available.
For example: Oh! My Aching Back!How Ramps Make Lifting Easier.
see this site:
http://www.vernier.com/experiments/ewv/30/oh_my_aching_back_how_ramps_make_lifting_easier/
An innovative teacher who does not have Vernier sensors may modify the labs by using other force sensors, especially home made ones created and ENGINEERED by the students. An example would be to use a strong piece of elastic material (such as that used in waist bands of clothing) and measuring its stretch by hanging various masses from it (these masses may be pennies put in a paper cup attached to the bottom of the elastic or actually small hanging masses, if they are available. Check out Hooke's Law for a bit of background.
http://chemphys.purduecal.edu/~ncrelich/PortableDocuments/PHYS152/152%20Spring200/06_Lab6-Hookes-Law.pdf
Once the students have made their force sensor and know how much the elastic stretches for a given number of masses, they may use it OR if they are ready for simple graphing, they may graph mass on the vertical axis versus stretch on the horizontal axis and interpret the meaning of the graph and use this information with their force sensor.
Springs may be used instead of strong elastic material. As long as the springs are not distended and return tho their original shape when the force is removed, the springs will work well.
Vernier offers some other inquiry labs that also deal with levers, so go ahead and take a peek. You will be able to utilize the teacher vetted ideas with or without digital sensors.
Enjoy:}
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Attached are two files for background info. They are fine for background info and may be modified for appropriate grade levels.
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The Learning Center and NSTA have shared collections to accompany NSTA Press Books.
Learning Center Online Advisors has shared this collection of resources with you. You can save this collection to your personal online library simply by logging in to the left, or registering here. Once logged in, you'll also be able to explore and add other NSTA resources as well as upload your own resources to create one central location for your professional development materials.
One of them is:
Energy: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach It
You may wish to click on the collection accompanying this book. There are some wonderful free resources dealing with pulleys.
Examples are:
1. External Resource: The NASA SciFiles: The Case of the Powerful Pulleys
2. Spring Into Energy
Type: Journal Article
3. Using Simple Machines to Leverage Learning
Type: Journal Article
These are really worth a 'look and let's see' in my estimation:}
~patty
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These are all fantastic replies, and are very useful in my workshop as well. I recently completed a test run of a class-1 lever workshop where I constructed a lever that could be used to lift the teacher. The issue I found was that the setup weighed over 150 lbs and therefore yielded skewed results for the balance correlations. I used wood to build mine, but what materials or setup might be more beneficial for this situation? Thank you!
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A quick note into Google and this popped up.
http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/lifter/
Lifter: What Is a First-Class Lever, and What Is The Advantage of Using One?
Source: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Author: Janice VanCleave
Topics Elementary School, Engineering
Problem
What is a first-class lever, and what is the advantage of using one?
Materials
lightweight table
sturdy chair (the back should be as tall as the table)
broom
Procedure
Put one hand under the edge of the table (be sure there's nothing on it) and gently push upward. Try to lift the end of the table off of the floor. Warning: Do not strain if the table is heavy.
Place the back of the chair about 4 inches (10 cm) from the edge of the table.
Lay the broom handle over the back of the chair and under the edge of the table.
Place your hand on the straw end of the broom and gently push down.
Results
The end of the broom handle rises, lifting the table off the floor. Using the broom to raise the table takes less effort than trying to lift the table with your hand.
Why?
Machines are often thought of as complicated devices with many moving parts that are powered by a motor. Scientists define a machine as any device that changes either the direction or the amount of force that you must apply to accomplish a task. The broom acts as a kind of simple machine called a lever. A lever is a rigid bar that pivots around a fixed point called a fulcrum. There are three different kinds of levers: first-class, second-class, and third-class. One type is not superior to another; each just has the fulcrum in a different place.
(there are sketches and more information in the article.)
Go to the site to see the entire article on this engineering project that uses simple items and is designed for middle school.
~patty
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