Grade 5 Physical Science Forces and Simple Machines

Grade 5Physical ScienceForces and Simple Machines Gillian Kiefer kiefergill@hotmail.com

Unit Overview Unit contains 10 written lessons 3 lessons are on force, motion and friction 7 are on the six simple machines

Literature Connection This unit has been based on the novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss. Each lesson has been modeled after a specific chapter and follow the sequentially order.

Lesson 1: Set Sail - Investigate different kinds of direct and indirect forces that act to move objects or hold them in place - This lesson matches with chapter 1 of the novel. - Students will build popsicle stick boats to represent the one the family is sailing on. Use a SMART board if available to manipulate shapes to design the boat.

Lesson 2: Shipwrecked - Observe and describe how various forces, such as magnetic, mechanical, wind and gravitational, can act directly or from a distance to cause objects to move - Using the boats made in previous lessons our class will be exploring how the wind affected the Swiss families boat . - Using their mouth to create wind and then a blow-dryer, students will explore some of these questions: Could they capsize the boat? What type of wind worked the best? Did strong wind move the boat more efficiently or the weaker wind?

Lesson 3/4: Landing on the Desert Island - Measure and compare the effect of friction on the movement of an object over a variety of surfaces. - We will explore the Swiss family had to go through hauling all of their supplies they took from the boat onto their new island location. - Using a spring scale to measure the force used in Newtons, students will drag a container filled with weight over various surfaces; outside with dirt, classroom floor, plastic mat, sandpaper, nylon and a surface with water.

Lesson 5/6: Getting the Coconuts - Differentiate between the position of the fulcrum, the load and the effort force when using a lever to accomplish a specific task - The Swiss family is exploring the island to find food and shelter for their survival. They come across a coconut tree. After much difficulty throwing the rocks, they finally get some to fall. As a class we will build something more efficient to hit the coconuts down: a lever.

Lesson 7: Work at the Treehouse (Intro) - Compare the force needed to lift a load manually with that required to lift is using a simple machine - The Swiss family moves inland an area covered by trees. During the work, they realize it is difficult to get materials up high in the trees. They have to create a pulley system that helps them with supplies. This lesson will introduce the concept of a pulley without building the entire system. • The class will build a small scale pulley system by having two buckets connected by string that is hung over a broom handle across two chairs. By pulling on one bucket the other one will raise or lower.

Lesson 8: Work at the Treehouse (Single Pulley) - Compare the force needed to lift a load using a single pulley system with that needed to lift it using a multiple pulley system -Provide students with the material and ask them to assembly the pulley system. Do not provide immediate instruction but instead let them use previous knowledge for assembling. If available it would be a good idea to built the pulley system outside on the play structure so more height can be achieved. - Once built they need to lift various loads manually to the determined height and then using the pulley system. We will record in our science journals which was more difficult to do; manual or by machine.

Lesson 9: Work at the Treehouse(Double Pulley) - After creating a single pulley system we will now create double and maybe triple pulley systems to determine force of work. - Since students have already worked together to create a single pulley system let them figure out the set-up on their own. Review how to set up the single system and then add an extra reel to the supplies. It might be necessary to rebuild the single system (if it has been a while since your last class) so students can feel the force needed and be better able to compare the work needed in a double system.

Lesson 10: The Last of the Wreck (Getting on the Ship) - The Swiss family needs to visit their ship one more time for supplies. They want to bring a wheelbarrow but need to find a way to get it on the ship. (We are imaging the ship has become stuck on land and also the ramp has been damaged). As a class we will need to come up with a solution, which will be using an inclined plane. -Working in groups students will first write in their journals how many lego’s they think will build an inclined plane. They will also need to draw a sketch of their design and label how the plane works with force. After inclined planes have been built, students will complete a worksheet about the mechanical advantages of an inclined plane and how it is calculated.

Lesson 11: The Last of the Wreck (Taking Supplies) - Investigate characteristics and practical applications of simple machines, including levers, wheels and axles, pulleys, inclined planes, screws and wedges. - After the Swiss family got onto the ship once again they need to gather the final supplies that will help them on the island. The father knows to continue building they only need objects that fall into the categories or screws and wedges. -Groups will sort through the objects in the bag into screws and wedges. Diagrams will have been previously drawn to talk about screws and wedges. In the back will be cork screw, c clamp, pizza cutter, screw driver, light bulb, pipe wrench, pencil, top of glue bottle, scissors, nut and bolt, faucet, electric can opener, pencil sharpener, fork

Lesson 12/13: Adventures and Excitement - The final project will not have a direct connection to a chapter but instead to one of the themes of the book. Using the idea that the Swiss Family built much of what they used on the island students will use their knowledge and apply it to an individual design. - Individually students will get to design their own form of Rube Goldberg cartoon

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Grade 5 Physical Science Forces and Simple Machines