The Labeling Force and Motion Worksheet has 3rd graders label six pictures with push, pull, gravity, friction, fast, and slow from a word bank. Includes an answer key for easy, no-prep science practice.
This simple machines fill in the blanks worksheet has 3rd graders name the lever, pulley, wedge, screw, inclined plane, and wheel and axle from real-life clues, then explain how two of them make work easier. Answer key included.
This Identify Simple Machines Worksheet asks 3rd graders to name the simple machine in six everyday objects, then explain how one of them helps people work. An answer key is included.
These simple machines flash cards help 1st-3rd grade students learn the six simple machines with diagram cards and everyday object cards. Answer key included.
This robot cut outs worksheet gives 3rd grade students four robots to fill with ideas for helpful robot jobs, then color and cut out, building a bright technology bulletin board the whole class can enjoy.
This man and fuel powered worksheet asks 3rd graders to sort eight machines into people powered and fuel powered columns, then explain four more in writing. Answer key included for a no prep science lesson.
Simple and compound machines flash cards for 2nd to 4th grade: 16 fold-over picture cards, a practice page and an answer key included, so students learn to spot the simple machines inside everyday tools.
Push it, pull it, lift it!
Third graders learn that a machine is anything that makes work easier, and work means using a force to move something. They meet the six simple machines: lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge and screw. A ramp is an inclined plane; a seesaw is a lever; a doorknob is a wheel and axle. Then they find out that compound machines, like scissors or a bike, are made of two or more simple machines working together. Suddenly, kids see machines everywhere!
This unit begs for hands-on exploring. Here's how we keep it organized.
Introduce one simple machine a day with a flash card and a real object: a ruler on a pencil for a lever, a doorstop for a wedge. Kids sketch it in a science notebook. One clear picture per machine keeps them from blurring together.
Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withSimple Machines Flash CardsFlash CardsOpen it →Kids build a paper robot and decide which simple machines it uses for each job: a pulley arm to lift, wheels to roll, a wedge to cut. Explaining their choices shows whether the ideas really landed.
Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.
Try it withRobot Cut OutsActivitiesOpen it →Flash a machine card and kids hold up one finger for simple or two for compound, then name the parts. A quick daily round helps them tell the difference without notes.
Why it works: pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than rereading it, one of the strongest findings in learning research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).
Try it withSimple and Compound Machines Flash CardsFlash CardsOpen it →Turn the classroom into a machine-hunting lab!
WorksheetsKids look at everyday objects and identify which simple machine each one is. Then hunt for real ones around the room.
Open Identify Simple Machines Worksheet →
WorksheetsSort machines into ones people power and ones fuel powers. Who knew a bike and a car had so much in common?
Open Man and Fuel Powered Worksheet →
WorksheetsLabel the forces in each picture. Then act them out: push a chair, pull a wagon, lift a box.
Open Labeling Force and Motion Worksheet →Teacher favorites right now: Labeling Force and Motion Worksheet, Simple Machines Fill in the Blanks Worksheet and Identify Simple Machines Worksheet.
Lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge and screw. Each one helps us move things with less effort or in an easier direction.
A machine made of two or more simple machines. Scissors combine two levers and two wedges. A wheelbarrow uses a lever and a wheel and axle.
Go on a hunt! Doorknobs, ramps, bottle caps and can openers are all machines. Ask your child to name the simple machine and explain how it makes the job easier.
Yes. Machines change the size or direction of a force, so many classes teach pushes, pulls and motion right alongside simple machines.
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