Name:  Melissa Blanton
School:  Clyattville Elementary School
Grade Level: Third Grade
Time Length of Lesson: 40 Minutes
Grouping Plan for Teaching: Whole Group
Lesson Objective(s): 1) Students will be able to identify a pulley from other simple machines.  2) Students will learn through group experimentation that using a pulley makes lifting objects easier.

QCC Standard(s): 1) Grade Level: Third Grade 2) Subject: Science 3) Number: 1
4) Topic: Science Inquiry, Process Skills and Problem Solving 5) Standard: Asks questions, classifies objects and events, communicates with others, makes inferences and predictions, uses estimation and measurement, uses evidence to construct explanations, makes sketches and diagrams to explain ideas, and organizes data into tables and charts to interpret and formulate simple hypotheses.

1) Grade Level: Third Grade 2) Subject: Science 3) Number: 4
4) Topic: Activities/Tools 5) Standard: Actively engages in the learning process via hands-on/minds-on science activities and experiences.  Uses appropriate tools to collect and analyze data to solve problems.

1) Grade Level: Third Grade 2) Subject: Science 3) Number: 10
4) Topic: Motion/Force/Machines 5) Identifies and compares simple machines and how they work.  Compares simple machines (such as levers, wheels, pulleys and inclined planes) based on how well they do a task.

Materials: 1) 5 objects. 2) 1 packet of pulley experiment sheets for each student. 3) 1 home made pulley system. 4) Each student needs 1 pencil. 5) 1 YO-YO 6) 1 plastic bucket filled with heavy objects. 7) 5 Cards with the numbers 1-5 printed on them.

Technology Connection: http://www.public.iastate.edu/dhenry/simp/
· This is a great webquest to follow up a unit on simple machines.

Beginning Attention & Interest Focus: Take students outside to look at the flagpole.
Ask students if they can guess what type of simple machine this is.  Explain to students that using a pulley makes it easier to lift the flag to the top of the flagpole.

Introduction:  Discuss with students that good behavior is expected during the lesson and they will be working in cooperative groups. Give the definition of a pulley. Ask students to work in their groups to list as many pulleys as they can think of. (only one person in each group will need to write.)  Call on each of the groups so there will be at least 4 or 5 different types of pulleys on the board.  Ask students if they can think of a type of pulley that most people play with as a toy.  Have a student volunteer come to the front and show the other students how a yo-yo works. I will ask the students to look on the 1st page of their booklet for the worksheet on “Pulley Power”.  There are a series of 4 questions about the pictures of pulleys found on this page.  I will go through this sheet with the students to help them grasp the concept of a pulley.

Modeling:  Introduce student to the home made pulley system I have created.  I will point out the different parts of the pulley such as: (wheel, groove, rope, and load).

Guided Practice: Ask for a student volunteer to help model for the other students.  The student will attach a heavy bucket to the end of the pulley and lift the bucket into the air.

Independent Practice: As a cooperative group, students will complete the experiment sheet in their packet.  They will be testing to see if certain objects are easier to lift on your own or by using the help of a pulley.  There will be 1 object for each group to experiment with.  Give each group a card with a number on it.  The groups will do their experiment according to their number.  Students will be told to sit and work quietly in their groups until it is their turn.  Each student will be asked to complete the experiment sheet in their groups. (see attachment)

Assessment:  Students will take a short quiz over the material covered on pulleys. (see attachment)

Closure:  Ask each group to share the outcome of their experiment.  Have students discuss the everyday pulleys that we talked about in the lesson.  Have students discuss how these pulleys can make work in their everyday lives a little easier.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 1
Each group will be given an object.
Everyone in your group should take turns lifting the object.

Question A
· Does the object feel light or heavy?__________

· Step 2
As a group, take your object to the pulley and attach the clamp to it.

Question B
Do you think the pulley will make lifting the object harder or easier?_____________

· Step 3
Everyone in your group should take turns using the pulley to lift the object.

Question C
Was it easier to lift the object on your on or with the pulley?____________

Question D
Why do you think a pulley makes work easier? __________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________.

1. In which of the following situations would you use a pulley?
A riding your bicycle
B chopping wood
C raising a flag
D hammering a nail
 

2.  A pulley makes lifting a load harder.
A TRUE
B FALSE
 

3. Circle the simple machine that is a pulley.
A. A crane
B. An Axe
C. A screwdriver
D. A wheel

4. Name at least 2 types of pulleys. (answers may vary)
______________
______________

1.  Describe how the students were engaged in learning during your lesson.
The students showed they were learning during the lesson in many ways.  In the beginning, the students were told to think of pulleys they may have seen in real life.  The students gave great answers such as a stage curtain, a flagpole, a crane, an anchor ect.  This showed me that the students already had an idea of what pulleys were.  The students had a chance to use a homeade pulley system to do an experiment.  The students made predictions about how they thought the experiment would turn out.  Most of their predictions were correct.  Most of the students said that the pulley would make a load easier to lift.  The students also took a short quiz to assess their learning.  Almost everyone made a 100%.

2.  Describe how the students responded to your lesson.
The students loved going outside to look at the flagpole.  They also liked experimenting with the homeade pulley system.  This almost became a competition to see who could lift the load the highest.  To them that meant a test of strength.  The students seemed to like working in groups, because it makes learning seem more like having fun and less like working.  The students were shocked to know that a yo-yo was actuially a pulley, and they thought it was really cool that a student volunteer got to model how to use a yo-yo.

3.  Describe how the students achieved the assessment of your lesson.
The students took a short quiz over pulleys that hit the high points of my lesson.  Because the students payed close attention and showed interest during the lesson, the quiz was very easy to them.  The students did not seem to mind taking the quiz.  One kid even said,  "That was the easiest test I've ever taken!".  I told him that it was really hard, but he just must have really been an expert on pulleys.  The students are always excited to have a grade recorded that they know will be a good grade.