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What am I going to use/not use? What do I need to adjust? What is my plan for implementation with the materials? Are these materials and my instructional design meeting all students' needs?

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What standard(s) am I teaching? What do I want students to know and understand? What are my lesson objective(s)? What do my students need before coming into this lesson? How will I focus on rigor and relevance in this lesson?

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What instructional delivery method will I use? How will I create opportunities for strategic productive struggle? What teacher moves will I use (e.g., explicit teacher talk, modeling, providing support based on specific student struggles)?How will I provide opportunities for cooperative learning in my lesson? Where will students be leading the work?

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What resources am I using to teach the standard(s) and move students toward mastery of my lesson objective(s)? What resources in my curriculum are useful here? What is missing from my curriculum resources? Where can I find resources to support the curriculum I already have? Where can I make connections to other subject areas and find the resources to do so?

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What do I have? What is missing? How am I supporting diverse student needs? How will I provide multiple access points for equitable student engagement?

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How can we get Humpty Dumpty down safely? Students will read Humpty Dumpty and work to devise a safe way for him to get down. Instead of focusing on him not cracking due to the fall, they will try to prevent the fall by providing another exit option - a ramp. In this STEM lesson, students will build a slide/ramp for Humpty Dumpty so he may get down safely by using the engineering design process. There will be Science, Math, ELA, and engineering content embedded in this lesson.

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SCIENCE:
SC.1.P.13.1 - Demonstrate that the way to change the motion of an object is by applying a push or a pull.
SC.1.P.12 - A. Motion is a key characteristic of all matter that can be observed, described, and measured.

B. The motion of objects can be changed by forces.
SC.K2.CS-CC.1.4 - Provide and accept constructive criticism on a collaborative project.

MATH:
MA.1.M.1  - Compare and measure the length of objects.
MA.1.DP.1 - Collect, represent and interpret data using pictographs and tally marks.
MA.K12.MTR.6 - Assess the reasonableness of solutions.

ELA:
ELA.1.C.2.1 - Present information orally using complete sentences and appropriate volume.
ELA.1.R.2.1 - Use text features including titles, headings, captions, graphs, maps, glossaries, and/or illustrations to demonstrate understanding of texts.

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https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_heaveho_music_act

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Summary
Students discover the scientific basis for the use of inclined planes. Using a spring scale, a bag of rocks and an inclined plane, student groups explore how dragging objects up a slope is easier than lifting them straight up into the air. Students are also introduced to the scientific method and basic principles of experimentation. To conclude, students imagine and design their own uses for inclined planes.

This engineering curriculum aligns to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Engineering Connection

Engineers continually look for and design new tools to make life easier. Students are introduced to this idea by exploring tools that they know and see everyday, in particular the inclined plane. Students act as engineers when they think of and then design tools or machines using incline planes with the purpose to simplify some task in their lives.

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

Explain that an inclined plane reduces the effective "weight" of an object.

Explain how to read a spring scale.

Educational Standards

Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards.

All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN), a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org).

In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc.

NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards - Science

NGSS Performance Expectation

K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem. (Grades K - 2)

Do you agree with this alignment?

Click to view other curriculum aligned to this Performance Expectation

This activity focuses on the following Three Dimensional Learning aspects of NGSS:
Science & Engineering Practices | Disciplinary Core Ideas | Crosscutting Concepts

Develop a simple model based on evidence to represent a proposed object or tool.
Alignment agreement:

Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem's solutions to other people.
Alignment agreement:

The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s).
Alignment agreement:

NGSS Performance Expectation

K-2-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs. (Grades K - 2)

Do you agree with this alignment?

Click to view other curriculum aligned to this Performance Expectation

This activity focuses on the following Three Dimensional Learning aspects of NGSS:
Science & Engineering Practices | Disciplinary Core Ideas | Crosscutting Concepts

Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as intended.
Alignment agreement:

Because there is always more than one possible solution to a problem, it is useful to compare and test designs.
Alignment agreement:

Common Core State Standards - Math

Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object. (Grade K) More Details
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Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. (Grade K) More Details
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Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction. (Grade 1) More Details
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International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

Explain the tools and techniques that people use to help them do things. (Grades Pre-K - 2) More Details
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Safely use tools to complete tasks. (Grades Pre-K - 2) More Details
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Explore how technologies are developed to meet individual and societal needs and wants. (Grades Pre-K - 2) More Details
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Analyze how things work. (Grades Pre-K - 2) More Details
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Asking questions and making observations helps a person to figure out how things work. (Grades K - 2) More Details
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State Standards
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Materials List

Each group needs:

3 worksheets, one each per student

1 spring scale, for measuring applied forces

plastic sandwich-sized bags

8-12 rocks, about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter

flat piece of wood, ~2 ft long X 1 ft wide X 1 inch thick (60 cm x 30 cm x 2.5 cm)

stack of textbooks, ~1-1½ feet high (30-45 cm)

Worksheets and Attachments
Visit [www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_heaveho_music_act] to print or download.

More Curriculum Like This

Lower Elementary Lesson

An Introduction to Inclined Planes

Students are introduced to the concept of simple tools and how they can make difficult or impossible tasks easier. They begin by investigating the properties of inclined planes and how implementing them can reduce the force necessary to lift objects off the ground.

Introduction/Motivation

Figure 1. The main components of a spring scale.

copyright

Copyright © 2007 Engineering K-PhD Program, Duke University

Now that we have learned about inclined planes, who can remind us of some real-world examples? (Listen to student ideas.) Examples include roads over hills, skateboard ramps, handicap access ramps, etc. And why do people need and use tools like an inclined plane? That's right - to make work easier. Well today we are going to find out how inclined planes make work easier by acting as scientists and conducting an experiment!

What we're going to do is play the role of an engineer who needs to find the lightest way to lift a bag of rocks. Using an important tool that we will discuss in a minute, we are going to find out how much this bag of rocks weighs and come up with one method to make it "weigh" less. Sound impossible? Let's find out!

Before we begin, let's become familiar with a very important tool that we will be using to do our experiments. This is called a spring scale (show an example). Does anyone know how this works? This tool is used to measure how much something weighs. See this hook ? (The hook is located on the bottom of the device; see Figure 1.) We attach this hook to whatever we want to weigh, like our bag of rocks here. See what happens when something hangs off of the scale? This plunger moves up and down, depending on how much weight is being applied. But how do we know how much the object weighs? If you look closely, you can see lines with numbers next to them on the clear part of the scale. See them? When the plunger inside this clear part is pulled down by the bag of rocks, it moves to one of these lines. See? The number next to that line is the weight of that bag of rocks. Now let's see how we can make it weigh less!

Procedure

Before the Activity

Gather materials and make copies of the three attached worksheets. The basic activity procedure is outlined through these worksheets.

Set up at each group's work station an inclined plane, bag of rocks and spring scale. The inclined plane can consist of any hard, flat plane (wooden board, textbook, flat cardboard, etc.) that is propped up on one end between 30 and 45 degrees. While the actual inclination of the flat plane is not important, the steeper the slope, the less pronounced the effect will be.

Pre-Activity with Students

1. Use the pre-activity worksheet as a warm-up to get students thinking along the right lines. Explain the basic shape of the inclined plane, consisting typically of a flat board raised on one end. Doing this provides students with a simple template from which they can think of their own examples and applications of inclined planes. If students have trouble, provide a few of your own examples.

2. For the next activity on the worksheet, students explore some practical uses of inclined planes by filling in the provided drawing. Note that they can only use straight lines to make a path from a car to the house, meaning that they will have to use more than one line (inclined plane).

Experiment

1. Once the pre-activity worksheet activities are completed, divide the class into groups of four students each. Direct students' attention to the experiment worksheet.

2. Ask students the provided question and guide their answers correctly.

3. Have groups assemble at their work stations (wherever the inclined planes are set up) to begin their experiments. First, attach the bag of rocks to the spring scale and hold it at arm length in the air. Record the number that the scale reads in the second box on the worksheet table, next to their names.

4. Once all students in the group have completed this step, have them drag the bag of rocks (attached to the spring scale; see Figure 2) up the inclined plane and record the number on the spring scale in the third box in the worksheet table. Note: Make sure students drag their bags up the plane at as much of a CONSTANT rate as they can. This ensures that they record more accurate numbers, but depending on the age of the students, may not be as important.

Figure 2. The experimental setup.

copyright

Copyright © 2007 Engineering K-PhD Program, Duke University

Post-Experiment Design Activity

1. Once all students have completed these steps, gather into one large group to review the conclusion questions on the experiment worksheet. Ask students to calculate the difference in the weight with the inclined plane and the weight without the inclined plane. Make sure students get the idea that using the inclined plane made the bag of rocks feel "lighter" and easier to lift than without it.

2. When it is clear that this concept has been conveyed, direct students to the design worksheet for a fun design activity that can be altered to suit the age of the students.

3. In the provided space on the worksheet, have students identify a task or activity in their lives (getting to school, doing homework, playing a sport, etc.) that they would like to make easier in some way. Then, tell them to imagine that they are engineers who need to design a machine or tool using an inclined plane to help them with that activity. This is a purely creative and abstract exercise, so their drawings need not to be realistic, but they must incorporate an inclined plane.

4. Once their drawings are finished, have them write a sentence or two describing their machines and what they do.

5. Conclude by having students share with the class their invention ideas.

Vocabulary/Definitions

angle of inclination: The angle that the inclined surface makes with the horizontal ground. The greater the angle, the greater the effective weight of the object but the shorter the distance to the top of the inclined surface.

effective weight: Weight "perceived" or "felt" by person pulling an object up an inclined plane, defined to be less than the actual weight of the object.

inclined: A slanted surface, a surface deviating from horizontal.

inclined plane: A simple machine without moving parts, used to increase the height of an object. Made using a flat, slanted surface, such as a ramp.

spring scale: A device used to measure the weight of an object in terms of the force it induces when suspended from the scale.

Assessment

Post-Introduction Warm-Up Questions: As a class, go through the warm-up questions on the attached activity worksheet. Guide students' answers and understanding to establish the correct mindframe before beginning the experiment.

Activity Worksheets: Use the experiment worksheet and the concluding design worksheet as tools to evaluate student understanding of the concepts presented.

Activity Scaling

For more advanced students, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using inclined planes to elevate objects. Also, basic statistical calculations can be made with the data, such as average weights with and without the inclined planes, median and mode. For further investigation, explore the effect of changing the angle of inclination on the two weights of the bag of rocks.

Copyright
© 2013 by Regents of the University of Colorado; original © 2007 Duke University

Contributors
Mike McGroddy

Supporting Program
Engineering K-PhD Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University

Acknowledgements

This content was developed by the MUSIC (Math Understanding through Science Integrated with Curriculum) Program in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University under National Science Foundation GK-12 grant no. DGE 0338262. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the NSF, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: July 13, 2020

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The Benefits of Inclined Planes: Heave Ho! - Activity

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Students discover the scientific basis for the use of inclined planes. Using a spring scale, a bag of rocks and an inclined plane, student groups explore how dragging objects up a slope is easier than lifting them straight up into the air. Students are also introduced to the scientific method and ba…

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https://tryengineering.org/teacher/downhill-skier/

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Students will learn about

Age Levels: 5-8

Build Materials (For each team)
Required Materials

4 Craft sticks

4 Plastic/Paper straws

2 Sheets Plastic wrap (8×12 inches)

4 Pipe cleaners

Scotch tape

2 Sheets Aluminum foil (8×12 inches)

Testing Materials

Ski Ramps (2) (smooth wood or plastic boards about 5 x 40 inches)

Stopwatch or timer

*Video Source: NBC News Learn YouTube Channel

Materials

2 Ski Ramps (smooth wood or plastic boards about 5 x 40 inches)

Stopwatch or timer

Design Challenge
You are a team of engineers working together to design and build a downhill skier out of everyday materials. Your goal is to have your skier reach the bottom of the ski ramp in the fastest time.
Criteria

Not allowed to push the skier down the ski ramp
Constraints

Use only the materials provided.

1. Break class into teams of 2.

2. Hand out some sheets of paper for sketching designs.

3. Discuss the topics in the Background Concepts Section. Review the various concepts, especially friction and force. Give examples of how these terms apply in your classroom.

4. Review the Engineering Design Process, Design Challenge, Criteria, Constraints and Materials.

5. Instruct students to start brainstorming and sketching their designs.

6. Provide each team with their materials.

7. Explain to students that they will be designing two skiers using the provided materials. They will then choose the one which they think will achieve the goal of reaching the bottom of the ski ramp first.

8. Announce the amount of time they have to design and build (25 minutes recommended).

9. Use a timer or an on-line stopwatch (count down feature) to ensure you keep on time. (www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch). Give students regular "time checks" so they stay on task. If they are struggling, ask questions that will lead them to a solution quicker.

10. Students meet and develop a plan for their skier. They agree on materials they will need, write/draw their plan, and present their plan to the class.

11. Teams build their designs.

12. The ski ramp should be safely secured at about a 45 degree angle. Test the skier designs by allowing the students to let their skier go and time how long it takes for the skier to reach the bottom of the ramp, while staying intact. Students are not allowed to push the skier.

13. Teams should document how long it took for their skier to reach the bottom of the ramp while staying intact.

14. As a class, discuss the student reflection questions.

15. For more content on the topic, see the "Digging Deeper" section.

Student Reflection (engineering notebook)

1. What worked best about your design?

2. What could you have improved?

3. What did you learn from other team's designs?

4. How did you work as a team?

The lesson can be done in as little as 1 class period for older students. However, to help students from feeling rushed and to ensure student success (especially for younger students), split the lesson into two periods giving students more time to brainstorm, test ideas and finalize their design. Conduct the testing and debrief in the next class period.

1. DefineWhat is the problem you want to solve? What is your challenge?

2. Develop Solutions
Think about all the possible options you can identify to solve the challenge. Brainstorm as many solutions as possible.

3. Optimize
Compare your solutions, test them, and consider which one will do the best job of solving the problem.

And, throughout....Communicate
At each step in the process talk with your team members so everyone can contribute ideas and be a part of the process. Good communication is very important to the engineering design process.
Your Challenge

1. Define
Your challenge is to develop a skier out of materials provided that can race down a classroom ramp the fastest. You will not push the skier from the top of the ramp, but just let it go and let gravity move the skier down.

2. Develop Solutions
As a team, look at the materials you have to work with, and consider lots of solutions to the challenge. Be sure to talk about options and consider the materials. Consider the vocabulary words, like friction, and how they might apply to this challenge.

3. Optimize
Agree on which two design solutions are most likely to work, then build both and test them on the ramp. Choose which design your team will use to enter into the classroom race. Then enjoy the race and see what other designs worked well to meet the challenge.

Internet Connections Recommended Reading
Downhill Skiing by Cynthia Amoroso (ISBN-13: 978-1567664560)
Writing Activity
Students can write a paragraph about the safety equipment skiers use.

Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks

Note: Lesson plans in this series are aligned to one or more of the following sets of standards:

Next Generation Science Standards - Grades K-2 (Ages 5-8)
K-2-ETS1-1 Engineering Design

Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
K-2-ETS1-2 Engineering Design

Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

Standards for Technological Literacy - All Ages

Design

Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design.

Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.

Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving.

Student Vocabulary

Force: A push or pull acting on an object

Acceleration: Increasing the rate or speed of something

Gravity: The force that pulls an object toward the center of the earth

Friction: Resistance of one object when moving against another

Wind Resistance: A force an object will need to overcome to move through the air

1. Define

Your challenge is to develop a skier out of materials provided that can race down a classroom ramp the fastest. You will not push the skier from the top of the ramp, but just let it go and let gravity move the skier down.

2. Develop Solutions

As a team, look at the materials you have to work with, and consider lots of solutions to the challenge. Be sure to talk about options and consider the materials. Consider the vocabulary words, like friction, and how they might apply to this challenge.

3. Optimize

Agree on which two design solutions are most likely to work, then build both and test them on the ramp. Choose which design your team will use to enter into the classroom race. Then enjoy the race and see what other designs worked well to meet the challenge

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Students will learn about Age Levels: 5-8 Required Materials 4 Craft sticks 4 Plastic/Paper straws 2 Sheets Plastic wrap (8×12 inches) 4 Pipe cleaners Scotch tape 2 Sheets Aluminum foil (8×12 inches) Ski Ramps (2) (smooth wood or plastic boards about 5 x 40 inches) Stopwatch or timer *Video Source: NBC News Learn YouTube Channel Materials 2 Ski Ramps (smooth wood or plastic boards about 5 x 40 inches) Stopwatch or timer Design Challenge You are a team of engineers working together to design and build a downhill skier out of everyday materials.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIH91_PCmqM

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🥚 Kids Book Read Aloud: AFTER THE FALL (HOW HUMPTY DUMPTY GOT BACK UP AGAIN) by Dan Santat

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EPIC Books - Read Aloud - Simple Machines: Inclined Plane

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EPIC Books - Read Aloud - Simple Machines: Inclined Plane

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https://www.getepic.com/app/read/61287

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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https://www.getepic.com/app/read/44983

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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After reading we will discuss how we can prevent his fall instead of fixing it after it has happened. How can using a ramp help?

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Students will explore different types of ramps in order to understand incline. This will be done via EPIC videos and hands on activity with supplies provided.

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Students will initially work on their design process by drawing the ramp/slide they would like to use/try. Once this is done they will collaborate/share with their partner(s). Together they will create a modified design using concepts from both models.

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During this steps the team will create the design using materials provided. Once they have created their product they will begin testing. During testing they will make notes of things that need to be corrected or modified.

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Teams will make the modifications to their design based on the notes taken. During this time they will retest. They will continue this process until they have found a way for HD to get back down without breaking or harm.

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Ramp and roll is clearly missing quite a bit of information. However, does provide a good jumping off point.

Downhill skier will help with the understand of different inclines and the consequences of those. Again, it not exactly the same concept but, it  does address inclines and slope.

Heave Ho - is more along the lines of what I was looking for. This provided a great list of materials to be used as well. It is something that is manageable within the classroom.